What was the impact of WWII on belfast
What was the impact of World War II on Belfast.
Northern Ireland was very important to the war effort. During World War 2, Northern Ireland was controlled by unionists and therefore was still a part of Britain. Belfast was a very important city in N. Ireland. Many things were manufactured in Belfast such as ships, planes, uniforms and soldiers .
In the early years of the war, there were restrictions in place like there was in Britain. These included rationing, censorship and travel restrictions. Despite this, life was nearly the same. Conscription was not in place like in Britain, there was a large supply of food, and there weren’t any attacks. Life was described as being very relaxed with cinemas, dance halls and theatres open throughout the war. Initially, Britain sent troops to N. Ireland in order to stop nationalist threats. Everything changed in May 1940 after the fall of France. This led to a greater chance of invasion through the Irish Free State. Volunteers set up a local defence force, mainly comprised of Protestants and B-specials.
The defences of N. Ireland were highly inadequate. A majority of people believed that there was no threat of attack from Germany, even after the fall of France. People believed that N. Ireland was too far away to be attacked. Minister for public security, John McDermott, was unwilling to spend money and so did little to protect the population in case of an air raid. McDermott built enough air raid shelters for only 25% of the population with all of them above ground. After the fall of France there were still only 24 anti-aircraft guns to defend Belfast. Hurricane fighters were stationed nearby but could not fly at night.it was also organised to evacuate 30,000 children from Belfast, but only 7,000 showed up. Many believed that west minister should be responsible for setting up defence, even though Britain sent over extra fire fighting equipment but these were all sent back.
Northern Ireland was very important to the war effort. During World War 2, Northern Ireland was controlled by unionists and therefore was still a part of Britain. Belfast was a very important city in N. Ireland. Many things were manufactured in Belfast such as ships, planes, uniforms and soldiers .
In the early years of the war, there were restrictions in place like there was in Britain. These included rationing, censorship and travel restrictions. Despite this, life was nearly the same. Conscription was not in place like in Britain, there was a large supply of food, and there weren’t any attacks. Life was described as being very relaxed with cinemas, dance halls and theatres open throughout the war. Initially, Britain sent troops to N. Ireland in order to stop nationalist threats. Everything changed in May 1940 after the fall of France. This led to a greater chance of invasion through the Irish Free State. Volunteers set up a local defence force, mainly comprised of Protestants and B-specials.
The defences of N. Ireland were highly inadequate. A majority of people believed that there was no threat of attack from Germany, even after the fall of France. People believed that N. Ireland was too far away to be attacked. Minister for public security, John McDermott, was unwilling to spend money and so did little to protect the population in case of an air raid. McDermott built enough air raid shelters for only 25% of the population with all of them above ground. After the fall of France there were still only 24 anti-aircraft guns to defend Belfast. Hurricane fighters were stationed nearby but could not fly at night.it was also organised to evacuate 30,000 children from Belfast, but only 7,000 showed up. Many believed that west minister should be responsible for setting up defence, even though Britain sent over extra fire fighting equipment but these were all sent back.