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17.4.41 [George Orwell]

April 17, 2011 in ambulances, bomb, guns, Hampstead, London, Lord's, Political, sleep, St John's Wood, War-time by orwelldiaries

Very heavy raid last night, probably the heaviest in many months, so far as London is concerned…Bomb in Lord’s cricket ground (school-boys having their exercise at the nets as usual this morning, a few yards from the crater) and another in St. John’s Wood churchyard. This one luckily didn’t land among the graves, a thing I have been dreading will happen…Passed this morning a side-street somewhere in Hampstead with one house in it reduced to a pile of rubbish by a bomb – a sight so usual that one hardly notices it. The street is cordoned off, however, digging squads at work, and a line of ambulances waiting. Underneath that huge pile of bricks there are mangled bodies, some of them perhaps alive.

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20.3.41 [George Orwell]

March 20, 2011 in air raid, arms, barrage balloon, bomb, cheese, Churchill, food, France, Greenwich, helplessness, Home Guard, Political, Tangier, War-time by orwelldiaries

Fairly heavy raids last night, but only 1 plane brought down, so no doubt the rumours about a “secret weapon” are all baloney.

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10.9.40 [George Orwell]

September 10, 2010 in air raid, bomb, Cheapside, cinemas, Criterion, delayed-action bomb, docks, fires, Greenwich, Holborn, homeless, Huesca, incendiary bomb, letters, London Bridge, Madame Tussaud's, Marylebone, milk, naval college, newspapers, noise, Old Kent Road, Political, power, screaming bombs, shelter, shops, south London, Spain, telephone, Thames estuary, theatres, traffic, trams, unexploded bomb, War-time, Westminster Bridge, Woolwich by orwelldiaries

Can’t write much of the insanities of the last few days.  It is not so much that the bombing is worrying in itself as that the disorganisation of traffic, frequent difficulty of telephoning, shutting of shops whenever there is a raid on, etc., etc., combined with the necessity of getting on with one’s ordinary work, wear one out and turn life into a constant scramble to catch up lost time.  Herewith a few notes on bombs, etc.:-

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3.9.40 [George Orwell]

September 3, 2010 in air raid, bomb, Cardiff, casualties, deaths, docks, newspapers, Political, Ramsgate, strike, War-time by orwelldiaries

Yesterday talking with Mrs. C., [1] who had recently come back from Cardiff.  Raids there have been almost continuous, and finally it was decided that work in the docks must continue, raids or no raids.  Almost immediately afterwards a German plane managed to drop a bomb straight into the hold of a ship, and according to Mrs. C. the remains of seven men working there “had to be brought up in pails”.  Immediately there was a dock strike, after which they had to go back to the practice of taking cover.  This is the sort of thing that does not get into the papers.  It is now stated on all sides that the casualties in the most recent raids, e.g. at Ramsgate, have been officially minimised, which greatly incenses the locals, who do not like to read about “negligible damage” when 100 people have been killed, etc., etc.  Shall be interested to see the figures for casualties for this month, i.e. August.  I should say that up to about 2000 a month they would tell the truth, but would cover it up for figures over that.[2]

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31.8.40 [George Orwell]

August 31, 2010 in air raid, anti-aircraft guns, bomb, Eileen, explosion, Maida Vale, Political, Regent's Park, Spain, War-time by orwelldiaries

Air-raid warnings, of which there are now half a dozen or thereabouts every 24 hours, becoming a great bore.  Opinion spreading rapidly that one ought simply to disregard the raids except when they are known to be big-scale ones and in one’s own area.  Of the people strolling in Regent’s Park, I should say at least half pay no attention to a raid-warning . . . . . Last night just as we were going to bed, a pretty heavy explosion.  Later in the night woken up by a tremendous crash, said to be caused by a bomb in Maida Vale[1]. E. and I merely remarked on the loudness and fell asleep again.  Falling asleep, with a vague impression of anti-aircraft guns firing, found myself mentally back in the Spanish war, on one of those nights when you had a good straw to sleep on, dry feet, several hours rest ahead of you, and the sound of distant gunfire, which acts as a soporific provided it is distant.

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29.8.40 [George Orwell]

August 29, 2010 in air raid, alarm, bomb, bus conductor, Hitler, Political, siren, Spain, War-time by orwelldiaries

Air-raid alarms during the last 3 nights have totalled about 16-18 hours for the three nights. . . . . . It is perfectly clear that these night raids are intended chiefly as a nuisance, and as long as it is taken for granted that at the sound of the siren everyone must dive for the shelter, Hitler only needs to send his planes over half-a-dozen at a time to hold up work and rob people of sleep to an indefinite extent.  However, this idea is already wearing off. . . . . . For the first time in 20 years I have overheard bus conductors losing their tempers and being rude to passengers.  E.g. the other night, a voice out of the darkness: “’Oo’s conducting this bus, lady, me or you?”  It took me straight back to the end of the last war.

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20.6.40 [George Orwell]

June 20, 2010 in air raid, arm the people, army, Bevan, bomb, Chamberlain, Churchill, Colonel Blimp, Compton Mackenzie, Dunkirk, George Strauss, German invasion, Glasgow, Hebrides, Hitler, India, intellectuals, Italy, LDV, Lloyd George, Namsos, new statesman, Political, RAF, Rayner Heppenstall, retired colonels, revolutionary war, Richar Crossman, Scotland Yard, Spain, unblimping, War-time by orwelldiaries

Went to the office of the [New Statesman][1] to see what line they are taking about home defence. C.[2], who is now in reality the big noise there, was rather against the “arm the people” line and said that its dangers outweighed its possible advantages[3]. If a German invading force finds civilians armed it may commit such barbarities as will cow the people altogether and make everyone anxious to surrender. He said it was dangerous to count on ordinary people being courageous and instanced the case of some riot in Glasgow when a tank was driven round the town and everyone fled in the most cowardly way. The circumstances were different, however, because the people in that case were unarmed and, as always in internal strife, conscious of fighting with ropes round their necks… C. said that he thought Churchill, though a good man up to a point, was incapable of doing the necessary thing and turning this into a revolutionary war, and for that reason Chamberlain and Co. hesitated to bring the whole nation into the struggle. I don’t of course think Churchill sees it in quite the same colours as we do, but I don’t think he would jib at any step (e.g. equalisation of incomes, independence for India) which he thought necessary for winning the war. Of course it’s possible that today’s secret session may achieve enough to get Chamberlain and Co. out for good. I asked C. what hope he thought there was of this, and he said none at all. But I remember that the day the British began to evacuate Namsos[4] I asked Bevan and Strauss[5], who had just come from the House, what hope there was of this business unseating Chamberlain, and they also said none at all. Yet a week or so later the new government was formed[6].

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