Britain and the Blitz (2025)

[bunniefuu]

[low rumbling]

[distant air-raid siren wailing]

[engine droning]

[booming]

[suspenseful music playing]

[Hitler, in German] England

is the last island standing in Europe.

Come what may, England will break down!

[cheering]

[whistle blowing]

[suspenseful music builds]

[man, in English] It was a total shock

to suddenly feel

that the enemy is so close.

To know that someone

was trying to destroy us.

[woman 1] We all got under the stairs.

I thought, "I'm gonna get burnt alive!"

[woman 2] It was vital and living

'cause you don't know

how long it's going to be possible.

Every moment you're together's

precious, you see.

[Churchill] It may well be

that the final extinction

of a baleful domination

will pave the way to a broader solidarity

than we could ever have planned

if we had not marched together

through the fire.

[haunting singing]

[suspenseful music continues]

[music fades]

[aircraft whirs]

[newsreader 1] If you are

just turning on your radios,

Great Britain is now at w*r with Germany.

[newsreader 2] The Germans occupied Paris

without fighting this morning

and say that the pursuit of the enemy

to final destruction has now begun.

[newsreader 3] History's

most critical days are just beginning.

[officer] Should Great Britain

be conquered,

Hitler knows anything on the continent

is his for the taking.

One, two, three, down.

One, two, three, eyes right.

[pensive music playing]

[Edith] We didn't know

what girls were going to be allowed to do,

but it was exciting.

[indistinct chatter]

[plotter] We've still got two minutes.

[indistinct chatter continues]

[Edith] You see, we were all, what?

Eighteen, nineteen, twenty.

I can't exactly explain it.

It was something quite different

from anything any of us ever done before.

It was very anxious

to be on the plotting side of it

because you knew

exactly what was going on.

[bell dinging]

[newsreader 4] Today,

the eyes of the whole world

are upon England and its people.

Hostile approaching from southeast.

In Sugar one five at zero feet.

[newsreader 4] Upon the men

of the Royal Air Force,

on whom has been placed the responsibility

of defending a little island kingdom

from n*zi Germany.

[tense music playing]

[pilot 1] It's coming close.

I can feel it.

[pilot 2] Keep your eyes peeled.

[radio chatter]

[Edith] You got yourself involved in it,

you see,

and you're sort of saying,

"Come on, get it!"

[man over radio] Come on.

[Edith] It was a living battle to you.

[pilot 3] sh**t him down.

Yeah, he's got him, boys.

Right in the middle. Bloody good show.

[Edith] This is what made the intimacy

between the girls and the boys.

They were such a handsome lot.

I mean, there were budding romances

all over the place.

But, uh, I don't think I really expected

to meet Mr. Gorgeous.

[newsreader 5] If this island fortress

can hold out,

it might effectively help check

Hitler's plan of conquest.

[newsreader 6] Hitler is in a hurry.

Invasion is expected.

[ominous music playing]

[in German] If the British Air Force

drops two, three,

or four thousand kilos of bombs,

then we will drop 150,000,

180,000, 230,000,

300,000 kilos of bombs,

or more, in one night.

[applause]

[Hitler] We will erase their cities!

[cheering]

[Hitler, echoing]

We will erase their cities!

[newsreader 7 in English]

London is at w*r,

and London has had

its first air-raid signal.

[news vendor] Hitler. Read all about it.

[newsreader 8] Britain is concerned today

that Germany is making

gigantic preparations to invade England.

[dramatic music playing]

[newsreader 9] In this country,

it's just been announced

that blackout regulations come into effect

from sunset tonight.

[newsreader 10] 400,000 children

have already been taken out of London,

and more will follow tomorrow.

[newsreader 11] These are days

of solemn hardship,

not the least being the separation

of parents and children.

But the consideration of safety

is of supreme importance.

[train whistle blows]

[dramatic music fades]

[Eric] I was a boy, and, uh...

in those days, big boys don't cry.

We were told that we must not run

to our parents to say goodbye

and have the last hug and kiss.

[gentle music playing]

[Eric] I used to look up

to my big sister Kitty.

I felt more secure

because Kitty had promised

to look after me.

[whistle blows]

[Eric] My mother had a premonition.

[train bell dings]

[Eric] She was sure

that if Kitty and I stayed in London,

something terrible would happen to us.

[train chugging]

[Eric] It was supposed to be a holiday.

That's how it was painted to us.

That marked the end

of one chapter of my life, as it were.

A normal childhood.

We didn't realize

what the reality would be.

[gentle music fades]

[Edith] All we were told

was that battle was coming.

But we didn't really know

what we were up against.

[indistinct chatter]

[Edith] I was on duty.

[unsettling music playing]

[Edith] There was a tally-h*,

a lot of noise, really.

[excitable chatter]

[Edith] And we saw

between 400 and 1,000 Germans coming.

[plotter] Hostile approaching

from southeast.

In Sugar one five at zero feet.

[Edith] And you could see that,

and you were thinking,

"Oh my God, they're going for London."

[unsettling music builds]

[music fades]

[gentle music playing]

[Tom] It was a very warm September.

I looked at the sky.

[serene singing]

[Tom] I saw some fluffy clouds,

tiny little ba*ls in the sky.

I thought, "Gosh, what's that?"

[dreamy string chords playing]

[Tom] We weren't very frightened

at that stage

because we didn't really know

what was going on.

I saw all the bombs dropping from the sky.

[bombs whining]

[Tom] It was amazing.

We went into corridors

at the bottom of the flats

because suddenly, of course,

I realized the enormity of it.

[aircraft whirring]

[booming]

[booming]

[low rumbling]

-[tense music playing]

-[bell ringing]

[fire officer] Order report

to control points.

One hundred pumps from the E

to 60 station to stand by.

[bell ringing]

[people shouting]

[newsreader 12] Good evening.

This is London.

As I am speaking,

great fires are still burning

across the river in the dockyard

and industrial areas of the east side.

All evening, fire engines

from the west end of town

have been screaming eastward.

[man] I had my first sight

of what a fire was really like.

The older fireman, he sort of helped me

by saying, "It's all right, lad.

Don't worry. You just stand by me."

[firefighter] We want three lengths.

[Richard] "Just hold on to the hose,

and whatever you do, don't let it go

because if it hits you,

it could k*ll you."

[firefighter] Stand clear below!

[Richard] The older fireman said,

"You all right, son? You all right, boy?"

You feel scared. You are scared.

[newsreader 13] I'm standing on top

of a very tall building

from where I can see practically

the whole of London spread round me,

and if this weren't so appalling,

I think it'd be one of

the most wonderful sights I've ever seen.

The whole of the skyline to the south

is lit up with a ruddy glow.

It's almost like the Day of Judgment

as pictured in some of the old books.

The Day of Judgment.

-[swing music playing]

-[car horns honking]

[Joan] The tempo's speeding up.

Tonight the blitz started.

The sky over by the docks was red

as if it was an enormous sunset.

What a life!

Never knowing if you're going to be bombed

or seduced from one moment to the next.

I met this really good-looking man

called Rupert.

And he kept trying to persuade me

to lose my virginity.

[ominous music overlaps with swing music]

[Joan] The fact is,

I prefer men to be slightly caddish.

I like men who think they are God.

Rupert is completely at ease

with the universe

and thinks himself a lord of it.

I can't help feeling

that each moment may be my last.

And as the opposite of death is life,

I think I shall get seduced

by Rupert tomorrow.

[swing music resumes fully]

-[air-raid sirens wailing]

-[ticking]

-[booming]

-[music fades]

[air-raid sirens continue wailing]

[Tom] When we came out,

we could hear the fires raging.

We could hear them in the distance

from the docks.

Dad said to me,

before he went into the Air Force,

"Make sure Mum's okay."

And I said,

"Well, there's an official shelter, Mum."

"The ARP shelter. Let's go there."

I felt this was a safe haven.

We wouldn't have any trouble down there.

[bombs whining in distance]

[low rumbling]

[rumbling intensifies]

[Tom] It got hot.

Hotter and hotter.

-[man coughing]

-[child crying]

[thunderous booming]

[Tom] I was calling out for my mother.

I thought, "Are you around?

Where are you?"

And nobody answered.

And I realized

that something horrible had happened.

There'd been a b*mb.

[high-pitched ringing]

[ringing fades]

[newsreader 14] The worst dislocation

and suffering have been caused

in the working-class districts

of the East End,

where whole streets of little houses

have been bombed to smithereens.

[newsreader 15] Tentative reports put

the casualties in Saturday night's raid

at 400 k*lled and 1,400 wounded.

[chilling music playing]

[sobs]

[somber music playing]

[inaudible]

[Bernard] I was in my sister's house

overlooking Brick Lane,

and, uh, Churchill came into that street.

Hearing, suddenly,

shouts and hoorays and boos,

and, uh... there he was, this... this figure.

He did exist.

Churchill's name was anathema in my house

until the w*r came.

And then his name was angelic.

These cruel, wanton,

indiscriminate bombings of London

are, of course,

a part of Hitler's invasion plan.

Little does he know

the spirit of the British nation

or the tough fiber of the Londoner,

bred to value freedom

far above their lives.

This is a time for everyone

to stand together and hold firm.

The citizens of London

are facing a great ordeal,

the end of which or the severity of which

cannot yet be foreseen.

[Tom] I was taken out to the hospital.

My father found me.

I asked him, I said, "Where's Mum, Dad?

How is Mum?"

And he just said,

"She's dead."

[mournful piano music playing]

[Tom] It stabbed me.

It was a real feeling of pain, of anguish.

I'd taken Mum down

to that wretched shelter,

and she'd been k*lled.

I... I... I haven't ever got over it.

I never have. Never got over it.

[newsreader 16]

Her Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth.

[Elizabeth] Thousands of you

in this country

have had to leave your homes

and be separated

from your fathers and mothers.

[determined music playing]

[Elizabeth] To you living

in new surroundings,

we send a message of true sympathy.

And at the same time,

we would like to thank the kind people

who have welcomed you

to their homes in the country.

[guard] Can you please make your way

down the platform?

Quick as you can, please.

[Eric] Someone said we were in Wales.

People talked funny.

And my class went off in one direction.

My sister went off in another direction.

The council ladies had arranged

that the foster parents

would choose which children they wanted.

Finally, I was the only one left,

and there were no foster parents.

Then I got worried.

[whimsical music playing]

[Tom] Suddenly there came

a clattering of feet.

This lady burst into the room and said,

"Are there any vaccies left?"

She said, "I don't much like

the look of him,

and I wanted a girl anyway."

I tried to smile winningly.

And, uh, she said,

"Oh, all right, I'll take him."

And I went off with this strange woman.

No sign of Kitty.

There was a great deal of resentment

against the London evacuees

by many of the people in this mining town

because there had been the miners' strike.

They deeply resented

the London government.

They also deeply resented

Winston Churchill.

And there were three kids I remember,

and they picked on us,

and, uh, we got into fights with them.

[angelic singing]

[Tom] And, uh, my foster mother said,

"You London vaccies come down here

to get away from one w*r,

and you start another down here."

[music fades]

[engines rumbling]

[suspenseful music playing]

[man, in German] We wanted to force London

into an air-raid shelter.

And so we flew nothing

but London, London, London.

Every 20 minutes, in waves.

We believed that this

would bring England to its knees.

[air-raid siren wailing]

[newsreader 17, in English]

This is Trafalgar Square.

The noise that you hear at the moment

is the sound of the air-raid siren.

[suspenseful strings build]

[bombs whining]

[booming]

[suspenseful music fades]

[newsreader 18] Here at Buckingham Palace,

the King and Queen see the twisted

evidence of their narrow escape.

[newsreader 18] Having had

their own home bombed,

Their Majesties speak

with understanding and sympathy

to those of their subjects who have also

fallen victim to n*zi savagery.

[man] When the King and Queen came down,

people were cheering,

but others were saying,

"Go back to Buckingham Palace."

"You call yourselves bombed?

You had one b*mb?"

"We've had thousands."

[determined music playing]

[Bernard] There simply was not

enough safe shelters in the East End.

The Underground

seemed to be the perfect place.

But the government had decided

they weren't gonna open up the Tubes.

[indistinct announcement]

[Phil] We decided to go all out

on the campaign

to open the Tubes for shelters.

[indistinct]

[Phil] The Savoy hotel, that's our target.

[indistinct]

[Phil] Now we're going to aggravate

the situation,

to occupy the shelter of the Savoy hotel.

All in all, 78 people turned up.

We were now occupying a place

where we had no right to be.

And then the police came in.

A police inspector says,

"What do you intend to do here?"

I said, "We don't really want this place.

We want the Tubes opened."

[newsreader 19] The government announced

that people would not be allowed

to use the Tubes for shelters.

But the most remarkable development

of this strange w*r

is the way in which Londoners

have taken charge

and solved the deep-shelter problem.

[Bernard] There were rumors going around.

"Get down the underground.

It's gonna be all right."

We find all the gates closed

and soldiers there.

[people shouting]

[Bernard] More and more people

crowding behind us.

Shaking the gates.

"Let us in! Let us in!"

[commotion]

[Bernard] Suddenly, a great roar goes up.

Somebody in government

had changed their mind.

My father said, "This is a great victory

for the working class!"

[triumphant music playing]

[Bernard] And that was the beginning

of this subterranean life.

[music builds]

[newsreader 20] A new, dramatic phase

in the Battle of Britain.

After weeks of suspense,

the German High Command

has launched large-scale air attacks

on shipping and docks.

Day after day, n*zi bombers and fighters

have roared in hundreds

above the English Channel.

[newsreader 21] This fortress isle

is the last citadel in Western Europe

blocking Hitler's ambition.

[newsreader 22] The RAF

is the best air force in the world,

but Germany still maintains

numerical air supremacy.

[triumphant music fades]

[Edith] We had to win the w*r,

and we were determined to do it,

whatever happened.

We knew we were fighting

for our very existence,

and we... we weren't going to give in.

[aircraft rumbling]

[Edith] There must have been

about a hundred of us, I should think,

and, uh, the men treated us with respect.

We were accepted.

We had a feeling of elation

that we were by ourselves

and we could do our own thing.

[pensive music playing]

[Edith] The first time I met Denis,

I was driving a tractor...

and he threw some sand in my engine

and stopped it.

And I made him start it.

I said, "You stopped it. You start it."

So he did.

Denis was fairly well-built, very upright.

He was reasonably good-looking.

He never really smiled properly

'cause he had two teeth

that he was ashamed of,

but he had his own way of smiling.

And apparently,

he decided that he quite liked me.

And he said, uh, "Are you coming

to the squadron dance?"

So I said, "Yes."

['"Cheek to Cheek" playing]

When we came off duty,

we all flood in, and he's waiting for me.

Heaven

And my heart beats

So that I can hardly speak

And I seem to find...

[Edith] We were very fortunate to meet.

We wouldn't perhaps have met

if there hadn't been a w*r.

Out together dancing cheek to cheek...

[Edith] He was funny.

He was terribly romantic.

We used to laugh a lot.

[wistful music playing]

[Edith] I think it made it more intense,

better, stronger.

And every moment

you're together's precious, you see,

'cause you don't know

how long it's going to... be possible.

["Cheek to Cheek" overlaps

with mournful music]

So that I can hardly speak...

-[music stops]

-[booming]

[newsreader 23] The Battle of London is

now nearly at the end of its first month,

and London still stands.

[chilling music playing]

[newsreader 24] She has been sorely tried,

but her spirit is as good as ever.

[woman] We can take it.

If he thinks he can win the w*r

by bombing women and children,

he's found a big mistake.

This is London.

We're all alive and kicking.

Cheerio. All the best.

-[low rumbling]

-[booms echoing]

[Joan] I'd worked my way up into such

a state of passion over the absent Rupert.

I hadn't seen him for a week.

All morning I was thinking of him

and wondering how much longer

I could bear life without him.

On the way home, I saw 17 German planes

with hundreds of shells

bursting around them.

-[soldier] Fire!

-[booming]

[Joan] I heard a yell.

-[booming]

-[man yells]

[Joan] And there was old R

lurching down the street,

completely ignoring the g*ns.

[lively swing music playing]

Wah-wah, wah-wah, wah-wah-wah-wah

Wah-wah, wah-wah, wah...

[Joan] We found a very classy caf

called Mountview,

with a band in red coats.

Huge mosaic pillars

glittered under the lights,

and I was so happy, I felt almost drunk.

Everything is heightened and speeded up.

[lively swing music continues]

[Joan] We were played out

and wandered our way back

through the wreckage

of Shaftesbury Avenue.

[music fades]

[Joan] We made love very seriously,

and I was filled with peace and delight.

One of the few transcendent

and satisfying things left

in this bloody awful life.

[bombs whining and booming]

[newsreader 25] If the Germans

had been figuring on breaking morale,

they have failed miserably.

[indistinct German announcement]

[newsreader 26] The Germans appear

to have changed their policy

in their attacks on Great Britain

in the hope of doing greater damage.

[cheering and applause]

[resolute music playing]

[newsreader 27] The German leader hinted

that the w*r may last a long time.

[man, in German] We were all aware

this was going to be a difficult mission.

[unsettling music playing]

[Gerhard] Every day,

some of the crews didn't return.

The mood was serious.

Before we took off, I was thinking,

"Will we get back safely?"

"Will I be all right?"

"Will I see my home again?"

[indistinct chattering in English]

[determined music playing]

[newsreader 28] Coventry drew on

its historic past for the Godiva pageant.

Coventry today stands

a great industrial landmark,

thanks to the Countess Godiva,

who stripped herself of her wealth

to win for the city its freedom.

[newsreader 29] An ancient city,

which produced

from its hundreds of factories

the newest machines and engines

in the world.

[newsreader 30] More women are needed

in the munition factories,

in the auxiliary services,

especially women who will leave home

and go wherever they are sent.

[Frieda] It was the thrill

of going somewhere different,

doing something different.

[train announcer] Coventry. Coventry.

This is Coventry.

[Frieda] Even though my dad tried

to talk me out of it.

My dad was one of these people

that always want to keep you all together,

and the only chance to grow up

was to get away.

But no, I was determined.

"I'm going away to do w*r work."

[music fades]

[Frieda] They took us to the factory

the next day.

Everybody was on bikes.

Hundreds, thousands of folks

cycling to work.

[air-raid siren wailing]

[Frieda] The first sirens went.

They said, "Oh, you've brought bad luck!

We're not wanting you here."

[whistle blowing]

[Frieda] They were machine-gunning

the cyclists.

And I said,

"What's happening to these people?"

I saw people were falling off. [chuckles]

-[g*nf*re]

-[commotion]

[uneasy music droning]

[bombs whining]

[Gerhard, in German]

We were all just doing our duty,

and no one was looking to do anything

against ordinary people.

[bombs crackling]

[Gerhard] This whole Coventry strategy,

the way it was to bring fear to Britain,

was completely idiotic.

[Frieda, in English] When the raid

started, we knew it was gonna be bad.

We all got under the stairs.

Everybody said that was

the best place to be, the safest place.

Suddenly, everything's black, and...

there's fires.

And I had this long hair,

and it had started to singe,

and that was frightening.

I thought, "I'm gonna get burnt alive!"

[uneasy music fades]

[indistinct chatter]

I want to remind you

about how very important it is

that all water should be boiled

before being used in Coventry.

No matter where you get that water from,

will you please see

that it is boiled before it is used?

[foreboding music playing]

[Frieda] We came back to Edinburgh

looking like refugees.

I was a nervous wreck.

And the first sirens that went

when I came back,

I used to nearly go hysterical.

[newsreader 31] German aircraft

carried out attacks

on Great Britain last night.

[bombs booming]

[newsreader 31] The raids,

which lasted for several hours,

were scattered over many parts

of the country.

[air-raid siren wailing]

[newsreader 31] Firebombs were dropped

in many places.

Towns on the south coast...

the west of England...

the Midlands...

the northwest.

All the fires

have now been brought under control.

[words echoing]

[newsreader 32] Yesterday's German air

attacks, according to their High Command,

were concentrated on Liverpool

to put Liverpool harbor out of commission.

[newsreader 33] Hundreds of German bombers

concentrating on Liverpool

and inflicted damage

even more impressive than at Coventry.

[woman] Churchill was telling us,

you know, how brave we all were.

We would never surrender.

The people in Liverpool, after that blitz,

would have surrendered overnight.

[haunting music playing]

[Marie] It's all right

for people in authority, isn't it?

You know, who are sitting

down in their steel-lined dugouts.

I was so full of hatred

that the Germans could do this to us,

and we couldn't do anything about it.

We were just people

there waiting to be k*lled.

What do you think about

this question of reprisals?

Well, if I was a man, I'd go over there,

and I'd give them the same

as what they've gave us here.

After all this, what do you think

about us going over to Berlin

and doing the same to them?

I should think so too.

Bit worse than this, I hope,

with a wicked bugger like he is.

And now, sir, do you think

we ought to b*mb Berlin

the same as they're doing to us in London?

I definitely do, sir. b*mb 'em tenfold.

I'm sorry for the women

and children of Berlin,

but what about the women

and children of this country?

[tense music playing]

I am confident

we shall succeed in defeating

this most tremendous onslaught.

Whatever happens,

we will all go down fighting to the end.

[newsreader 34] The twin towns

of Mannheim-Ludwigshafen,

the second-largest inland port in Europe,

is about to receive its attack.

With its maze of docks,

industrial installations,

and chemical plants.

[bombs whining]

[booming]

[tense music fades]

[Edith] When you're living

amongst death like that...

[plotter] Go stand by. Hostile...

[Edith] ...I don't think you ever think

it's going to happen to you.

But you begin to know,

and they begin to know,

when the b*llet's going to strike.

[somber music playing]

[Edith] And they seem

to get a sort of aura.

And you think, "Ah,

you're not going to come home from this."

And they know it as well.

[chatter]

[somber music swells]

[music fades]

[Edith] Denis said,

"When I next have some leave,

could we spend it together?"

And I said, "Well, yes, if you like."

We arranged it, and we went to Cambridge.

It was high romance.

[hopeful music playing]

It was...

quite out of this world, quite literally.

We had dinner and chatted like mad,

you know, like you do.

And then he said,

"I've got something I want to say to you."

And we went to my bedroom.

Now, you never went

into a bedroom with a man.

[woman] That certain night

The night we met...

[Edith] So he went

and got a bottle of champagne,

and he said, uh...

"Will you marry me?"

So I said, "Of course."

And off we went to our respective beds.

It showed a great respect.

He thought so much of me

that he wasn't going to

compromise me in any way.

I may be right, I may be wrong...

[Edith] On the other hand,

I could probably have been persuaded

because if you know

that somebody might not come back,

are you going to miss the opportunity?

'Cause you never get it again.

A nightingale sang

In Berkley Square

[string chords droning]

[music fades]

[newsreader 35] It is Christmas Day

in the year of the Blitz.

Holly and barbed wire.

g*ns and tinsel.

[disquieting music playing]

[newsreader 35] The German embassy

in Washington

says the British government

has been notified

that the Germans

will not b*mb England tomorrow,

provided the British will refrain

from bombing any German territory.

[newsreader 36] Between now

and next Christmas,

there stretches 12 months

of increasing toil and sacrifice.

A few blocks away,

in the underground shelters,

entire families

were celebrating Christmas Eve.

Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel

Born is the King of...

[Joan] I saw there was a big envelope

in the letterbox.

[mournful music playing]

I tore it open, and the nightmare sprang.

Report for military service. Royal Navy.

"Oh God," I thought, "Christmas alone."

I wish I was dead. I want Rupert so much.

Pubs are all full of happy,

drunken people singing "Tipperary."

[group singing enthusiastically]

To Tipperary

It's a long way to go...

[Joan] I spent a dreary night

in an unheated room,

sleeping in my clothes on a hard bed.

-Sweetest girl I know...

-[mournful music continues]

[Joan] Talk about Christmas night

in the workhouse.

[newsreader 37] The undeclared air truce

appears to be continuing,

which in many European countries

is celebrated as a second Christmas.

Both sides seem to have kept

their bombers on the ground.

[newsreader 38] Standing guard

over the City of London,

St Paul's Cathedral occupies

a unique place in all hearts.

[car horn honking]

[newsreader 39] Three times in history,

St Paul's has been destroyed by fire.

[eerie music playing]

[Richard] St Paul's

was a place of worship.

It was a place of trust.

God was there.

If Hitler got St Paul's,

he would break the spirit

of the London people

and the rest of the country.

[in German] England

is the last island standing in Europe.

[words echoing]

[eerie music continues]

[Hitler] The hour will come

that one of us will crack...

[words echoing]

[Hitler] ...and it will not be n*zi Germany!

[cheering and applause]

[booming]

[in English] A heavy

incendiary bombing raid has occurred

in the City area.

[suspenseful music playing]

[bell ringing]

Control has been established

in St Paul's churchyard.

[bell ringing]

[shouting]

-[firefighter 1] Hold it. Hold it!

-[firefighter 2] Stand clear below!

[Richard] We got called out.

Churchill had made it clear

to the fire chiefs. Save St Paul's.

[indistinct]

[Richard] He felt

that if that could be saved,

we've got something to hold on to.

[bombs whining]

[Richard] It wasn't a fire.

It was a firestorm.

[shouting]

[Richard] There was incendiary bombs

coming through the air.

There was thousands

being let down into London.

The heat was so terrific...

it would've got to St Paul's,

and the dome itself

would've just collapsed.

[Joan] The full blast of n*zi fury

hit the capital.

They set the City on fire,

including six churches.

The airplanes never stopped,

and the sound of the engines dive-bombing

was deafening.

[aircraft whining]

[Joan] Flares lit up the street

like daylight,

and the stars were all put out.

[solemn music playing]

[newsreader 40] Pictures that look

like hell on earth.

The world will see pictures of a raid

that was not aimed at military objectives,

only at the things that men and women

have loved for centuries.

The famous buildings

of the civic company, the Guildhall.

[shouting]

[Richard] I started to feel

that I was a man.

We was there doing a job

that was your life

or the life of your mate.

I felt as though, "God,

when I get home, wait till I tell my mum."

If we could keep the fire under control,

it wasn't creeping towards St Paul's.

[booming]

[newsreader 41] This is London.

Very quiet here.

It's now almost one o'clock

in the morning.

The wall of flames

which enclosed a large triangle

in the main business section of London

has now been quenched.

I watched the fires from a rooftop.

It was not hard to imagine

how London must have looked 300 years ago

when that historic Great Fire

raged across it.

From where I was,

one man seemed to throw

a sputtering firebomb off the roof

with his gloved hand.

[Richard] It's a miracle

that those bombs didn't hit St Paul's.

I thought, "God, there's gotta be

somebody there saying,

'You don't touch that.'"

[contemplative music playing]

It has now been proved

that this form of blackmail

by m*rder and terrorism...

so far from weakening the spirit

of the British nation,

has only roused it

to a more intense and universal flame

than was ever seen before.

[music fades]

[newsreader 42] How can we find words

to praise the RAF?

Each day they fly into battle

against heavy odds.

Each day they come home victorious.

[newsreader 43] Britain prepares to repel

the long-threatened invasion.

[newsreader 44] Eighty n*zi planes

came over.

Twenty-five of these didn't get back.

[agitated music playing]

[newsreader 45] This may be

the turning point of the whole w*r.

It is quality beating quantity.

[hopeful music playing]

[plotter] Check one. One aircraft.

[Edith] We didn't believe

that we would lose,

and everybody felt like that.

Well, on the station anyway.

I mean, it was pretty naive.

Denis and I,

we were sort of arranging the marriage

'cause we wanted it to be soon.

He wanted it to be soon.

The officers, they did say

that they didn't like their pilots

to get engaged

because they started being careful.

And you can't be careful

when you're a fighter pilot.

You have to go in full throttle

and not be worrying

about some woman left at base.

-[air-raid siren wailing]

-[bell ringing]

[Edith] There was a big attack

in the morning. I was actually on duty.

I can't remember how many Germans

there were, but it was quite a lot.

[tense music playing]

[plotter] Keep open line.

Hostile approaching from southeast.

In Sugar one five at zero feet.

[officer] Area 243.

Hastings, Ashford, Dover.

[pilot 1] Yeah.

They're firing at us now.

[pilot 2] That was a bit close.

-I think we've been hit, personally.

-[pilot 3] Yeah.

[officer] Have a check on the speed

of fighter 182.

Check the speed on 182 carefully.

[plotter] There's SOS on 207.

[indistinct radio chatter]

[Edith] Somebody said,

"There's a plane going down,

and there's no parachute."

[radio chatter]

[plotter] Stand by.

Hostile 8170 removed.

Change hostile 8171. Do stand by. Hostile...

[Edith] I knew who it was.

I knew it.

Don't ask me how I knew it, but I did.

Our flight sergeant said, "Edith..."

S... Sorry. [exhales sharply]

Anyway, she said,

"Denis is missing."

I said, "Yes, I know."

And how... [softly] Oh, shut up!

[sorrowful music playing]

[Edith] He went down in the sea.

Nothing was ever found,

which is what he wanted.

He always said,

if he was shot down and k*lled,

he didn't want

to have to have a military funeral.

I do wish we'd been married.

That, I do wish.

I wouldn't have cared if it was 24 hours

or two days or five months.

I do regret that.

[music fades]

[cheering and applause]

[commentator] A few members of the crowd

of more than 60,000 spectators

waiting for the final

between Preston North End and Arsenal.

The teams came out together,

Preston wearing dark shorts.

A good deal has been said

against holding this cup final in wartime.

At least it gave the opportunity

for the services and other w*r workers

to refresh their minds

with complete change.

[whistle blows]

-[commentator] Preston attacking again.

-[air-raid siren wailing]

[commentator] They score.

But the game was destined

to finish in a draw.

It's hard to decide if we can afford

this kind of festival today.

[foreboding music playing]

[newsreader 46] There's a ripe,

yellow moon riding over Britain tonight.

The sirens have sounded.

That monstrous roar of engines

is in the air.

It looks as though

this will be a major raid on London.

[newsreader 47] We turn now

to the British capital

for the report of Edward R. Murrow.

[Murrow] Occasionally there is the sound

of riotous singing

or a plaintive voice shouting for a taxi.

I visited a few air-raid shelters.

They were only about half full.

On the surface, there are many signs

of cheerfulness and courage in London.

[air-raid siren wailing]

[Joan] I decided it was time to join up.

I've got through as a plotter.

Before we go,

we get a long weekend's leave.

Rupert writes he could come to London,

although he could be recalled at any time.

I suppose I could meet someone new,

a pilot or something.

[jolly piano music playing]

[Joan] I'm sure I shall never like him

half as much as Rupert.

The party was being held in a vast studio.

We could hear loud thumps in the distance,

but no one took any notice.

-[forceful boom]

-[whining]

[Joan] Suddenly, there was

the most tremendous whining noise.

Outside, all hell seemed to be let loose.

We were all too drunk to care.

[booming]

[booming intensifies]

[booming in distance]

[man] It was a strange night.

People were not scared.

A news vendor had his stand outside...

[vendor] Read all about it!

Read all about it!

...and this bombing was going on.

"Cup final result! Cup final result!"

[vendor shouting] Arsenal-Preston!

Cup final result! Cup final result!

[booming]

[Ballard] There was a prost*tute

coming up from Piccadilly.

Uh, she was singing,

and she had an umbrella up.

I'm singing in the rain

I'm singing in the rain

[woman] I'm singin' in the rain

Just singin' in the rain

What a glorious feeling

I'm happy again

[words echoing]

[agitated music playing]

[newsreader 48] There has been no estimate

of the number of persons k*lled,

but the government has issued a communiqu

which says that the number

of casualties is high.

[solemn music playing]

[newsreader 49] News has suddenly burst

from Europe

that Germany has declared w*r on Russia.

It means that Adolf Hitler

has given up all hope

of any quick conquest of Britain.

[music fades]

[tentative music playing]

[newsreader 50] There was

no German air activity last night.

None today.

It seems a long time

since we've heard the sirens.

[newsreader 51] Cinemas

of Leicester Square are open,

but precautions for the safety of London

are maintained.

And though scarred,

London still presents a smiling face.

The bombing had eased.

My mother decided

that she wanted us home immediately.

So the family was complete again.

First thing the next morning,

I wanted to go and look for shrapnel.

I was delighted to be home.

Kitty and I, we went off to school.

And I went to the junior section...

and she went to the senior.

And to us,

it was just a normal school day.

[school bell ringing]

[Eric] We, um...

went down to the dining area,

and we were having our sandwiches there.

The next thing I knew,

bursts of aeroplane engines

close overhead.

[air-raid siren wailing]

[children screaming]

[Eric] The teacher screaming to us

to get under the table.

I remembered Kitty bursting in

and rushing towards me.

And then the b*mb hit.

[high-pitched whining]

[whining fades]

[Eric] My mother's premonition

had come true.

Something terrible had happened

to Kitty and me.

[emotional piano music playing]

[newsreader 52] The news concerns the raid

by a lone German bombing plane.

[newsreader 53] This was a case

of really sudden death.

Nobody had a chance even to duck his head.

[Eric] Thirty-eight kids were k*lled.

And six teachers were k*lled.

I was dug out.

I was very severely injured.

My mother would come to the hospital

to see me,

and I kept on asking about Kitty.

[music fades]

[Eric] Kitty had come

into the dining area,

and she was dashing towards me.

Kitty had shielded me.

And she were dead.

[sniffles]

[sniffles]

If it hadn't been for Kitty,

uh, I'd be dead.

I've no doubt about that

because whatever k*lled her

would've k*lled me instead.

So I'll never forget that.

[poignant piano music playing]

[Eric] In so many ways, I've been so lucky

because, uh... I've always been able

to do so many things.

Met a lovely girl, married her.

Got three great kids.

[music fades]

[tense music playing]

[Bernard] When the w*r ended,

we were in a different world.

Basically, we needed to pull together.

We needed to be unified.

[dramatic music builds]

[music fades]

[Bernard] The class system broke down.

[cheering]

[Bernard] We thought

we deserved something else.

Life did get better.

[poignant piano music resumes]

[Joan] Sometimes I feel the significance

of what is going on in the world,

but even then, I can't put it into words.

[moving music builds]

[Joan] One half of the world

trying to destroy the other.

Nothing will ever be the same again.

But I don't feel any different

to how I did in peacetime,

except that I'm a bit happier.

[Edith] I don't think there's been

determination like that since.

You see, we were protecting

our livelihood, our... our country,

all our people, everybody.

And that included the civilians.

Going to fight right to the bitter end.

[Churchill] The final extinction

of a baleful domination

will pave the way to a broader solidarity

than we could ever have planned

if we had not marched together

through the fire.

[poignant music continues]