What Is One among So Many?

1943
Silent
17m

"A bomb's cut the gas off. Where can we get a meal?" Look no further than the Friends Relief Service.

"A bomb's cut the gas off. Where can we get a meal?" A record of the sterling efforts of the Quakers' Friends Relief Service during WWII. Country mansions, vicarages, church halls and farm properties are requisitioned for use as evacuation refuges for Britain's most vulnerable city dwellers. The lyrical scenes of Chaigeley Manor in Lancashire which was converted into a children's hostel are particularly moving.

Many of the youngsters shown playing nonchalantly around the country manor would have been recently orphaned. They were mainly from Accrington and Merseyside. The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) was rewarded with the 1947 Nobel Peace Prize for their relief work during WWI and WWII.

Life Under Fire

The horror of Luftwaffe bombs coloured daily life in Britain's cities and beyond, and war brought myriad daily hardships besides. But Britain could take it!

The Blitz receded after May 1941, but even after the Battle of Britain, the nation faced a barrage of incendiary bombs, V-1s and V-2s. While young men fought Axis powers across three continents, their families listened anxiously to the wireless, while many worried too about children far from home. But in the face of the destruction, sirens, blackouts and hours in shelters, the now-legendary 'Blitz spirit' kept despair at bay. Britain held her nerve thanks to mutual support, defiance and wit - plus a good grumble and as many cups of tea as rationing allowed.