Figure 1.--While most of the children we evacuated, thwre were still many children in Britain all during the Blitz. The attitide of civiliand toward danger changed remaravly. Here a London boy hapily plays near an unexploded bomb. Notice the home made car. Does anyone know what the basket affair is on what I assume is a Royal Mail box. |
The determinnation of the British to resist Hitler is often ascribed to the British character. This may have been a factor, but we believe that the Channel which stopped the Wehrmacht and preparations made by the British Government may have been even more important factor. The British people demonstrated that a prepared civilian population supported by an effective air force would not crack, even under prolonged bombardment. This would be a lesson that the British and Americans would take some time to learn over the skies of northern Europe. British officials at the onset of the War had questioned bombing war industries because it meant the destruction of private property. No one in Briton after the Blitz was asking these countries. Rather than a population cowering and pleading for peace, Hitler created a civiluian population willing to whatwver sacrifices were needed for victory and a population supporing a Government prepared to wage war with the same ferocity that the NAZIs had demonstratred. The British after the fall of France was left with aerial bombardment as the only wat to strike Germany. The bombing was seen as playing an important part in winning the War, but British civilians heavily supported the air bar as a way of paying the Germans back.
One reader has attempted to answer our question about the little basket on the side of the mail box. A reader writes, "This is, of course, WAY before my time and I suspect others will have a proper answer for you, but I see two options here.
1) it is a litter bin and 2) less likely, but it LOOKS visually more likely - that this is some kind of recepticle in which to put your mail? Maybe the boxes were sealed up for security or something? Doesn't make much sense to me though!"
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