Blackout Britain
Blackout Britain
Blackout Britain, used so the German bombers coud'nt see where the cities were and where to drop the bomb. Being the Blackout this means that they had to board up their windows and doors with wooden panels and turn off every light in there house ,which would mean EVERY light! This was very annoying it could happen at any time and the average blackout would have probably lasted about 1 - 2 hours maybe even 3 if there were a lot of planes. Another disadvantage to the blackout is that you even had to turn out street lamps and car lights! This was obviously VERY dangerous especially at night. There were around 1,200 road deaths every week! Cows were painted with white stripes so drivers could see them in the dark. Railways were only in use for evacuation and emergency or necessary journeys, but at night they shut down for the blackout. And factory windows were painted black so they could work inside with small lamps on so they could see what they were doing and so they could make important weapons or gas masks etc. The people in the homes either stayed in their homes, or stayed in their Anderson shelters. When ARP (Air Raid Precaution Warden) wardens saw any spots of light, you would have been shouted at, and fined a large sum of money, depending on how much light is showing. So it came to them naturally to do their part and not turn on any lights possible. Coal fires kept people warm in winter. Coal was a very important fuel. It kept people warm. More important, it kept factories and trains working.
The Government ensured that there was enough Blackout material for each household. Blackout material had to be readily available but cheap enough even for the poorest families. In most cases black cotton fabric was used meaning that the bigger the house you had the more you had to pay for your windows to be covered. That is all except the local vicar who was given a certain amount of sympathy when asked to Blackout his vicarage.
Putting up Blackout material proved more time consuming than was first imagined and quickly became a tedious chore for most families.
Families could spend a long time putting up the Blackout materials only to find that one thickness of fabric was not enough to stop light from escaping and drawing the attention of a A.R.P. warden or eagle eyed neighbour. Indeed two or three thicknesses was often required before all light was snuffed out. Even pinning these sheets to window frames could prove troublesome. Householders were lucky if they had wooden frames but many had stone or metal frames proving that hanging this fabric could be an achievement in itself. Some tried to save time by lining their windows with black paper and pins. This was fine initially but with the continuous taking down and putting back up this method didn't last long!
This video explains some of the things that people had to do in Blackout Britain.
Blackout Britain, used so the German bombers coud'nt see where the cities were and where to drop the bomb. Being the Blackout this means that they had to board up their windows and doors with wooden panels and turn off every light in there house ,which would mean EVERY light! This was very annoying it could happen at any time and the average blackout would have probably lasted about 1 - 2 hours maybe even 3 if there were a lot of planes. Another disadvantage to the blackout is that you even had to turn out street lamps and car lights! This was obviously VERY dangerous especially at night. There were around 1,200 road deaths every week! Cows were painted with white stripes so drivers could see them in the dark. Railways were only in use for evacuation and emergency or necessary journeys, but at night they shut down for the blackout. And factory windows were painted black so they could work inside with small lamps on so they could see what they were doing and so they could make important weapons or gas masks etc. The people in the homes either stayed in their homes, or stayed in their Anderson shelters. When ARP (Air Raid Precaution Warden) wardens saw any spots of light, you would have been shouted at, and fined a large sum of money, depending on how much light is showing. So it came to them naturally to do their part and not turn on any lights possible. Coal fires kept people warm in winter. Coal was a very important fuel. It kept people warm. More important, it kept factories and trains working.
The Government ensured that there was enough Blackout material for each household. Blackout material had to be readily available but cheap enough even for the poorest families. In most cases black cotton fabric was used meaning that the bigger the house you had the more you had to pay for your windows to be covered. That is all except the local vicar who was given a certain amount of sympathy when asked to Blackout his vicarage.
Putting up Blackout material proved more time consuming than was first imagined and quickly became a tedious chore for most families.
Families could spend a long time putting up the Blackout materials only to find that one thickness of fabric was not enough to stop light from escaping and drawing the attention of a A.R.P. warden or eagle eyed neighbour. Indeed two or three thicknesses was often required before all light was snuffed out. Even pinning these sheets to window frames could prove troublesome. Householders were lucky if they had wooden frames but many had stone or metal frames proving that hanging this fabric could be an achievement in itself. Some tried to save time by lining their windows with black paper and pins. This was fine initially but with the continuous taking down and putting back up this method didn't last long!
This video explains some of the things that people had to do in Blackout Britain.
There were also many propaganda posters to encourage people to take part in Blackout Britain. Here are just a few of them.