Lino (Linoleum) A plastic-like floor covering.
Masonry Building materials made from stone, brick or concrete.
Morrison shelter An air-raid shelter made up of a metal table with wire mesh sides designed to be used indoors.
Munitions Military equipment and supplies.
Rationing Limiting the amount of food given to people when food is scarce.
Scullery A small room next to the kitchen where pots and pans are scrubbed and stored.
Shrapnel Fragments of metal that fly off a bomb when it explodes.
Spar An iron or wooden pole or rod.
Swastika The shape used as the symbol of Nazi Germany.
Timber Wood cut and prepared for use as building material.
V-1 A bomb invented by the Germans in World War II that had wings and flew on its own: used especially to attack London.
V-2 A rocket-powered missile invented by the Germans in World War II: used especially to attack London.
Historical Note
Between September 1940 and May 1941, London and the surrounding areas experienced almost nightly bomb raids from German planes. This was known as the ‘Blitz’ – short for the German word Blitzkrieg, meaning ‘lightning war’. During these nine months over a million houses were damaged or destroyed and one in six Londoners were made homeless. People’s daily routines and ways of life were changed completely, although in a sense they were replaced by another routine; one of blackouts, fire watching, air-raid sirens and nights spent in shelters.
The government provided households with Anderson shelters to dig into their gardens. These were made from an arch of corrugated steel, which was then covered in a thick layer of earth for protection. People would often plant vegetables on top, as food was rationed. Although Londoners were supposed to sleep in the shelters every night, some people preferred to risk staying in their homes. The shelters were cold, cramped and dark, and they often flooded.
After a particularly devastating raid on London on the night of 10th May 1941 there was a lull from the nightly drone of the bombers. For nearly three years there was almost no bombing at all. To some degree, life went back to normal, and people could return to sleeping in their homes at night. However, this wasn’t to last.
In the summer of 1944 a new kind of bomb started hitting the capital. The V-1 was the first of Hitler’s secret weapons that he promised would win Germany the war. The V stood for Vergeltungswaffe, the German word for ‘revenge weapon’. However Londoners soon came up with a name of their own: the ‘buzz bomb’ or ‘doodlebug’, after the characteristic insect-like buzzing sound of its engine.
The V-1 was like nothing that had come before and was capable of bombing targets at very long distances. It was basically a small, pilotless aircraft, with no navigational system. The doodlebug was simply launched in the direction of its target from a makeshift ramp. It would fly until its engine ran out of fuel; then come crashing down to earth, exploding as it hit the ground. Although the noise of the doodlebugs flying overhead was bad enough, what people dreaded most was the noise of an engine cutting out. When this happened you knew you were in trouble. All you could do was dive for cover and hope the rocket would glide for a bit before it fell.
As the V-1s were launched in the daytime, when many people were on the streets, they caused large numbers of casualties. Around 100 of the bombs were launched towards London every day from sites on the French and the Dutch coasts. Around half of these reached Greater London, whilst others fell over the south east of England.
There were ways of stopping the bombs, but any action had to be taken before the V-1s reached London and away from populated areas. Fighter pilots learned new tricks to destroy the bombs; they found that they could fly alongside the weapon and tip over one of its wings so that it was knocked off course. A combination of RAF aircraft, barrage balloons and anti-aircraft guns succeeded in bringing down nearly two-fifths of V-1s. However London was soon to face an even more terrifying weapon – one that came without warning and could not be defended against.
When the first V-2 rocket made its attack on September 8 1944, the explosion could be heard throughout London. The strange new explosions continued over the weeks to follow. At first no one really knew what had caused the blasts and officials told the public that the incidents were gas mains explosions.
It gradually became apparent that this was a new secret weapon. A rocket that flew faster than the speed of sound and was pretty much invisible after it had been fired. The first people on the ground knew of the V-2 was when it exploded. Because of this, the V-2 inspired even more terror than previous weapons. At least with the doodlebug people had a chance to take shelter under a table or in a doorway. Many Londoners confessed they were much more scared of the V-2 attacks than they had been when bombs were raining down on them during the Blitz.
The destruction of central London was so severe that the government decided to use false information to get the Germans to change their target. The government made the Germans think that it had moved its headquarters to the south east of London to escape the V-2 attacks. This tactic had some success; the Germans started to concentrate their attacks on this new area and central London received far fewer hits.
The V-2 attacks only came to an end as the Allies advanced across western Europe and took over the launch sites. Although the V-2 rocket did not win the war for Hitler, it was the most sophisticated weapon of World War II and is the forerunner of modern-day missiles.
Map of England and Northern Europe
A
Candle
in the Dark
ADÈLE GERAS
The year is 1938 and the world is poised on the brink of war…
Germany is a dangerous place for Jews. Clara and her little brother, Maxi, must leave behind everything they know and go to England to live with a family they have never met.
ISBN 0-7136-7454-7 £4.99
CASTING
THE GODS ADRIFT
GERALDINE McCAUGHREAN
The year is 1351 BC and a new pharaoh is ruling Egypt…
When Tutmose and his family arrive in Pharaoh Akhenaten’s new city, they are delighted to be taken under the ruler’s wing. But the pharaoh’s strange ideas about religion will change life for them all…
ISBN 0-7136-7455-5 £4.99
ACROSS THE
ROMAN WALL
THERESA BRESLIN
The year is 397 AD and life in Roman Britain is getting dangerous…
Marinetta is a Briton, Lucius is the nephew of a Roman official. When they first meet they hate each other. But when marauders cross Hadrian’s Wall they are forced to work together.
ISBN 0-7136-7456-3 £4.99
MISSION TO MARATHON
GEOFFREY TREASE
The year is 490 BC and Persian forces are invading Greece…
When news reaches Athens that Persian warships are about to land at Marathon, Philip is sent on a mission – to cross the mountains and warn his family of the danger. The race is on … will he get there in time?
ISBN 0-7136-7677-9 £4.99
A GHOST-LIGHT IN THE ATTIC
PAT THOMSON
These are the 1650s and England is in a state of civil war…
When Elinor Bassingbourn steps out of a 17th-century painting, Tom and Bridget are terrified. But Elinor needs their help, so they follow her back in time on an exciting, terrifying adventure.
ISBN 0-7136-7453-9 £4.99
Reprinted 2010
First published 2006 by
A & C Black Publishers Ltd
36 Soho Square, London, W1D 3QY
www.acblack.com
Text copyright © 2006 Alison Prince
The right of Alison Prince to be identified as the
author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance
with the Copyrights, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Print ISBN: 978-0-71367-579-5
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-40815-272-0
A CIP catalog
ue for this book is available from the British Library.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means – graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or information storage and retrieval systems – without the prior permission in writing of the publishers.
Doodlebug Summer Page 5