The Blitz
I watched a YouTube video about an American who had never heard of The Blitz and it isn't taught in US schools.
September 1940
For 57 nights the Germans bombed London. This was in an 8 month campaign of bombing British towns. Britain was at a loss due to the amount of German aircraft.
London's docks were on fire; they called it the Black Saturday.
The Germans started bombing on civilians.
History is a snapshot of time.
This was also a time when Britain didn't have eggs and had to have powdered eggs. I know this because I've seen one of the Ration booklets my grandparents had. I heard stories as a child of when my grandfather was in the British Army working in the mess Hall. Well in some cases it was a make shift tent.
This is why the UK understands the feelings of the Ukraine people.
Children and adults from all over the world need to learn about the fear and mayhem that war causes.
Just think about it! You are sending your children to a different part of the country, while war is going on. This is what parents had to do in this time of history.
The sound of sirens of incoming bombing must have been the dread that a number of people didn't want to hear. Hiding in the Tube stations living with the fear your house could be next?
King George and Queen Elizabeth remained in London at Buckingham Palace. On September 13, 1940 Buckingham Palace took extensive damage to the chapel.
The then Princess Elizabeth (who would become Queen) and her sister Princess Margaret were evacuated to Windsor castle for safety.
While these bombing were going on, people were still going on with their daily lives and going to work.
Not far from where I live in the UK, the city of Coventry was bombed on the 14th of November 1940 the most severe bombing ever occurred.
Coventry received major structural damage but nothing was off limits for the Germans.
Hitting all major utilities electric, gas and water. This is why the British still use washing up bowls because water was scarce.
Having water was a necessity not just for tea but to put out fires.
In this time of crisis nothing will do but a good cup of tea! It makes everyone feel better. The same as Americans sitting at their dining tables to bring families and friends together.
Something as little as that to have each other's company in such a time of need and comfort.
Many of you have probably heard of the word Enigma.
“a person or thing that is a mysterious or difficult to understand” Oxford Dictionary
Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered no defence measures should be taken against the Germans. They didn't suspect the Cypher had been broken, especially as officers work for a highly classified organisation called Ultra. A highly level encrypted radio and teleprinter at the GC & SE at Bletchley Park.
The Second World war was won because of the Enigma machine and the dedicated men and women of Bletchley park and our Prime Minister at the time.
But something that should never be overlooked is a man named Alan Turing who was a mathematician and computer scientist, cryptanalyst. He had a doctorate degree from Princeton, he graduated from King's College Cambridge. He played a crucial role in cracking the German Cipher coded messages.
Alan was a very gifted man but he was treated differently. Alan was a gay man. He was charged for being gay and went to prison. He killed himself on the 7th of June 1954.
He was later honored by the Queen and then Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Due to his efforts during the second world war.
But what is forgotten is it doesn't really matter who we love, where we come from. What matters is we come together and we all united.
But we must not let people assume or take freedom away from others because it could be your freedom that is next.
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