During the 1930s, war with Germany became increasingly likely. The British Government believed that it would start with massed ranks of enemy planes, dropping bombs and poison gas on civilians in major towns and cities, terrifying them into surrendering. When war broke out, preparations to protect the population were piecemeal and inadequate. As anticipated, people were shocked by the first raids and the response of rescue services was chaotic. But far from breaking morale, the Blitz galvanised public opinion in support of the war. Soon people became hardened by their experiences and attacks from the air became a normal, albeit terrible, part of daily life.Blitz Diary tells the story in a remarkable series of eyewitness accounts from the war’s earliest and darkest days through to the end, when the V-2 rockets brought devastation without warning. Preservation of such first-hand accounts has become increasingly important as the Blitz fades from living memory. This expanded edition includes new chapters and new accounts from key eyewitnesses.

Carol Harris and Mike Brown collaborate on a revised and updated edition of Blitz Diary

The only first-hand account of the Blitz to be written as it was happening.

A gripping eyewitness account of hidden impact of war on the home front during the London Blitz, based on the diaries of a woman ambulance driver. 28 inline illustrations 1 map

The historian Carol Harris has collected together a remarkable series of accounts from the war's darkest days, with heart-warming stories of survival, perseverance, solidarity and bravery, the preservation of which becomes increasingly important as the Blitz fades from living memory. War with Germany seemed increasingly likely throughout the 1930s. The British Government and the general population believed that bombs and poison gas would be dropped on civilians in major towns and cities with the aim of terrifying them into surrendering. Today the Blitz, far from breaking civilian morale, is seen as achieving the opposite; it helped galvanise public opinion to carry on fighting the war. But in 1937, preparations to protect the population were hopelessly inadequate, and the British government was far from confident that people would respond in this way.

A concise and balanced view of what is known as the Blitz on London. The title emphasizes bombing over blitz and recognises that the meaning of ‘the Blitz’ has now acquired other general connotations and is often equated to ‘Britain in wartime’ or the spirit of carrying on.