80 years ago today - Britain Declares War on Germany
Discussion
Eric Mc said:
I think many Brits were secretly thankful that France surrendered. There was a very famous cartoon published in "The Evening Standard" showing a defiant Tommy waving his fist in the air shouting "Very well, alone".
Which more or less sums up the attitude of June 1940 - if not being altogether accurate.
Interesting stuff.Which more or less sums up the attitude of June 1940 - if not being altogether accurate.
Not sure what France could had done at that point, the tipping point was long gone.
Zirconia said:
Eric Mc said:
I think many Brits were secretly thankful that France surrendered. There was a very famous cartoon published in "The Evening Standard" showing a defiant Tommy waving his fist in the air shouting "Very well, alone".
Which more or less sums up the attitude of June 1940 - if not being altogether accurate.
Interesting stuff.Which more or less sums up the attitude of June 1940 - if not being altogether accurate.
Not sure what France could had done at that point, the tipping point was long gone.
Europa1 said:
The Mad Monk said:
The Poles played their part.
Could you expand on that please? Are you referring to a particular event 80 years ago today?Many thanks.
However, Mad Monk mentioned 'Poles played their part' (they certainly did) so I can't wait that long to post this little story.
At that time on that Sunday in question a lone Junkers JU 88 flew over Kidlington airfield (Oxfordshire) at very low level, and dropped 5 bombs.
One hit No. 4 Hangar and bounced into the adjoining armoury building where it exploded. It destroyed the armoury and damaged both No. 4 and the Morris Hangar occupied by Airtraining (Oxford) for repair work.
One airman was killed, two others wounded, and two Harvards were set on fire.
Three bombs fell on the airfield. A fifth failed to explode.
After being made safe a note was found inside this bomb. It was in Polish.
One of the several Polish airman serving at Kidlington was called and he translated the note...
'Made in Poland - No bloody good!'
Serviced and repaired lots of aircraft there during the war - Curtiss Kittyhawk outside hangar in 1943.
ettore said:
DoubleD said:
Dont Panic said:
Zirconia said:
France surrenders today.
What? again?But yeah, there was a run on that idea some years ago. Must admit I took the bait at the time but did some looking and not so. The reasons are long and convoluted and contain a lot left over from WWI and a desire for no more war. What happened after surrender was terrible for a lot of people including settling scores and a sign for what would happen to the UK.
Europa1 said:
The Mad Monk said:
The Poles played their part.
Could you expand on that please? Are you referring to a particular event 80 years ago today?Many thanks.
kowalski655 said:
Europa1 said:
The Mad Monk said:
The Poles played their part.
Could you expand on that please? Are you referring to a particular event 80 years ago today?Many thanks.
I was just confused by Mad Monk's comment as there was absolutely no context - it was sat there in the middle of comments about the fall of France.
Also, military aside (one polish ship in the hunt for Bismarck had to be sent home just in case at the closing battle). The Poles were responsible for the first breakthrough on Enigma. They cracked it. They got the research and how and reverse engineered kit to the allies after a tortuous and scary route. Some of the people that cracked it didn't get to the UK until long after the materials. Some irony they dint work directly on what they had cracked but it was a fast moving thing. Air force was cracked early on and was read through the war. Navel codes were a constant battle to break.
But it was thanks to the Polish geniuses that got there first, the allies got a head start.
Some irony that the Germans were reading a lot of our messages at the outbreak. Not sure when that dried up but there were changes. On my list for further reading. (B-Dienst that is).
But it was thanks to the Polish geniuses that got there first, the allies got a head start.
Some irony that the Germans were reading a lot of our messages at the outbreak. Not sure when that dried up but there were changes. On my list for further reading. (B-Dienst that is).
Zirconia said:
Also, military aside (one polish ship in the hunt for Bismarck had to be sent home just in case at the closing battle). The Poles were responsible for the first breakthrough on Enigma. They cracked it. They got the research and how and reverse engineered kit to the allies after a tortuous and scary route. Some of the people that cracked it didn't get to the UK until long after the materials. Some irony they dint work directly on what they had cracked but it was a fast moving thing. Air force was cracked early on and was read through the war. Navel codes were a constant battle to break.
But it was thanks to the Polish geniuses that got there first, the allies got a head start.
Some irony that the Germans were reading a lot of our messages at the outbreak. Not sure when that dried up but there were changes. On my list for further reading. (B-Dienst that is).
An interesting mini-doc here.But it was thanks to the Polish geniuses that got there first, the allies got a head start.
Some irony that the Germans were reading a lot of our messages at the outbreak. Not sure when that dried up but there were changes. On my list for further reading. (B-Dienst that is).
At this stage of the war the Poles looked like they were down and out. A good number of Poles, Czechs and other Continental Europeans had made their way to the UK but the British authorities had not yet formulated any hard plans as to how they might use them. The RAF was not too keen to make use of non-English speaking pilots - especially if they had the added complication of not been trained in RAF fighter tactics.
ZOLLAR said:
Eric Mc said:
The most significant event affecting this country of the 20th century.
Chamberlains full broadcast here -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcSnKArKz8E&lc...
Never listened to it in full, I wonder how society today would cope with the immediate closure of cinemas or large gatherings for amusement of entertainment (I imagine this includes Rugby, Football etc).Chamberlains full broadcast here -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcSnKArKz8E&lc...
I guess a healthy dose of moaning towards the government!
Edited by ZOLLAR on Tuesday 3rd September 12:22
Sorry, only just started reading this thread.
ZOLLAR said:
Never listened to it in full, I wonder how society today would cope with the immediate closure of cinemas or large gatherings for amusement of entertainment (I imagine this includes Rugby, Football etc).
I guess a healthy dose of moaning towards the government!
Cinemas and the like were closed for a while, but were reopened because it was felt that too much morale was lost by people not being able to go to the cinema. My "Saturday morning children's matinee" - admission 6 pence, resumed after a while, can't remember how long.I guess a healthy dose of moaning towards the government!
Edited by ZOLLAR on Tuesday 3rd September 12:22
FunkyNige said:
Norwich joined the war 80 years ago today - 26 people were killed when a Dornier 17 and a Junkers 88 dropped 11 bombs on the city.
One of the Baedeker Raids IIRC. Was this the incident when workers at Carow were streaming out from the factory just as the bombs fell? When I was a kid there was always what I assumed was a bomb crater on the corner of Bracondale and Riverside Road in a little copse of trees behind a fence.BTW the entire defence of my grammar school's football team was Polish - the offspring of WW2 servicemen. Goalie and full backs in an age when formations were 2-3-5.
Edited by nicanary on Thursday 9th July 16:14
Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff