Belfast during wwii

Leaving Certificate History
Belfast during World War II:
helping students to assess historical significance
http://pdst.ie/postprimary

Helping students to assess historical
significance
• Exploring historical significance of Belfast during
World War II
• Increasing focus on students’ ability to think critically
• The enquiry-focused approach: rationale
• Card-sorting and critical skills (Booklet, pages 29-32)

The enquiry-focused approach
Aims
• To give a clear focus to a series of lessons
• To clarify for all concerned what the learning
purposes are
• To ensure that the sequence of lessons is
leading to improved understanding on the
part of the students

Helping students to assess historical
significance: five Rs
• Revealing
• Remarked upon
• Remembered
• Resonant
• Resulting in change
Which are most applicable to Belfast in World War II?

Belfast during World War II
A two-pronged enquiry to bring the significance
of particular events and developments to the
fore:
o In what significant ways did World War II affect
Belfast?
o In what significant ways did Belfast affect the
conduct of World War II?

Belfast during World War II: an overview
• Involvement: why? Potential contribution?
Implications of involvement?
• Contrasts with other major UK cities? Political
leadership?
• Approach to security? Belfast blitz, 1941
• Strategic importance? Importance of
industries? Other boosts to employment?
• Political impact of involvement in war?

Belfast during World War II: glossary
Developing students’ historical literacy
• Key terms: ARP (Air Raid precautions) warden,
balloon barrage, Battle of the Atlantic, Belfast
blitz, blackout regulations, bombs,
censorship, civil defence, ‘ditchers’,
evacuees, identity cards, Luftwaffe
offensive, munitions firms, rationing,
reconnaissance aircraft

Belfast during World War II: timeline
• 1939 – Spring 1941: political leadership? Role of John
MacDermott? Inadequacy of defences?
• 1941, April-May: Belfast blitz – Scale? Casualties?
Damage?
• 1942: Arrival of American troops
• 1943: change in political leadership?
• 1944: Following D-Day, decline in number of US
troops
• 1945: Churchill’s speech acknowledges NI role

biographical notes
• John Miller Andrews
• Richard Dawson Bates
• Basil Brooke
• James Craig
• John MacDermott
• William Joyce
• Wilfred Spender

useful websites
http://multitext.ucc.ie/d/The_BlitzBelfast_during
_the_second_World_War
http://www.secondworldwarni.org/default.
aspx?id=2&themeid=4

Belfast during World War II: an enquiry
• In what significant ways did World War II
affect Belfast?
• In what significant ways did Belfast affect the
conduct of World War II?
• A possible hook: http://www.u.tv/blitz/
• Questions and issues for discussion

• Enquiry 1: In what significant ways did World
War II affect Belfast?
• Points to note
• Related sources

http://www.secondworldwarni.org/associatedImage.aspx?pagerecordid=123

Source 1d
Belfast is mourning deeply its hundreds of dead in last
Wednesday’s air raid. A most pitiable sight to-day was the efforts
of many of the bereaved to identify their loved ones amid the
bodies collected in St. George’s Market. The Speaker of the
Northern House of Commons (the Right Hon. H.G.H. Mulholland)
was one of the casualties of the air raid. He was on fire-watching
duty at a large industrial concern when a splinter of glass injured
one of his eyes. He is making good progress and hopes to be
about as usual in a few days.
Irish Times, 21 April, 1941

http://www.secondworldwarni.org/details.aspx?id=0&pagerecordid=376

Source 1f
Belfast’s second night of terror was even worse than its
precursor of three weeks ago, although it is hoped that the
casualty roll will not be so heavy as it was on that occasion. The
smoke was merciful. The discomfort of it mattered little when it
hid so much that was not good to look upon. Large areas of the
city were cordoned off and guarded by military. No one passed
those cordons; for, with falling masonry, the danger of
unexploded bombs and recurring outbreaks of fire, it was as
much as life was worth. Whole streets were thus cut off, and
hundreds of people who had no work to go to walked miles
through the smarting smoke and the grime to see the ruin left by
the morning’s bombardment
Irish Times, 6 May, 1941

Source 1g
The arrival of the Americans in Belfast caused a lot of
bad feeling amongst the men. The Americans were so
glamorous compared to the locals who had suffered
four years of shortages.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/24/a2094824.shtml

Source 1h
Douglas Harkness recalled a conversation with a Labour MP, Tom
Johnston, after the 1945 Westminster election. Johnston stated
‘that the attitude in his party was that Northern Ireland had
stood by the United Kingdom during the war in sharp contrast to
Eire which had denied the UK the use of ... the ports, ... and that
whatever views the Labour Party might have had with regard to
the Irish Free State in pre-war years ... the Labour movement
would never forget what Northern Ireland had contributed to
the United Kingdom war effort and ... would solidly support [it].
Brian Barton, Northern Ireland in the Second World War. Ulster Historical
Foundation, 1995, p.141

• Enquiry 2: In what significant ways did Belfast
affect the conduct of World War II?
• Points to note
• Related sources

Source 2a: NI Governor thanks Belfast Harbour
Commissioners
Located right on the flank of the immediate exit to the
Atlantic, Belfast and Londonderry played a very important
part in the vital defence of convoys. How necessary was that
task we may see by the following figures: no less than
85,493 ships were escorted in ocean convoys during the
war, of which only 649 were lost ... By having this fine
Harbour so well equipped and available as an important
War base, the Harbour Commissioners should be proud of
their foresight and work.
Brian Barton, Northern Ireland in the Second World War. Ulster
Historical Foundation, 1995, p.141

Secondary source 1
Its [the Short and Harland aircraft factory’s]
reorganisation – it was taken over by the government in
March 1943 – contributed to a marked improvement in
performance. ... Cumulatively [over the course of the
war] it had completed 1,200 Stirling bombers and 125
Sunderland flying boats, sufficient for over 100
squadrons, and carried out repairs to roughly 3,000
heavy, medium and light aircraft.
Brian Barton, Northern Ireland in the Second World War. Ulster
Historical Foundation, 1995, p.81

http://multitext.ucc.ie/d/A_Shorts_Sunderland_flying_boat_Belfast_Lough_1940

Secondary source 2
During the Second World War the British developed a
network of listening stations (called Y Stations) throughout
the United Kingdom. Two such stations existed in Northern
Ireland – one at Ramore Head, Portrush and the other at
Gilnahirk in east Belfast. The purpose of these stations was
to listen in to the communications being transmitted by
the Germans, record the messages and then send them to
a special team of experts as quickly as possible.
http://www.secondworldwarni.org/details.aspx?id=2&pagerecordid=1419&themeid=3

Source 2b
Just before the Invasion of Normandy ... I turned 16, and cycled out of Belfast
and up the North Coast with my friend Barton McKee for a week's Youth
Hostelling, which came and went too soon.
Cycling back towards Belfast, we rounded the Blagh-hole on the coast road,
and were completely astounded by the sight of our Belfast Lough, totally
crammed with ships.
There were heavily camouflaged naval escorts and a big number of cargo ships,
presumably all carrying equipment and armour for the invasion, and all so
tightly packed in, that it looked to us as if you could have walked straight across
them and into Bangor without getting your shoes wet.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/stories/21/a4565621.shtml

• Card sorting and critical skills
• Rationale
• Potential for literacy development

Group activity
Critical skills exercise

• Historians’ views (Secondary sources A-D)
• Interrogating the historians (p.34)

In what significant ways did World War II affect Belfast?
In what significant ways did Belfast affect the conduct
of World War II?
Your conclusions on the enquiry
Booklet p.34

Belfast during wwii

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