Belfast during World War II


‘In the Antrim Road and vicinity the attack was of a particularly concentrated character and in many instances bombs from successive waves of bombers fell within fifteen to twenty yards of one another … In this general area, scores of houses were completely wrecked, either by explosion, fire or blast, while hundreds were damaged so badly as to be uninhabitable.’ (Northern Ireland in the Second World War by Brian Barton)


The raid lasted until the early hours of the morning. In the wake of the attack, telephone lines and water mains were left critically damaged, hampering the efforts of the emergency services dealing with fires. With the situation completely out of control, McDermott sent a telegram to de Valera at 4.30 am asking for assistance.


Help from the South


Within hours of receiving the emergency request, 13 fire engines manned by 71 firemen from Dundalk, Drogheda, Dublin and Dún Laoghaire were on their way to help their northern counterparts. All 71 had volunteered to go to Belfast after being asked if they wished to help. When the fire crews arrived there was little that they could do due to a lack of water. The crews stayed in Belfast for three days, when they were replaced by firefighters from Glasgow. After the attack, de Valera sent a complaint to the German government. By allowing fire crews to assist in the rescue effort in Northern Ireland, de Valera had broken Irish neutrality. He justified his decision in a speech delivered on 20 April:


‘they are our people – we are one and the same people – and their sorrows in the present instance are also our sorrows; and I want to say to them that any help we can give to them in the present time we will give to them whole-heartedly, believing that were the circumstances reversed they would also give us their help whole-heartedly.’ (The Dublin Fire Brigade: A History of the Brigade, the Fires and the Emergencies by Tom Geraghty and Trevor Whitehead)


The Impact of the Raid


The raid on the night of 15–16 April killed 900 people and wounded almost 1,500. Most of those killed were hit by shrapnel (fragments of bombs and other flying debris) as they tried to take cover. Others were killed as they sought shelter in their homes or the official air raid shelters. Thirty people were killed when the Percy Street air raid shelter was hit.


Fifty-six thousand homes were destroyed and many businesses were either completely or partially ruined. Two hospitals were also destroyed, putting added pressure on the already stretched medical and rescue workers. The raid highlighted just how unprepared the government had been for such an event. In the months beforehand, the government had put emergency plans in place for a potential 200 fatalities, nowhere near the real figure of 900. Morgue facilities were overrun and bodies had to be laid out in St George’s market to be identified.


The Easter Raid shattered the sense of security many had felt until then. In the immediate aftermath of the raid up to 15,000 refugees fled to the South, with many settling in Dublin or with family around the country. In the following months, tens of thousands of people, commonly referred to as ‘ditchers’, left Belfast city each night to seek the relative safety of the countryside and surrounding towns. This put a huge strain on smaller towns as they struggled to cope with this huge influx of people.


There was great anger from both the Protestant and Catholic communities directed towards the government, and in particular Prime Minister J.M. Andrews, for failing to properly defend the city and its people.


240 LEAVING CERTIFICATE HISTORY


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