Stories from the Blitz | Documentary

From September 1940 to May 1941, Germany launched an air attack against Britain, coined the Blitz. Air raid sirens going off, the rush to get to shelter and waiting for bombs overhead to land, this documentary looks back at individuals’ stories to see what it was like to live through such a terrifying time.

Stories from the Blitz features new interviews with those who were there and amazing archive footage of the devastation, and of human courage and sheer will to survive one of Britain’s darkest periods in History.

Director : Bruce Vigar

0:00 Full Documentary
0:28 🔥 The Blitz begins in London in 1940, causing devastation and changing the country for decades to come.
7:42 🏘️ Evacuation during World War II: Children and women were sent to the countryside for safety, experiencing a new way of life.
13:54 🌍 During World War II, children were evacuated from their homes but many eventually returned. Enemy aliens, including Jewish refugees, were rounded up and sent to internment camps in the Isle of Man and other countries.
21:05 ✈️ During World War II, spies were discovered in Britain and a new Act was passed to punish them with death. The blackout regulations and scrap drives became part of everyday life.
30:22 💣 The Luftwaffe successfully bombed Coventry using their radar system, causing significant damage and casualties.
36:19 🌃 During World War II, Britain lacked night fighter aircraft and relied on ground control for instructions, but early experiments with radar-equipped bombers and Turbinlite flights were not successful.
44:14 💣 The Blitz during World War II had devastating effects on London, with civilians facing danger, looters, and the need for ticketing in underground shelters.
51:15 ✈️ The bombing raids on British cities during World War II and the introduction of V-1 flying bombs
58:34 💣 The V-1 and V-2 attacks during World War II caused significant damage and casualties in London and Kent.
1:06:11 💣 London endured devastating V-2 attacks during World War II, resulting in thousands of deaths, destruction of homes and buildings, and widespread fear and illness among the population.

[christopherbutler]

So great to see my mum on this video Talking about when they got bombed out one night. She is 94 know. Tough generation All what they went through.

[Hannah-Clarke-uk]

My great aunt Laura lived though the blitz, one time she didn’t want to get out of bed and her Anderson shelter was bombed, another time she was in her newly rebuilt Anderson shelter and her house was bombed. A very lucky lady

[mariafrancademarchi]

Good morning. I am Italian and when Italy went in war I was 18 months old. The first thing I remember is the first bombing over Milano, when I was 2 years old, and this has signed my entire life.
This excellent film should be shown in each school because the memory of how devastating the war is in everyone life be not forgotten.
I apologise for my bad use of the English language.

[markgeary]

My mum now 91 lived through all of this, the blitz, doodle bugs, V2s wasnt evacuated from London.Still drives herself about, recounts everything in clear details Unfortunately all the men are dead now from that era in my family(RAF)but talking to her they survive.This generation were tough and had a great spirit.

[davidjma]

My parents, both Londoners, met in a bomb shelter in the middle of the 1940 Blitz and were married in Peckam in 1942. They were tough people in those years!

[susandelongis]

My dad, bless him, an Italian American flew bombing missions out of England with the Army Air Corp. He was just a kid, but the story of how he earned his bronze stars was harrowing, a story my uncle told us after my dad’s death. Like many veterans he didn’t discuss his war experiences. He only did share his love for the British people, something he also expressed by creating a beautiful oil painting of an English village. I inherited this deep appreciation. This exceptional documentary illustrates some of the strengths of the people we admire so much and I’m proud that my dad served beside in the war effort. May The Lord bless our nations with lasting friendship and peace. ❤️🇺🇸❤️🇬🇧❤️

[stevelee]

My mum and dad were both from east London, near the East India Docks. They were housed in the same village in Dorset, never met but married 8 years later. The old boy, bless him, died aged 65 but our mum is now 94 and misses her George every day of her life

[christinamarie]

This effected my mother as a child all through her life .. many of her life lessons and codes of honor were cemented surviving this

[philipr]

Many families have stories to tell, and these should not be forgotten.
My mum was 7 when the war began, living in Tooting (South London) with her parents; when she was evacuated my grandmother went to Essex to stay with her sister while Grandad stayed behind working, growing vegetables, and waiting to be called up. One morning he came out of the shelter (in the neighbour's garden) to see that the house windows had been blown out and roof tiles dislodged; one bomb had wrecked a house two doors away, another hit a house across the road, and the school at the end of the garden had been hit - three of the thousands of bombs dropped that night, each exploding less than forty feet away from my grandad. Two of mum's uncles were kept busy - my great-uncle Fred (WW1 Royal Navy veteran) was a firefighter based at West Ham, and my great-uncle Charles (WW1 army veteran) was a Heavy Rescue volunteer in Southwark digging survivors and dead bodies from the wreckage. My great-uncles never talked about what they had seen and done, but they were both commended for bravery and were plagued by nightmares for the rest of their lives.

[smileandpresson]

A terrific documentary. I'd love more like this! Gave me better understanding for what my Granny went through. Truly the greatest generation.

[gavinkitchen]

In 1976, I stayed in a 6 person Bomb Shelter with 4 other people for 48 hrs. We ate down there, & cooked tea. The toilet was a bucket. With 5 people using the bucket, it smelled.

The experience was absolutely horrible, uncomfortable smelly, & very cramped.

This was in peace time, ie no.bombs dropping.

I'm glad I was convinced to go through this experience, I have the utmost respect for everyone who lived through these horrific Wars.

[adrianthomas]

My family would gather at Christmas with relatives and friends, this was in the early seventies, remembering the war years and shared experiences. They would play Vera Lynn records and as a youth I could feel the palpable atmosphere which was created amongst them. Indescribable & unforgettable.

[oneviewcornwall]

My mum (born 1937) was there with her mum in the air raid shelter on Goswell Road EC1 down in the basement of the C&A building - my mum wasn't evacuated. My mum shared her memories and fortunately I have many recordings of my mum's memories despite her very young age. Love you mum, miss you everyday, your stories and amazing memories of the blitz 💛

[karenmihranian]

I have watched so many documentaries and read so many books about WW2. When u realise what people went through. The lose suffering and pain. The courage and determination to fight on. So many people came together to give a helping hand. The input of women in the war effort. Amazing that's what makes a nation great.

[lylaclark]

My dear Grandfather,
a Dublin Man,
was an Air Raid Warden in London during the Blitz, he would always send his wages home to my Grandmother to provide for her and their young family at that time, in which my dear Mum was a 10 yr old girl.
He was a brave and honourable man God rest his soul 💛,
as Air Raid Wardens really were on the Frontlines of such devastation in London at that time, doing their best to care for the People of London during the Blitz.
I have such Respect for my Granddad who did his part as an Irish Man during WWII and managing to provide for his young family back in Dublin in such difficult times .
They were a determined Generation !

Much respect and thanks to all of them still .

[serenashaw-qy]

I was born in Bristol in 1940, in the midst of a huge bombing raid. Bombing in Bristol was regular and devastating . People walked out of the city to spend the nights in fields, returning the next morning to go to school, or do a full days work. Bristol suffered terribly, but is very very rarely mentioned. Files have only recently been allowed to be opened, and there are others still sealed under protection. There was much resentment that the King and Churchill never visited, as they did in London's east end, and Coventry. It is now known that it was purposeful; Churchill did not want the Germans to know how successful the bombing was, so there was very little allowed to be published in the British press. German bombers targeted the churches, to try and break moral. But there was an important - underground - oil pipeline from Avonmouth, that went under the Bristol Channel, through Wales, to Liverpool, that fuelled the vitally important ships braving the North Atlantic convoys; bringing in food and essential materials for armaments that were critical, enabling the war effort. I do hope that soon, Bristolians will get the recognition they deserve, for their very important contribution towards winning the war.

[mikehefford]

During the November raid on Coventry my mum, aged 21, happened to be staying overnight with her aunt and uncle just outside the city centre but near to a railway line. When the raid started they were in the house and took shelter under the stairs. A bomb landed in the street not far from their house and she saw their front door go flying past them. Fortunately that was the most serious damage to them but there was a massive creater in the street and serious damage to other houses.

[longwhitemane]

I have a friend who is in his 80's and was 3 years old at the time of the Blitz. I've shown him some pictures of people taking shelter in the underground. He got tears in his eyes looking at them.

[davidrobinson]

God bless those folks. They went through a time in which they were fighting for their very lives. We sure as hell could learn a lot from them. God bless them all.

[dsouza]

My mother was born in Portugal and she told me that my grandparents took in several English children during the war. She told me that they would play in the grape vines as small children with them and that’s how my mom started to learn English. My grandfather and family immigrated to Santa Clara California after the war,