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The Portsmouth Blitz
The Blitz in Portsmouth killed or injured over 3,000 people and included 67 major bombing raids. It is estimated that 104 tonnes of high explosive bombs and 40,000 incendiary bombs were dropped on Portsmouth over the four-year period of the Blitz.
One of the tragic stories of the Portsmouth Blitz is that of the Wilkinson Girls. There were seven Wilkinson sisters, six of which lived at 16 Cowper Road. Lily, aged twenty-three, was visiting her sisters on the night of the 5 December 1940.
On this fatal night, their house took a direct hit, and six out of the seven sisters were killed, alongside Lily’s six-month-old son. Irene, aged 12, was the only member of the family to survive the bombing.
Air Raid Precaution (ARP) Services staff were tasked with trying to help families such as the Wilkinson girls. These were often part-time volunteers whose role main role involved getting the wounded to local hospitals.
On 10 January 1941, the worst bombing raid that Portsmouth experienced took place. Air raid reports show the chaos felt by ARP wardens. The air raid reports that survive from this night would have been hurriedly written by staff operating the phones in the air raid precautions room. One report from the night showed the civilian devastation, with around 100 people waiting for support on Southsea Common, after the bombing had left them homeless.
To try and counter the devastation that the bombing raids were causing, a deep shelter was dug into Portsdown Hill in 1942. The shelter was designed to hold 2,500 people and residents could enter the shelter if they had a valid ticket. The shelter was self-contained with an electricity generator, it also included a small medical section and a children's recreational area.
Other tactics deployed included ‘Q’ decoy sites. These decoy sites were built in Langstone harbour and Hayling Island. They were sites that contained decoy fires, that would therefore mimic a city being under attack – thus throwing off enemy pilots. The Langstone site was a success, on 17 April 1941, around 200 air-dropped munitions landed there, instead of on the city of Portsmouth.
The Portsmouth Blitz caused much devastation, but it was also a testament to the spirit, determination and community of the city’s residents.