Stephen Doud’s book aims to give ‘the perspective of those who lived through the experience’ but citing the perspectives of those who lived and worked in Belfast at the time.[1] He has used 150 contributions from people’s letters, diaries, interview and official papers to tell the story through the perspectives of those who were there.[2]
The Belfast Blitz consisted of four aerial bombing raids by German aircraft that occurred between 7th April and 6th May 1941. The raids killed over 900 people, injured 1,500 and damaged about half of the city’s homes. Thousands were made homeless and around 140,000 residents fled to the country (a third of the city’s population).[3]
The challenge in producing such a history based on the testimony of witnesses is their choice. Longer extracts could have been useful and may be a more diverse range of contributors, such as working class voices (e.g. James Doherty, Brian Moore[4]) and children (e.g. Elisabeth McCullough[5]).
Nevertheless, Doud’s book is a useful contribution to the subject. He has chosen the contributions of participants well to give an interesting read that conveys a sense of events. He has also fronted sections with useful bits of commentary. This book stands as a valuable companion to Brian Barton’s narrative history of the Belfast Blitz.
[1] Stephen Douds, The Belfast Blitz, The People’s Story (Belfast: Blackstaff Press, 2011), p.ix.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Brian Barton, Belfast in the War Years, Belfast in the War Years (Belfast: Blackstaff Press, 1989), p.233.
[4] James Doherty, Post 381, The memoirs of a Belfast air raid warden (Belfast: Friar’s Bush Press, 1989); Brian Moore, Emperor of Ice Cream (London: Turnpike Books 2021 [originally pub 1965]).
[5] Elizabeth McCullough, A Square Peg (Dublin: Marino Books, 1997).