The ‘home front’ in Britain during the Second World War holds an enduring place in the cultural life of this country. It has been widely studied in both popular and academic histories. One aspect that has received particular attention is the Blitz, when Britain’s towns and cities were subjected to sustained aerial bombing from late 1940. The way in which the country’s response to the Blitz has been understood has shifted over the years, moving from a homogenous view that citizens all pulled together and stoically carried on to a more nuanced view that takes account of differences such as geography, gender, or class. Studies of the Blitz tend to emphasise certain iconic elements, including ARP wardens, fire-fighters, and the evacuation of children. One aspect of the Blitz not widely covered is repairs to roads and utility supplies (water, gas, electricity, telecommunications) damaged in air raids. The aim of this study is to address this gap by looking to understand how repairs were carried out and the organisations that were involved. To do so, a case study approach was adopted to examine repairs in three cities: London, Coventry, and Liverpool. Research was carried out in city archives, focussed on the records of chief engineer departments and council emergency committees, supplemented with press reporting and existing oral history recordings, and using records from Government ministries and from the wartime civil defence regions.This study places repair work within the context of wider civil defence, concluding that repairs had been part of ARP arrangements from the outset, arguing that they have been overlooked because repairs were part of life before and after the war, rather than being wartime-only arrangements. The research findings for this study suggest that what happened after bombs had dropped in terms of repair organisations and procedures was intimately connected to central/local government relations.
| Date of Award | 1 May 2024 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Katherine Lewis (Main Supervisor) & Barry Doyle (Co-Supervisor) |
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