Boyhood lost in Birmingham Blitz

Jack Elphick is an environmental soldier. He's worked to save rainforests in Central America and has been arrested on a Greenpeace protest boat by French commandoes.

He's even hung out in a tree to stop native tree logging on New Zealand's West Coast.

This month Jack might have remembered an earlier time.  War veterans from around the world returned to France to commemorate the 60th anniversary of World War II's D- Day. They remembered those that died in beach battles as the allies attacked German occupied France. These battles helped end the war.

When Jack was a lad the war came to him. He was a boy in Birmingham when the Germans dropped bombs on his town and that's what this week's story is about.

Rewind to 1939

What was happening in New Zealand way back then? Read each statement and decide whether it is true or false.

1. Penalties begin for drinking and driving.

2. More than 5000 New Zealanders volunteer to fight in World War 11. This happens on the very first day volunteers are able to enlist.

3. During the coming war New Zealand will provide more pilots and air crew per head of population than any other country.

4. Bombers ordered for the New Zealand Air Force are given to Britain's Royal Air Force.

5. Unlike the British, New Zealanders are still able to buy as much petrol and food as they always have and this will continue right through the war.

Who's who?

Which sides were these countries on when World War II began in 1939?

Britain, Italy, France, Germany, Russia (The Soviets), USA, Poland, Canada, Finland, Australia, New Zealand.

Think, pair and then share your ideas with a classmate. When you've done that check out the site below and work out the answer together.

Remember this is for 1939 at the start of the war. Some of these countries changed their minds after 1939! 

Click here for the site.

Bombs away!

The main character in this week's story was a boy when war broke out and he lived in Birmingham, one of Britain's big cities.

British leaders knew their towns would be bombed. Their army had been chased back to the sea at a place called Dunkirk and many British people thought the Germans would cross the English Channel and invade. Adolf Hitler decided to bomb British cities instead.

What if you were a British leader in the days before the German bombers came?  What decision could you make that would help protect the children living in these cities. Talk about it with a classmate and then click here to see how close you got.

The Blitz

Jack Elphick was living in Birmingham when the bombers came. Find out on this map whether it is north or south of London.

London was the capital city and it became a main target. Find out about the London blitz on the site below. Here are some answers picked from this site. Read all about the Blitz and work out a question to match each answer.

1. 7 September, 1940

2. 965

3. They could see the fires

4. Every day for 57 days

5. 11 May 1941

Here's the website. This a great site because it includes eyewitness reports from people who were around when history was made.

Wordwise?

All the words and phrases below are in this week's story. Choose (a) or (b) to show the best meaning and then check your answers as you read the story.

1. dreaded (a) feared or (b) bored

2. unscathed (a) unhurt or (b) not worried

3. vivid (a) colourful or (b) very clear

4. apathetic (a) very weak or (b) not really interested

5. oscillating (a) an incredibly loud siren or (b)a siren that goes up and down with waves of highs and lows.

6. demolished (a) wrecked or (b) broken into pieces

7. took the Blitz in their stride (a) didn't worry that much about it or (b) ran from the bombs

8. cavalier (a) an attitude of not giving it the importance it deserved or  (b) a very careful attitude.

9. delayed-action bombs (a) bombs that exploded when they hit something  or (b) bombs that didn't explode until after a set time

10. exempt (a) not allowed or (b) let off

Read on!

Read the first part of the story down to "Bombs begin falling". Here's this week's story.

Imagine being evacuated like Jack was. One day he was home with his mum and dad and the next day he was with complete strangers. Write a thought bubble to match each of the people below.

Jack's mum, the mother of the country family, Jack's dad, a child in the country family, the dad in the country, Jack.

Whistling bombs

Read "Bombs begin falling".

What would you do if you were like Jack and had to live through the Blitz? Pair up with a classmate and decide on the best action. You can find out what really happened at the end of this week's TreasureLink.

The bombs are falling every night. What will you do?

Help make sure things like water and sewer pipes are fixed as soon as possible or not bother because they will be hit again?

Carry on doing what you usually do or hide or move away?

Evacuate the movie theatres when you hear the air raid siren or not bother?

Move to your air raid shelter when you hear the sirens or stay at home?

Blacked out and lucky!

Maybe it was because Jack had such good curtains or perhaps it was just luck that his house wasn't hit. Here's a short story from someone that did get bombed. It's well worth a read. Look here.

Think about it. Was it really worth trying to black everything out? Think pair and share your answer with someone else.

Read the next two parts of this story - "Bombs begin falling," and "Listening for a whistle."

Which shelter?

Jack had a Morrison bomb shelter in his house but more than two million people had an Anderson shelter in their garden. Even New Zealanders were encouraged to have these. Click on the sites below to find out about the Anderson shelter. Look for their good and not so good points and decide which shelter you would go for if had to survive the Blitz.

For Anderson shelters click here.

This site shows you more.

And this site has photos from the time.

Write a caption

People were told to grow vegetables on their shelters. Perhaps the war office wanted them disguised. The cartoon above appeared in a British newspaper during the Blitz. Write a caption for it.

No worries?

Read "Treasure among the ruins" and find out if school just continued for Jack in the way it always had. Find out too why the bomb disposal squads had such a dangerous daytime job.

This part of the story also talks about the Home Guard. The Home Guard was made up of men who hadn't gone to war. Some were older men and there were those that worked in "reserved occupations". These men were not allowed to go to war because they had important skills that the country needed at home.

The Home Guard was formed to protect the country in times of invasion. Britain didn't get invaded but the Home Guard was formed just in case. They were part time soldiers who would meet and practise during the week. At nights they often stood guard at important places. The Home Guard was issued with a manual that gave them all sorts of essential information. Select and read parts of this manual on the site below. It's well worth a read!

Click here to see the site.

What a blast!

Finish the story now and find out why Jack's dad was lucky to make it through the war.

Jack's dad worked at nights on the emergency telephone switchboard. Imagine the calls that came in during a bombing raid. Read the beginning of this radio play and then add to it. Think of the emergency services the operator would have to contact after taking the first call. Write the rest of the play so all the necessary groups are sent to the scene.

Emergency operator: Birmingham emergency, how can we help?

Caller: Yes emergency, a bomb has hit the northern end of Church Street in Aston. Three houses are completely demolished and two more are on fire.

Emergency operator: Thanks caller. Are there any persons trapped?

Caller: There are people in the houses that are down. Two of those families have Morrison shelters but I don't know about the other house. They might have an Anderson.

Emergency operator: What about the houses on fire?

Caller: They are all out except for a young guy in a room at the back of the house. The fire hasn't reached the back but he's trapped by the rubble from the next door house. Oh and operator! There's an unexploded bomb outside the chip shop.

Emergency operator: Thanks caller. I'll get straight on to the emergency services. Aston Fire seems the closest. (Ring, ring)

Aston Fire: Aston Fire Station

Emergency operator: Hello Aston, Church Street has taken a direct hit- northern end. Three houses down, people trapped. Morrison shelters are in at least two houses and possibly an Anderson in the third. Two houses on fire. One person trapped by rubble at the back of the house. Are your engines able to attend?

Aston Fire: Numbers one and two are out already but number three will respond immediately. Suggest you call Central Fire for back up.

Emergency operator: Will do Aston. Good luck!

Photos from the Blitz

Look here for photographs of the London Blitz. Remember too that allied bombers also bombed cities in Germany later in the war. Would the photos from these places be that much different?

Fast forward

New Zealand really did supply more pilots and air crew for the war effort, per head of population than any other country. There's a museum in England to honour them.

One of these men was gunner Keith Coleman who flew 78 combat missions. Keith, 86 returned to France this month for the D-Day commemorations. His missions had helped free France but this time French President, Jacques Chirac was able to return the favour.

Unfortunately Keith hopped on the wrong bus after one of the ceremonies. He ended up at a remote airfield and all the other veterans flew off home on their plane. Lost and unable to speak French, Keith approached "this important looking guy wearing gold braid."

After a phone call or two Keith was shown to a car and driven to another airfield where two Gulfstream jets were waiting. He was given "the best glass of red wine I've ever tasted" and then a cavalcade of cars turned up. Out of one car stepped Jacques Chirac.

"He came over ... I snapped to attention and gave him a little salute ... he put his arm round me. He said he would be happy for me to travel in one of the aeroplanes and gave instructions that I was to be driven to the door of my hotel in Paris."

Keith was pretty pleased to meet the President of France. He returned to England where he's been staying with the pilot of his World War II bomber. They are thought to be the last surviving members of their squadron.

Answers

Whistling Bombs

What really happened?

The pipes and sewers were fixed really quickly so that the whole city didn't grind to a halt.

Many houses had shelters or people were meant to head to the underground train stations for the air raid. A lot of people just stayed at home when the siren went off. One report says that only four percent used their own shelters.

Click to go back to the questions.