Exeter after the Blitz

Exeter
1942
Silent
4m

Wartime meals-on-wheels and some rare snapshots of the bomb-damaged Georgian terraces of Dix's Field, Exeter.

Exeter is down but not out. While the bomb-damaged Georgian terraces of Southernhay smoulder, the dungareed women of the WVS come to the rescue with food aid from allies overseas. Among the charred remains and debris of historic Dix's Field, a poster advertising a warship fundraising week to replace HMS Exeter appears as a poignant reminder that life must go on.

Scenes in Exeter after a bomb raid.

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.