Source D The People example essay topic

Britain in the age of total war, coursework assignment. Question 1: Source A is part of the publishers description from the inside cover of a book called 'waiting for the all clear' published in 1990 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Blitz. The description was written to celebrate the way in which British people all appeared to pull together and help one another during this time. 'British people showed they didn't need a uniform to be heroes' they didn't have to be trained or do anything 'special' to be seen as a hero or do anything to directly help with the war. Everyone had to fight, not only against the opposition but for themselves as well, to keep their spirits up. 'Out of terror and tragedy came courage and an unshakable determination'.

This describes how the terrible circumstances made the British people strong and more willing to 'win' and survive, they all pulled together to make themselves stronger and 'Those at home kept their sense of humour'. The last line of the source 'their memories will break your heart and make you smile' is written to make people want to buy and read the book, read the memories of people who survived the war and the struggles they went through and yet still managed to stay strong. Question 2: Source B is a photograph taken on the 21st of January 1943, the day after London, Catford Girl's school was hit by a bomb in an air raid. The photograph shows six people sacking bodies of the young girls who were killed by the bomb, there a number of bodies in sacks. 'Photographs which had anything to do with the war had to be approved before being published. This photograph showing bodies in sacking was banned by the censors'.

This is an important piece of information as it shows how much was withheld from the British public. The government didn't want to release the information if it was going to upset the people and they never saw the photographs or were told about the bombing in other towns and so never knew the extent of the Blitz, which is probably how they managed to be so strong and not 'fall apart'. Another way the government tried to 'protect' the British from the awful reality of the war was to release information and photographs similar to that in source C, which was aimed at boosting peoples morale, helping them to stay positive and convince them that everything was fine and 'under control'. Source C is a photograph published on the 15th of September 1940 of a big group of people all appearing to be very happy. It is not until you read the caption that accompanies the photograph that you wonder why everyone is so happy, you learn from the caption that these people's houses were destroyed in a bomb the night before.

All of their possessions are stacked up around them, seemingly undamaged, which could be a reason they are happy. Maybe they were told to pose for this photograph to show the British public that everything is not all bad. There is a huge number of people and possessions in this photograph giving you a sense that everyone and their possessions have all survived the bomb, filling the observer (The British public) with confidence. The caption mentions the 'grit' of the tenants, which suggests that if everyone pulls together like these people have done and have their courage and determination they will also survive. Question 3: Source D is a photograph taken on the 15th of November 1940 after an air raid on Coventry. It was captioned 'sorting personal property'.

The photograph shows a road with the wreck of a building on the left. The road is covered in debris and there are about 5 or more people standing around looking 'lost'. A man in the foreground is carrying something in his arms, which judging by the caption, is one of his possessions lost in the bombing, another man is pointing his finger at this man, seemingly angry. I can only think that these men are arguing about who owns whatever the man has in his arms. This shows lack of morale and unwillingness to pull together. Almost everyone in the picture is on their own, no-one is trying to help one another or support each other in any way.

The source supports evidence in both source B & source C when looking at the damage caused & the consequences of the Blitz but it supports source B more as it shows a more negative aspect of the situation. Whilst people in the photograph in source C appear to be pulling together and supporting one another, source D does not show this. The fact that the photograph was not published until four months after it was taken is an important one as it goes back to the government holding back information. They did not want to show people arguing and 'setting a bad example' or upset people with the images of devastation. Four months later however the government decided to release the photograph to show people that no matter how bad the situation was people were still getting on with things and living their lives the best they could.

Question 4: Source E is an extract from a secret report to the government written by the ministry of information on the 10th of September 1940. It is describing the panic and chaos which occurs when the warning siren goes off. The source describes how 'people run madly for shelters' and that 'The Citizens Advice Bureau is inundated with mothers and young children hysterical and asking to be removed from the district' and how 'Taxi drivers report taking group after group to Euston and Paddington with belongings's o that they can travel by train to a safer area. I can see why the government would be concerned by this report as they wanted everybody to stay calm and not panic but instead they saw the opposite.

People were scared and running from their homes to escape the bombing. They were also worried about people not turning up for work to do with the war effort and that the public were not confident enough with the government to keep them safe. Source F is from Harold Nicolson's diary dated the 17th of September 1940. He knew several members of the government. He writes that 'Everyone in worried about the feeling in the East End of London where there is much bitterness' By this he probably meant that the members of the government that he knew had told him how worried they were. He also writes 'It is said the even the King and Queen were booed the other day when they visited the destroyed areas.

' He had heard rumours of the King and Queen being booed. If it is true then it is obvious that the British public were very unhappy with the way they had handled the war, which would also cause the government concern. Source G is from a book published in 1988 called 'don't you know there's a war on?' It explains the 'widespread fear' which was felt during the Blitz and the way large groups of people would flee to Epping Forest to escape the bombing. However despite that fear many of those who fled showed great courage and continued to turn up to work and attendance at work remained surprisingly good. Men and women continued to work to help with the war and despite the bombing and devastation there were still planes, tanks and armaments being produced in great numbers. Question 5: "The impression that the British faced the Blitz with courage and unity is a myth".

I agree with this statement to some extent, especially when looking at the panic of the British people during the Blitz and the fact that many of them fled to the countryside. In source D the people are not showing unity at all, instead they are arguing and source E describes how people were running madly for shelters and begging to be moved from the district, this does not show a great deal of courage. However most of the sources which are about the public panicking and being very frightened are all from around the same period of time in which there was very heavy bombing, they were also from certain areas of the country which were hit the worst, so obviously the photographs taken and the statements given were going to be mostly negative. There are some sources which suggest there was good 'morale' and people were pulling together and showing courage and unity.

This was partly due to the government holding back so much bad information that it made it seem as if everything was under control & so the public did not realize just how serious the situation was and found it easier to be positive. However people did try to pull together as much they could due to their determination to survive. The sources published at the time of the Blitz suggested Britain's morale was high, the sources which were censored are the ones that suggested things were bad. Most of these sources suggest people were scared and I think these were more likely to be factual. However I do think that in some cases there was a feeling of high morale and unity. I think people did try to get on with things the best they could, source B shows people sacking the bodies of girls killed in a bombing, although they are probably not in a very positive mood they are pulling together and helping.

Source C shows people pulling together to retrieve their property from the wreckage of their homes and Source G explains that even the people who fled to the countryside were still returning to London to attend work. The British people did face the Blitz with courage and unity and to some extent managed to stay positive and 'strong' but I don't think they were as 'unshaken' as some sources suggest.