Barnet at War

At the height of the Blitz, the London Borough of Barnet was under attack from the air with high-explosive and incendiary bombs. Later it was one of the targets for the V1 flying bombs and the V2 rockets. Barnet, like the rest of Britain, was fighting for its survival against the power of Hitler's Germany. This history of Barnet at war begins by describing the build-up of civil defence in the months immediately preceding World War II, and shows how the new organization coped with the casualties and damage caused by German bombing. It pays particular attention to air raid precautions, rescue services, the activities of the fire brigade and the police, the Women's Voluntary Service and the efforts of the hospitals to deal with the dead and injured. The story ends with an account of the last Nazi bombing campaign - the missile attacks of 1944 and 1945 - and records the euphoria of victory celebrations on VE and VJ days. The authors have drawn upon wartime newspaper reports, graphic personal recollections and official records in order to recreate the atmosphere of the time and show how ordinary people reacted to the challenge represented by this period in London's past.