*Please note that this comments section is only open to comments that focus on London during WW-II* . If you want to make comments related to race, immigration, diversity, multi-culturalism, skin colour, obesitas or make nasty or ignorent comparisons between London during WW-II and now then you have not understood the objective of this film, i.e. to forget about today but to go back in time to really understand London's history. Kindly respect my wish to keep my channel historically educational and a pleasure to watch, with decency and respect among all other viewers. If you intend to ignore this urgent request then please leave now, sorry!
I wish you’d just delete the comments and block these people. Most are far right trolls who yearn for the day when all-white indigenous ‘English’ mods and rockers went to the seaside each bank holiday and smashed each other to pieces together with the shops, trains and anyone who got in their way. Or the all-white indigenous ‘English’ football fans who for 30 years in their thousands smashed the granny out of each other each Saturday, demolishing trains, service centres shops and town centres as they went about it.
@@henrysmith883 RUclips filters are already active (in strict mode) plus a long list of banned words plus me regularly cautioning and blocking/deleting comments. So you have not by far seen the worst. London is in a very bad state as regards unrest within the multicultural climate, in fact the worst of all the locations in my world wide videos.
@@Snugggg Not on my channel they don't! I make damn sure that my channel stays respectful, decent and a pleasure to watch. If somebody doesn't like it (like you?) then "Hard Cheese". PS: none of the issues you are reacting to are addressed in the "Top-3".
Marvelous, this film should be shown in every school in the UK with the heading "This is what our forebears went through so we can live like we do today"...
Thank you for putting this together for us all to see. Im half British and half Yank here in the states. My father was a GI glider pilot and my mum was in the RAF. Her father was career RN and rests with all of his shipmates aboard HMS Exmouth off the coast of Wick. I was raised on stories of honor, bravery, tradition, and courage. I am so very proud of my British heritage. I thank God for it every night. Stand fast dear cousins! Remember your roots. The world needs a strong Britain.
These people are what i call, The Greatest generation! Hard working down to earth folks, we will never see the likes of them again! My grandfather was part of that generation and i love and miss him everyday!
The brother of my grandfather was a PoW in England and said the English were strict but fair and polite and actually very kind to them though they were enemies. He always spoke well about the English and had lots of respect for them. Regards from Germany.
And my Uncle (British) was a POW in Germany & always said that they treated him well. Ironically, it was the best thing to have happened to him because he never had to fight or kill anyone on the battlefields.
My mother was 7 yo living in London when war broke out. She remembered vividly the impact of death, destruction and the way of life at the time and the scars she witnessed and experienced, but still trying to live each day. She passed away, but always told family of some of her most surreal experiences that war inflicts. Remarkable footage and certainly an amazing journey to follow.
Thank you , I am 74 now , a post war baby and also grew up with war stories. Will send this to my aunt who is 90 years old and whilst walking in the streets of London at the age of 9 was thrown to the ground and a Canadian soldier lay over her to protect her from injury . Such amazing heroism i!
Well done . My mom was a very sick child during the war . Here on the coast many soldiers were posted for a time before being shipped overly over seas seas . During that time my grandmother used to do there laundry during which the troops took it upon themselves to to collect money to pay for her hospital care as there was no government health coverage at this time . These soldiers manned search light batteries along the coast etc . They were members of the nova Scotia pictou hilghlanders . The troops would make trips to visit her in hospital as well as send her letters from over seas . She in turn would record messages on wax drum type recorder to them as well they would come to see her and play the bagpipes for her . Thanks for your efforts to keep history alive . Lance Peters
My father fought in WW11 and my grandfather in WW1. I remember a time not so long ago when these veterans were everywhere. Everyone's dad or grand dad was a veteran of one or the other war. I guess I took it for granted that they were all still with us because today I realise that living history is just about all gone now. It makes me sad that I didn't ask more questions, or take more notice. They were the greatest generation of all time!
My Grandad was an ARP near London Bridge. He won a medal saving some people trying to remove a barrage balloon from a block of flats. My Grandmother was injured by shrapnel from a V1 going into the shelter. They told us some very disturbing stories like bits of people and children in the street and a parachute mine going off when it was being disarmed. Brave people.
I am an American, with an English mother and American father. My father was born in 1914. My mother in 1920. My mother and many generations of her family lived in London and the surrounding areas. My father was drafted into the U.S. Army and sent to England in 1940. My parents married in London in December 1942. My oldest brother was born in England in 1944. The same year my mother, alone immigrated to the U.S. Later in the mid 1960's, I and my younger brother, with our mother, returned to England to visit with her family. I have many fond memories of that visit. I was taken to see broken and damaged building in London. I don't think I realized at that moment, I was looking at damage that had occurred during World War 2. It was like being in another world. Among people, who were family. Who spoke English, that I barely understood! I am very proud of my English heritage. Great video. Very appreciated.
From Keith Western: So very worth watching. I was born in Wembley, London, in 1941 and could relate to a lot; it brought back memories--use of the ration books, Americans being so kind, when food was short and candy was practically non-existent. My Mother told me that she was washing me on the kitchen table one day in 1943 when the upstairs neighbour rushed in and said "Lena, we have to go to the shelters immediately!!! The bombers are coming". Another time kids were in line for ice cream and they ran out before I got mine, and ice cream was only available once a week. The American GIs, driving by in their jeeps, asked why the kids were crying and when told the ice cream ran out they drove back to the base, got all their ice cream and brought it to the kids...and didn't ask for any coupons from the ration books or anything. I also remember that the American GIs used to throw candy to us kids as they drove by. My Dad was in the Home Guard, and he also worked for British Oxygen Company that made oxygen tanks of all kinds for the war effort, particularly for pilots. And our generation and younger generation need to know this history, "lest we forget". My wife born in 1947 in Canada said she learned a lot that she did not know from this amazing video.
This beautiful film made me weep my mother and Father told me many stories of their lives in London and it was so sad and brutal what they went through and still kept smiling . One of my mums favourite stories was about their Friends Bert and Carrie White who lived up the street from our house . They were lying in bed when the air raid sirens started wailing and they were supposed to go down their garden into the shelter there . They decided to stay in bed and lay there listening to the Doodlebugs explode after they ran out of fuel and then the awful silence until the bomb hit the ground . Carrie said to Bert oh that was a bit close Bert said Don’t worry love we will be alright because I’ve shut the side gate a ridiculous thing to say but very funny my mum used cry with laughter telling me that story 😂😂😂
Thank you for giving me (someone who wasn't alive at the time of WW2) a much better understanding of how the war effected everyday people. I can't imagine having to try and continue to live day to day with the fear, loss and anger of what was occurring. This telling has given me a much better perspective of the war. Great job!, Cheers
The incredible amount of work that went into this, is greatly appreciated. Everything is getting more real when it is in color and adhanced. Many thanks from Dieren
@@Rick88888888 YIKES!!! A real labour of love. Mind you, long after we are all dead and gone the video will still be here (apologies, after reading Rick's top three tedious comments I couldn't resist that little bit of irony!).
My grandmother raised my mum and my uncle and aunt through the war. She was saying how horrible it was when the air raid siren went off you had to drop everything and head out for the shelter, not knowing if your house would be standing after the raid. Hats off to those that survived this, resilience shows itself.
There is something seriously edifying about seeing how together people were with one goal. How they all shared the same want to stay alive and survive. Singing songs and working together in unison. Everyone for themselves these days. God bless you for sharing this footage with us.
Thank you very much. Yes it was a different era with far more harmony, respect and social behaviour. Diversity to my opinion causes these things to move in the opposite direction and I keep wondering why people state that "diversity is our strength". I'd hate to think what would happen if London would become involved in a future war. It probably will be "everyone for him/herself"...
I was born in Canada in 1946. My father was a leading coder aboard a corvette and then in St. John’s, Newfoundland. He thankfully survived and I grew up with many stories of his experiences and a strong appreciation for what people went through and and the utter heartache and devastation that war brings. We had strong family connections in Britain and so I was able to learn of the experiences of others first hand. Sometimes I almost feel as if I were there. I agree with your statement that history repeats itself and if we don’t learn lessons from it now, we are doomed to suffer the consequences again.
Hello George. My mother drove ambulances during the London Blitz. Later she worked for the Realist Documentary Film Unit. My dad, Alexander Craig Risbridger an engineer born 1907. Visited Canada circa 1924. To begin his career. Sadly dad and mum parted for keeps 1964. So we ever saw him again.. but corvette rings a bell. I think he saw action on them. I never got the chance to ask dad, about it. He lived until 1979. But his behaviour was so scary. That in 1964. He had to change. For our sake. He chose not to. Never mind.
My Nana was a nurse in London during the war, married a Canadian soldier ( my grandfather) and lived in Canada after the war. What a generation! Sadly gone and forever missed. Thanks for this wonderful video.
Rick your work is utterly amazing...!!! Please accept our heartful & grateful appreciation for your work... Please also let your wife know, her letting you edit these films brings many joyful happy tears for my My Wife and I remembering our parents that were in the war during this time and who are now gone... ❤❤❤❤👍👍👍👍
Thank you very much. I just told her! Don't worry, she likes what I do, but sometimes I get a little bit too fanatical when restoring these old films (letting my coffee go cold and that sort of thing) :-))
The performer at 7’ 30” is not Bill Oddie, as the commentary suggests. He was born only in 1941. It is in fact Bill Owen who, as the commentary rightly says, went on to play Compo in Last of the Summer Wine
What a great video, Rick. I love it! It's true that younger people don't know much about this as to them its ancient history. But I was born in 1950, and "the war" was still part of our lives until the 60s at least. I still find it fascinating, and still love original films like this. This is a real service you've done! My parents were both adults then, dad was 30 in 1941, and joined the US Navy. My mother was in her late 20s. Both well educated and intelligent, met and married in San Francisco in 1948.
This wonderful. I’m 83 this year, so remember very little of the war. My dad was in the RAF, after the war he went to the far East for two years. So mum and I lived with relatives in Cheltenham. I miss going to London , because of the train strike. Let’s hope everything resolves soon.
The people in war time London showed so much courage and gallantry. may their memory never be forgotten, something you are helping with, helping the people of today understand what really happened. long live london, Britain, and her incedible courage during WW II !
Both my parents lived through WW2. My father was already in the RAF. He wanted to be a pilot but was red/green colorblind so that was not possible. He ended up fixing Spitfires & putting on USO shows instead. I have notebooks of his scripts, many of which were musicals set to Gilbert & Sullivan tunes with own words. No copyright probs then! My Mother was 16 when the blitz started. They lived in Wood Green in N. London. She used to do her homework by candlelight under the heavy oak dining table. They also had an air raid shelter in the back garden. Her mother refused to let her be evacuated. One night the row of houses behind theirs got blown up. Every day there would be fewer children at her school not because they were evacuated but because they had been killed or wounded overnight. She went on to do some kind of secret war work with radios. She didn't talk about it explicitly as she had signed the official secrets act. I know she wasn't at Bletchley. They met at Teachers training college after the war. They were both engaged to other people but got married 6 weeks after they met. I was the first of their 6 children. My dad passed away shortly before their 50th wedding anniversary. She lived another 20 years. He was 9 yrs older than her. They were wonderful parents.
You might think you have only scratched the surface of the story, but i haven’t seen this much footage of London during war time and that is amazing to see this👀
I was born after the war in 48, rationing was still going for quite a while after then too. Definitely a gentler time, wish it was still like that such a lovely film, thank you.
It might have been troubling times in war. At least there was still great music. They did what they had to do. Hitler still couldn't invade London. no matter What he did. I proud to call London my home. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. all the men and women who sacrificed there lives so we could have a better future. May they rest in eternal peace. 🕊️ We will remember them🌹. from 🇬🇧👍👍 an old cockney gal
I was born in Harrow Weald in May 1945. My parents would have loved your videos Rick. Even I can remember my early school days in London and being with my Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles before we departed for Australia permanently in 1952. Your work is very evocative and there is an innate charm in all these images despite the loss and hardships of many. Great work Rick.
The fact that the content creator feels the need to issue a stern, pinned censorship warning to anyone who dares to compare the London of yesteryear with the London of today, speaks volumes for the sorry state of what modern Britain and its capital have become. I dare not say much more for fear that this comment will be blacked out but suffice to say that the London of the 1940s, despite the privations of war, looked a decent and respectable place to live with good people who had much in common and a shared desire to pull through together. What they would make of the London we have delivered thanks to their sacrifice and bravery, we will never know. And I'd better not speculate. My congratulations for the stunning way this old footage has been remastered and put together - very impressive.
It's because the older generation gets frightened by change and feels the need to project that fear as hatred onto other people. There were still slums in several areas of London in the 1940s, not to mention devastating pollution from factories, whereas now almost everyone has central heating, electricity, cleaner air and access to any cuisine in the world - how can you think that things are worse than before? We are lucky to lead the lives we live today.
@@samc1856 I'll be part of the "older generation" in 15 years or so. Actually, let's make that 20 years. You're as young as you feel. I'm guessing I'll be about as frightened by "change" in the years ahead as my middle-aged self is currently. Some change is worthy of being frightened by - whatever one's age - because it's simply unwelcome. There are demographic movements afoot in this country right now (choosing my words carefully) that are destabilising and divisive and making us unhappy. And in fact, it's the young who will suffer most. You're right, there are many things today that are better than yesteryear, as you highlight. But some aspects of modern life are a good deal worse, and we all know what those are.
My parents met in London in 1944. Thank you for posting this. They are long gone, I love to remember them as young professionals looking forward to the war ending.
I was born in 1938 and lived near London and remember many of the things in your excellent film scrapbook. A V1 brought in the door on my mums head and I collected shrapnel stroked the milkman’s horse and admired the yanks in the West End , threw paper out of my mums office window on to the victory parade .
*ATTENTION* : About *90%* of the comments about old London are *COMPLAINTS* against what London now has become. Many of such comments are distasteful, rude, terrible and often full of hatred, involving race related issues and migration. Just to point out that, although I most certainly understand the sentiment of such comments, my channel is *NOT* intended to be a sewer filled with only discontentment. My channel is intended for everyone to *better understand history* and to avoid repeating the mistakes that humanity has made over and over again. Yesterday I closed the comments section under my other video about London during WW-II because the comments had become unbeareable. Please don't let this happen to my other videos! *ENOUGH IS ENOUGH* and *FROM NOW ON ANY COMMENTS RELATED TO RACE AND IMMIGRATION WILL SIMPLY BE DELETED* . In any case, complaining via RUclips is largely futile. If you are so unhappy then you should do something about it, e.g. by electing the right people next time. *My channel will no longer be a platform for widespread uttering of discontentment* . Please understand! Thank you.
I was born 1948 and that’s all everyone talked about. The war! My aunt trembled her whole life from the blitz but never missed a day of work as stenographer at the Egyptian Embassy. Dad was in Burma and was fortunate to survive that campaign. Mum was an evacuee. I do t think any of us realize how terrible it was to live through. I remember the bomb sites of London. Cleared of rubble but not yet rebuilt. I remember the blackened buildings and the great surprise when they washed St Paul’s. The underground was small, poky and blackened as well. Also the clanking wooden escalators. As a child I was terrified for my toes at the top and bottom.
Thank you for this channel! It's good to see what my parents would have experienced. They are long gone,miss them,so much. Very proud of the sacrifice paid for our freedom by the war time generations.
Thank you, it is an eye opener. All those buildings build in the 1950's to replace the old Georgian and Victorian buildings are like ground zero monuments😢
This is a remarkable film and seeing these images in colour and cleaned up make them so much more relatable. My parents and grandparents all lived in London throughout the war. My Mum was never evacuated even though she was only 7 at the outbreak. She found the V1 bombs the most scary, but generally said her parents did a remarkable job of always making her feel safe. My Dad was 14 at the outbreak and had been conscripted by the end of the war. He was in the RAF. I grew up hearing stories of the bombings and how my Mum slept in a shelter in their yard. Her father was a builder and so obviously very busy. My Mum's school was bombed and so was her auntie's house. Seeing these images has really brought back some of the memories of stories told to us by my mother. Also, some of the images, like the underground, really took me back to growing up in London. I was born at the end of the 50's. People used to dress so smartly and the world was very different. Not better, not worse, just different. This film should be shown to all teenagers whilst studying history at school.
I was born 11 years after VE-day. My grandparents - who raised me - both were active in WW2, and told me much of those times. One thing that struck me, was the camaderie - the "We're all in this together" attitude.
I am a 55 year old man who wasn't born then but I have always had an interest in the first and second word wars. Just wanted to thank you for sharing these amazing videos and especially that there in colour showing us all how our capital has changed also showing us that the people of yesterday were kinda friendly people from over countries were welcomed very warmly by us British we all pulled together.very sad that today's people don't have the same values as the people of yester year thanks again for uploading this video 👍👍👍👍👍
My mum is still alive,still drives her car,you would never guess her age(91)Didn't get evacuated lived through the Blitzl,looking up at the Barrage balloons,rationing,dog fights,stayed in Islington N London,V1s,V2s remembers everything so vividly,I love talking to her about her experiences. Excellent film thanks
Great work!! Well done & thank you for taking the time to put this together in such an insightful way! I revisited the cottage & village my dad was evacuated to in Cornwall when he was a boy on fathers day about 5 years ago. I was lucky enough for him to be able to give me a guided tour of the village by my dad while he was still able to recall his memories & I am so glad that I took the opportunity to take him back down memory lane for the last time just in time before his dementia got the better of him. His younger sister broke her nose as a baby on the roof of the Anderson shelter as the result of a near miss from the blitz in the east end. My mum told me how she got so fed up of coming downstairs & going out in the middle of the night to the freezing cold shelter during the air raid's that she used to stay in bed & take her chances telling herself that if it's got her name on the doodlebug then so be it, but still dreaded counting down between the buzz-bomb going silent & the explosions like thunder & lightning. My Dad's dad served as a home guard on the Isle of Wight & came home to East Ham to find his shoe shop bombed so had to re-locate to live & open a new shop in North London. My Dad went on to do his national service & serve as a radar technician in the R.A.F. I was born in the mid 60's, grew up & still seen a substantial amount of derelict premises & bomb damage scars left over from the war. which were great places to play & have adventures as a kid but suprising to see that even in 2012 the Olympic village was being built over old bomb damaged factories that I had passed by on a daily basis for years beforehand. Even more suprising perhaps is the fact that WW2 was referred to as the war to end all wars by the veterans that survived it only to find this most important & valid lesson has not been learned!!! However, may I recommend the Blitz experience at Flambards, Helston, Cornwall. Well worth a visit!!
My Dad was a "Desert Rat" one of the first, ended up spending 3 years in POW camp, my mum at 18 went into the Land Army for short while and then Joined the ATS, her last posting was at a mixed Battery in Kent on the Ack Ack guns The houses behind the ones my mum lived in [Victorian Terrace] were destroyed by a land mine, the blast took the windows out of my mums house and the rest of the road [7 houses] they lived in New Brighton, Cheshire
Thank you for this wonderful video. My dad (Yank) was station in Sussex and experienced some bombing when in London in '42. He received two bronze stars as a gunner, and radio man. He told us all about it. He was also in the African theater and Italy.
Fascinating! Thank you. For me the documentary is strangely familiar. I was born in London in 1947. The city was still rather beaten up when I was a teen. LOVED the documentary and the music you chose to accompany the footage.
Rick, thank you for this wonderful compilation of film! God bless the memory of all those who fought for our freedom - may we be worthy to enjoy it forever. Warm greetings from California!
I enjoy looking out for my young parents. Never seen then but it's nice seeing their world. Sadly in many ways better than today. Thanks for doing a good restoration and up loading.
I watch alot of WW2 videos online. This has to be the best I have come across regarding life for the average citizen during the blitz. It demonstrates all that generation went through and highlights their amazing courage. We owe them everything.
My mum was in London throughout the Blitz and a good part of the war. She told me a lot of stories about how it was. She was bombed out of 3 flats, and one night in the blackout she fell into a crater. She had her knitting with her, so knitted until a couple of soldiers walked by and pulled her out. At the end of it all she was flown out to Singapore for clean up, she was in the WVS. She had stories about that time aswell.. i really love these docus. I was born in 1950 so there were still rations, a lot of bombed out buildings, but everyone mucked in together and helped each other. Thank you for these, stay safe.
I love a good WW2 documentary. This though, was by far one of the best ive seen. Halfway through i thought, 'It would be a great finishing touch if he spends a wee 5 mins at the end talking about the end of the war.' And you did! Brilliant.
What really stands out to me is how good everybody’s posture is. Every person is standing perfectly straight, no slouching. Things have really changed now that everybody just sits 24/7.
Brilliant footage and so clear. Very well edited too. My 91 year old husband was born and raised in Kingston Upon Hull. He vividly remembers the strain of the war on families. His father was in the army.
I have talked to many canadian WW2 veterans from western Canada and they often talked about how overwhelming London was at first for them; many being from isolated farms or very small rural villages and the biggest city many had seen was perhaps 40,000 people in size; ...the Underground amazed them all, this being at a time when a subway was still decades away in Canada., and they could not get enough of riding the trains. More than a few actually met their future wives on those trains.
It should be noted that the massive canon shown at 08:42 would lob massive shells at the bombers . They didn't explode in the air , they came back to earth and exploded . In London . Not civilized behaviour . All in the name of 'morale' of course .
I have just recently discovered your channel and so glad I have. I was born at the end of wwll and find your film is a great help in understanding what my parents went through. Thank you very much in putting your film and narration on line.
Great work, Rick. Despite the sheer horror of the blitz, it's apparent from your film that the people of London showed a great deal of determination and community spirit in the face of the destruction of their city. My opinion is that this spirit came from a common shared experience and shared values - a way of life worth fighting for.
Excellent, well said. With the fighting now on European soil, in June '44, What a terrible shock it must have been to the public in general, when the V 1 & 2's started to fall.
I really enjoyed this. Thank you so much! My mother was living in London during the blitz, working at St Thomas's Hospital. We grew up with so many stories of war time. My father, an Australian, met my mother after he was wounded in action. You bought this period of time to life for me.
I was in London late last October, one of the things I had to do was to climb to the top of the dome of Saint Paul's Cathedral. I've seen the old newsreels from the time of the Blitz, showing the entire neighborhood around the Cathedral, all the way up to the river Thames. Nowadays its simply impossible to imagine what it must have been like to be one of the numerous firefighters trying to put out the fires or being one of many of the volunteers who had the job of keeping Saint Paul safe from the neighboring blazes. Amazing.
My aunt Esme, who never missed one day of work as a stenographer during the blitz, told us that the bus got to St Paul’s and they all got off and carried on on foot! There were hoses all over the road and devastation everywhere. Yet they walked in their high heels and all dressed up to work as tho nothing had happened. Truly remarkable.
Excellent video. Well put together. The 1940s are the era myself & my husband are very interested in. I am 66 & my husband is 70. People seemed very strong willed back then & the camaraderie was good. My grandma had 10 children and sometimes ended up putting somebody's kid in with her own she was so tired. She baked her own bread so they could have 1 slice of bread & dripping for breakfast. She was an amazing cook. However, food was very limited, but although they were hungry, they didn't starve. This was in West Yorkshire.
Jon do you know which ambulance stations in London you're dad drove from? My late mum. Pamela then Geary drove ambulances during the London Blitz. I can't remember maybe Chelsea.. mum refused to talk about the horror she'd seen.
My dad was a B-17 pilot and he was stationed in England during world war II. He ended up serving 28 years total. They would also fly over Holland and drop care packages and supplies for the people during that time.
My father was born in 1943. He’s still alive - and living in Germany now. It’s amazing how the world changes and grows. The city where I grew up was so badly scarred by the Second World War. Even now, one of my neighbours still has an Anderson shelter in their back garden (it’s used as a shed).
Thank you, that was interesting. My granny's mum lived in London in the war. I remember Great-Granny Barnes telling me about the barrage balloons and she would say "Gor blimey!" a lot when talking about the bombs dropping on London.
I was born at Uxbridge in April 1938. All aspects of the video are familiar or experienced by me with the exception of evacuation and London streets. My father was initially in a reserved occupation but subsequently was conscripted into the Royal Engineers Dockyard Reconstruction Unit, serving in Antwerp, Bombay and Singapore. My father, a Scotsman, requested my mother and I lived with my maternal grandparents, which we did. My grandparents kept a boarding house that was requisitions by the Government and we had airforce personnel billeted with us. There was a bombshelter in the garden sleeping up to 10 people made of a Nissan shelter and a car body. At school we spent many lessons in a bombshelter made of large diameter concrete pipes. My grandfather was a Station Foreman at Hayes working for the GWR. He had a large allotment and we kept rabbits and chickens. I could go on as my life during the war was wonderful. 1962 was a seminal year destroying the Britain I loved and respected.
I was born in 1950 in London and brought up on wartime stories. My Mum and Grandmother, Dad was away fighting , were bombed out of thirteen houses. Each time they were given another house it was always along a railway line. I Remember in the mid 50's there was still ruins from the bombings around Kings Cross. Although people had a terribile Life during those years my Mother told me everyone was so friendly
Lost my dad New Year’s Day at 79 years of age, he was born and bred in the east end, Stratford in fact, he said east London in the 50’s, 60’s & 70’s was such a great place, I always said to him he lived through the best eras, I wish I was born in 1943 the same as him rather than 1976, the uk as a whole is in tatters now, mass immigration has done is no favours.
I was born in 1939 and lived through the war. I worked in Stratford in 1962 as an insurance agent and it was not a great place. You would be shocked at the poverty I am afraid.
Rick your best ever. Thank you so much. The personal details about your parents make it special. My cousin died at Arnhem and lies in the beautiful churchyard at Maurik tended by the wonderful Dutch people.
Thank you very much. Yes this was my most complex project ever. It has two video tracks, one text track and 3 audio tracks in my video editor, plus a detailed script that I wrote before starting any editing... I frequently lost track of where I was in this 60 minute film.
My mum was 12 years old from Battersea at this time and absolutely refused to be evacuated. She ran off with some of her friends and hid in Battersea park. But came back in time for tea. She loved those "good old days".
Thank you for putting this together! I don't understand why people won't take the opportunity with the footage and such that we have, to learn about our past. We used to have to rely on artist's interpretations of things. Here we have these clear videos, or have the ability to clear up the fuzzy ones.
I was born after the war so have no first hand experience, but have read extensively. Recall my first visit to London on the 30th anniversary of the start of the Blitz, coming out of a theater to the sound of the air raid siren and searchlights in the sky; apparently some sort of commemoration. There was still visible reminders of the bomb damage. I am, thankfully, not one who views that time through a modern lens with criticism in mind. I have always been amazed at how the people of that small island held on, and fought back. Makes me very proud to share some of that British heritage! Thank you for your film; some, of course is familiar but the detail you provide is new. Well done!
I've got to say this has been one of the very best documentaries I've seen on War Time London!!...as a 60s baby I never saw any of WW2 although War was only 15 years past when I popped into the world my mum would tell stories of living through the blitz in London area and one was a meshershmit chasing people down a high street shooting its guns as people ducked into Woolworths shattering the glass !!! . That just seems too barmy to even think that that could happen !!!! THE DOODLE BUGS !!!!! Was,a terror attack she remembers well .being in the shelter singing songs like run rabbit run. my mum died of emphysema in her 70s im sure all the smoke from the fires in London would never have been a help along with the toxic chemicals the old Victorians may have used to build houses who knows ..but Thank you for this very imersive and educational video !!!
Thank you for a truly great look at wartime London - the way you've personalised it using your parents' memories is so good. My wonderful mum had just become a teenager when war broke out, felt and she missed out on teenage life as it would have been during peacetime. My gorgeous, talented mum died in February, but finished writing her book My Story As I Remember It, just two years earlier. In it she describes the war, of being bombed out, rationing, being asked to join ENSA (but sadly, her parents thought she was too young, even though she would have been chaperoned), fear of being 'called up', working in a munitions factory and meeting my dad. I'm so proud of my mum.
Hello Rick, We published it independently as it was intended for family and friends. However, we were very proud that the Imperial War Museum and The British Library accepted a copy for their archive, and I've deposited mum's book with Thurrock Museum, so I'm not sure how accessible it is to be able to read it. @@Rick88888888
So Glad I came across this video, My mum was evacuated from London during the Blitz and her Dad were in the war… Luckily he survived I used to watch my nanna making jellied eels that my grandad had caught while fishing He grew all his own veg in his back garden .. Mums sister worked in the ammunition factory’s as she were older than mum I remember mum telling me the girls would draw a line up the back of their legs to make it look like they were wearing seamed stockings My mum would draw them on for her sister, I still remember my Nan scrubbing her front step everyday And she always had a huge pot on the boil with her whites in and she’d pull her whites out with huge tongs and put them through her mangle I used to help her hang them out So many memories came flooding back to me of my grandparents watching this Thankyou for sharing it was wonderful to watch
@@Rick88888888 she has endless stories, I would be typing for a week. She lived in Scotland and was never effected the same as people in the main cities. I also have a diary from my aunt for most of 1941. She was in Leeds, which escaped much of the bad bombing. I should really write 2 books 🤦🏼♀️ Thanks for your interest
@@Fees-Shed You and VinceKerrigan should Both publish these stories, even on a blog! It is Stories that make up history; that is really the only way to convey it to future generations.
I'm 49 and have noticed in the last 20 years that portions have increased enormously, but also the kind of food and snacks are so much more fattening and decadent. When I was a child, my mother cooked the evening meal and there weren't seconds on offer and a snack would be a jam sandwich or something similar. Now there are loaded milkshakes, giant fondant covered cakes, ice cream, deep fried this and that, syrups in coffee, fast food outlets everywhere. Even a muffin from a coffee shop chain is enough for two people - it's just sheer gluttony wherever you look.
My late grandmother Harriet was from East End of Londen. She has been through the bombing of London and lost most of her family during the Blitz. She found a new family with my late grandfather Huig. Who wss a Dutch servicemen based in London. After the war my grandfather took my grandmother to the Netherlands. I Have always loved the way she never fully spoke Dutch many years later. And I really enjoy your content, Rick88888888! Especially the work you have put into this. Mooi gedaan.
I remember the second time I visited London I went to Saint Paul's and took the stairs to the cupola of the dome itself...what an absolutely incredible view! Walking around the perimeter of the dome, one can see that London indeed has continued to grow and become a modern, yet beautiful metropolis; it was when I was looking out towards the Thames, across the that pedestrian bridge, I think it's called the Millennial Bridge, and trying to imagine what it was like during the Blitz. Watching videos about the Blitz on documentaries, the entire area around Saint Paul's up to and across the Thames was completely engulfed in flames! I know there were lots of volunteer firefighters at Saint Paul's, and they did an admirable job in putting out any flames, or getting rid of any of the incendiaries that might have landed on the cathedral, still, it was a genuine miracle that the cathedral escaped total destruction during all those many nights, weeks and months of bombing. It speaks well of the character and true grit of Londoners.
Thanks for the film. My mother Pamela Geary later Risbridger was born 1916. Mum died in Battersea 1997. She drove ambulances in London during the Blitz. She was also a Nippy at a Lyons Corner House. Mum went on to help make documentaries for the Realist Documentary Film Unit
Brilliant. Thank you for piecing this together and including your fine narration. We all have a solemn duty to teach younger generations the sacrifices made by our parents and grandparents and the lessons of history.
Loved this video I was brought up listening to this music 😍my mother was in the Land army and my father landed on golden beach also he was one of the first to liberate pow from Belsen and never spoke about the war until well into his eighties .my mother and father passed away two years ago within six months of one another my mother would say that my grandfather would not go down to the shelter and one night a unexploded bomb came down in the hallway with my grandfather still in bed they all lived into their late nineties .thank you for showing this ❤I will never forget. The live I. have now is all thanks to the men and women like my mum&Dad
I grew up, presumably like so many people of my generation, hearing many stories from both my parents of what it was like being children growing up in London during the Second World War. So important that films and recorded memories from the time are preserved somehow. My mother's school was bombed in 1943 when she was ten and she lost some of her friends thanks to this. She recalled seeing a bomber with its pilot so close to her on her way home for lunch that she said she could see his face, and she dodged among doorways of houses in south-east London because she was terrified and tried to keep out of his sight. Whenever we watched films or TV programmes about the Second World War on TV (common at the time when I was growing up), if a German bomber was flying and we heard its sound my mother would shrink visibly and find it horrible to listen to.
Interesting video for me as a thirty something, that has lived in London my whole life. My Grandmother is nearly 93 and still remembers this period of time, like it was yesterday! She now has dementia, but the long term memories are still there. Make the most of your older family members, as you can learn so much. Thank you for posting this video.
I lived in London for two years in the mid 2000s, going to grad school. I met a woman who as a child hid inside the tubes during the bombings. I wish I had my videocamera with me at the time and interviewed her. The people of London are strong and brave to this day. I was lucky to have been able to stay there a while but only scratched the surface of its long history. I highly recommend going there and spending time. It is well worth it. Fantastic job on the documentary--thank you for your hard work.
Thankyou. My parents were Londoners and told me some things about the war. This video has put pictures to their stories. I am grateful to you for this wonderful insight.
![London 1945 in color, Post World War II [60fps,Remastered] w/sound design added](/img/1.gif)
*Please note that this comments section is only open to comments that focus on London during WW-II* .
If you want to make comments related to race, immigration, diversity, multi-culturalism, skin colour, obesitas or make nasty or ignorent comparisons between London during WW-II and now then you have not understood the objective of this film, i.e. to forget about today but to go back in time to really understand London's history. Kindly respect my wish to keep my channel historically educational and a pleasure to watch, with decency and respect among all other viewers. If you intend to ignore this urgent request then please leave now, sorry!
I wish you’d just delete the comments and block these people. Most are far right trolls who yearn for the day when all-white indigenous ‘English’ mods and rockers went to the seaside each bank holiday and smashed each other to pieces together with the shops, trains and anyone who got in their way. Or the all-white indigenous ‘English’ football fans who for 30 years in their thousands smashed the granny out of each other each Saturday, demolishing trains, service centres shops and town centres as they went about it.
@@henrysmith883 RUclips filters are already active (in strict mode) plus a long list of banned words plus me regularly cautioning and blocking/deleting comments. So you have not by far seen the worst. London is in a very bad state as regards unrest within the multicultural climate, in fact the worst of all the locations in my world wide videos.
@@Snugggg Not on my channel they don't! I make damn sure that my channel stays respectful, decent and a pleasure to watch. If somebody doesn't like it (like you?) then "Hard Cheese". PS: none of the issues you are reacting to are addressed in the "Top-3".
@@Rick88888888It *is* a pleasure to watch and thank you very much for posting this documentary. It is much appreciated. Take care, my friend.
All Wars are Fake as you know.
Marvelous, this film should be shown in every school in the UK with the heading "This is what our forebears went through so we can live like we do today"...
This is breaking my heart,film it now and we don't see anything like this and never will,just can't believe what the government is doing to Britain.😪
Thank you for putting this together for us all to see. Im half British and half Yank here in the states. My father was a GI glider pilot and my mum was in the RAF. Her father was career RN and rests with all of his shipmates aboard HMS Exmouth off the coast of Wick. I was raised on stories of honor, bravery, tradition, and courage. I am so very proud of my British heritage. I thank God for it every night. Stand fast dear cousins! Remember your roots. The world needs a strong Britain.
These people are what i call, The Greatest generation! Hard working down to earth folks, we will never see the likes of them again! My grandfather was part of that generation and i love and miss him everyday!
The brother of my grandfather was a PoW in England and said the English were strict but fair and polite and actually very kind to them though they were enemies. He always spoke well about the English and had lots of respect for them. Regards from Germany.
Wunderbar Annek
Brilliant!
And my Uncle (British) was a POW in Germany & always said that they treated him well. Ironically, it was the best thing to have happened to him because he never had to fight or kill anyone on the battlefields.
My mother was 7 yo living in London when war broke out. She remembered vividly the impact of death, destruction and the way of life at the time and the scars she witnessed and experienced, but still trying to live each day. She passed away, but always told family of some of her most surreal experiences that war inflicts. Remarkable footage and certainly an amazing journey to follow.
My grandmother and uncles and an aunt lived through the Blitz and survived. They are now long gone, bless them.
Thank you , I am 74 now , a post war baby and also grew up with war stories. Will send this to my aunt who is 90 years old and whilst walking in the streets of London at the age of 9 was thrown to the ground and a Canadian soldier lay over her to protect her from injury . Such amazing heroism i!
Thank you for sharing this wonderful film. My father a WW2 veteran would be turning in his grave if he could see what he fought for has all but gone.
Well done . My mom was a very sick child during the war . Here on the coast many soldiers were posted for a time before being shipped overly over seas seas . During that time my grandmother used to do there laundry during which the troops took it upon themselves to to collect money to pay for her hospital care as there was no government health coverage at this time . These soldiers manned search light batteries along the coast etc . They were members of the nova Scotia pictou hilghlanders . The troops would make trips to visit her in hospital as well as send her letters from over seas . She in turn would record messages on wax drum type recorder to them as well they would come to see her and play the bagpipes for her . Thanks for your efforts to keep history alive . Lance Peters
My father fought in WW11 and my grandfather in WW1. I remember a time not so long ago when these veterans were everywhere. Everyone's dad or grand dad was a veteran of one or the other war. I guess I took it for granted that they were all still with us because today I realise that living history is just about all gone now. It makes me sad that I didn't ask more questions, or take more notice. They were the greatest generation of all time!
Seeing this in 2023 makes you wonder wether all the new technology is worth it people looks happier then even during the war. London looks amazing
My Grandad was an ARP near London Bridge. He won a medal saving some people trying to remove a barrage balloon from a block of flats. My Grandmother was injured by shrapnel from a V1 going into the shelter. They told us some very disturbing stories like bits of people and children in the street and a parachute mine going off when it was being disarmed. Brave people.
My mum drove ambulances during the London Blitz. Mum refused to talk about it
I am an American, with an English mother and American father. My father was born in 1914. My mother in 1920. My mother and many generations of her family lived in London and the surrounding areas. My father was drafted into the U.S. Army and sent to England in 1940. My parents married in London in December 1942. My oldest brother was born in England in 1944. The same year my mother, alone immigrated to the U.S. Later in the mid 1960's, I and my younger brother, with our mother, returned to England to visit with her family. I have many fond memories of that visit. I was taken to see broken and damaged building in London. I don't think I realized at that moment, I was looking at damage that had occurred during World War 2. It was like being in another world. Among people, who were family. Who spoke English, that I barely understood! I am very proud of my English heritage.
Great video. Very appreciated.
Over sexed, over paid+over here
God bless you and your family mate
From Keith Western: So very worth watching. I was born in Wembley, London, in 1941 and could relate to a lot; it brought back memories--use of the ration books, Americans being so kind, when food was short and candy was practically non-existent.
My Mother told me that she was washing me on the kitchen table one day in 1943 when the upstairs neighbour rushed in and said "Lena, we have to go to the shelters immediately!!! The bombers are coming". Another time kids were in line for ice cream and they ran out before I got mine, and ice cream was only available once a week. The American GIs, driving by in their jeeps, asked why the kids were crying and when told the ice cream ran out they drove back to the base, got all their ice cream and brought it to the kids...and didn't ask for any coupons from the ration books or anything. I also remember that the American GIs used to throw candy to us kids as they drove by.
My Dad was in the Home Guard, and he also worked for British Oxygen Company that made oxygen tanks of all kinds for the war effort, particularly for pilots.
And our generation and younger generation need to know this history, "lest we forget". My wife born in 1947 in Canada said she learned a lot that she did not know from this amazing video.
Thank you very much for sharing all these memories with us! Maybe I should make a follow on video with a collection of these shared memories.
It really seemed like a time of togetherness. People seemed more social. Well dressed. Always doing something.
This beautiful film made me weep my mother and Father told me many stories of their lives in London and it was so sad and brutal what they went through and still kept smiling .
One of my mums favourite stories was about their Friends Bert and Carrie White who lived up the street from our house .
They were lying in bed when the air raid sirens started wailing and they were supposed to go down their garden into the shelter there .
They decided to stay in bed and lay there listening to the Doodlebugs explode after they ran out of fuel and then the awful silence until the bomb hit the ground .
Carrie said to Bert oh that was a bit close
Bert said Don’t worry love we will be alright because I’ve shut the side gate a ridiculous thing to say but very funny my mum used cry with laughter telling me that story 😂😂😂
This made me so nostalgic for the England my father fought for. Please someone help us, England has been invaded by the back door.
Thank you for giving me (someone who wasn't alive at the time of WW2) a much better understanding of how the war effected everyday people. I can't imagine having to try and continue to live day to day with the fear, loss and anger of what was occurring. This telling has given me a much better perspective of the war. Great job!, Cheers
Fantastic video. It's horrible to see what London has become, when compared to this.
Best city in the world.
@@rafaelxmoreira It was at one time.
The good guys lost, ggwp
@@rafaelxmoreira
Well you would say that your not indigenous
The incredible amount of work that went into this, is greatly appreciated.
Everything is getting more real when it is in color and adhanced.
Many thanks from Dieren
Thanks! It took over 100 hours to do!
@@Rick88888888 YIKES!!! A real labour of love. Mind you, long after we are all dead and gone the video will still be here (apologies, after reading Rick's top three tedious comments I couldn't resist that little bit of irony!).
My grandmother raised my mum and my uncle and aunt through the war. She was saying how horrible it was when the air raid siren went off you had to drop everything and head out for the shelter, not knowing if your house would be standing after the raid. Hats off to those that survived this, resilience shows itself.
There is something seriously edifying about seeing how together people were with one goal. How they all shared the same want to stay alive and survive. Singing songs and working together in unison. Everyone for themselves these days. God bless you for sharing this footage with us.
Thank you very much. Yes it was a different era with far more harmony, respect and social behaviour. Diversity to my opinion causes these things to move in the opposite direction and I keep wondering why people state that "diversity is our strength". I'd hate to think what would happen if London would become involved in a future war. It probably will be "everyone for him/herself"...
I was born in Canada in 1946. My father was a leading coder aboard a corvette and then in St. John’s, Newfoundland. He thankfully survived and I grew up with many stories of his experiences and a strong appreciation for what people went through and and the utter heartache and devastation that war brings. We had strong family connections in Britain and so I was able to learn of the experiences of others first hand. Sometimes I almost feel as if I were there. I agree with your statement that history repeats itself and if we don’t learn lessons from it now, we are doomed to suffer the consequences again.
Hello George. My mother drove ambulances during the London Blitz. Later she worked for the Realist Documentary Film Unit. My dad, Alexander Craig Risbridger an engineer born 1907. Visited Canada circa 1924. To begin his career. Sadly dad and mum parted for keeps 1964. So we ever saw him again.. but corvette rings a bell. I think he saw action on them. I never got the chance to ask dad, about it. He lived until 1979. But his behaviour was so scary. That in 1964. He had to change. For our sake. He chose not to. Never mind.
My Nana was a nurse in London during the war, married a Canadian soldier ( my grandfather) and lived in Canada after the war. What a generation! Sadly gone and forever missed.
Thanks for this wonderful video.
Rick your work is utterly amazing...!!! Please accept our heartful & grateful appreciation for your work... Please also let your wife know, her letting you edit these films brings many joyful happy tears for my My Wife and I remembering our parents that were in the war during this time and who are now gone... ❤❤❤❤👍👍👍👍
Thank you very much. I just told her! Don't worry, she likes what I do, but sometimes I get a little bit too fanatical when restoring these old films (letting my coffee go cold and that sort of thing) :-))
The performer at 7’ 30” is not Bill Oddie, as the commentary suggests. He was born only in 1941. It is in fact Bill Owen who, as the commentary rightly says, went on to play Compo in Last of the Summer Wine
What a great video, Rick. I love it! It's true that younger people don't know much about this as to them its ancient history. But I was born in 1950, and "the war" was still part of our lives until the 60s at least. I still find it fascinating, and still love original films like this. This is a real service you've done!
My parents were both adults then, dad was 30 in 1941, and joined the US Navy. My mother was in her late 20s. Both well educated and intelligent, met and married in San Francisco in 1948.
Thank you very much. Yes this is now one of my favorites too!
This is one of the best documentaries of WWII I have seen: all footage of the time and relevant facts. A taste of the past and extremely well done.
Thank you very much
This wonderful. I’m 83 this year, so remember very little of the war. My dad was in the RAF, after the war he went to the far East for two years. So mum and I lived with relatives in Cheltenham. I miss going to London , because of the train strike. Let’s hope everything resolves soon.
The people in war time London showed so much courage and gallantry. may their memory never be forgotten, something you are helping with, helping the people of today understand what really happened. long live london, Britain, and her incedible courage during WW II !
Both my parents lived through WW2. My father was already in the RAF. He wanted to be a pilot but was red/green colorblind so that was not possible. He ended up fixing Spitfires & putting on USO shows instead. I have notebooks of his scripts, many of which were musicals set to Gilbert & Sullivan tunes with own words. No copyright probs then! My Mother was 16 when the blitz started. They lived in Wood Green in N. London. She used to do her homework by candlelight under the heavy oak dining table. They also had an air raid shelter in the back garden. Her mother refused to let her be evacuated. One night the row of houses behind theirs got blown up. Every day there would be fewer children at her school not because they were evacuated but because they had been killed or wounded overnight.
She went on to do some kind of secret war work with radios. She didn't talk about it explicitly as she had signed the official secrets act. I know she wasn't at Bletchley.
They met at Teachers training college after the war. They were both engaged to other people but got married 6 weeks after they met. I was the first of their 6 children. My dad passed away shortly before their 50th wedding anniversary. She lived another 20 years. He was 9 yrs older than her. They were wonderful parents.
Thank you for sharing these memories
You might think you have only scratched the surface of the story, but i haven’t seen this much footage of London during war time and that is amazing to see this👀
I was born after the war in 48, rationing was still going for quite a while after then too. Definitely a gentler time, wish it was still like that such a lovely film, thank you.
It might have been troubling times in war. At least there was still great music. They did what they had to do. Hitler still couldn't invade London. no matter What he did. I proud to call London my home. I wouldn't want to live anywhere else. all the men and women who sacrificed there lives so we could have a better future. May they rest in eternal peace. 🕊️ We will remember them🌹. from 🇬🇧👍👍 an old cockney gal
You deserve a Bag of Sand Maria
I was born in Harrow Weald in May 1945. My parents would have loved your videos Rick. Even I can remember my early school days in London and being with my Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles before we departed for Australia permanently in 1952. Your work is very evocative and there is an innate charm in all these images despite the loss and hardships of many. Great work Rick.
Thank you very much. Making this film was very much work, but very rewarding
The fact that the content creator feels the need to issue a stern, pinned censorship warning to anyone who dares to compare the London of yesteryear with the London of today, speaks volumes for the sorry state of what modern Britain and its capital have become. I dare not say much more for fear that this comment will be blacked out but suffice to say that the London of the 1940s, despite the privations of war, looked a decent and respectable place to live with good people who had much in common and a shared desire to pull through together. What they would make of the London we have delivered thanks to their sacrifice and bravery, we will never know. And I'd better not speculate. My congratulations for the stunning way this old footage has been remastered and put together - very impressive.
It's because the older generation gets frightened by change and feels the need to project that fear as hatred onto other people. There were still slums in several areas of London in the 1940s, not to mention devastating pollution from factories, whereas now almost everyone has central heating, electricity, cleaner air and access to any cuisine in the world - how can you think that things are worse than before? We are lucky to lead the lives we live today.
@@samc1856 I'll be part of the "older generation" in 15 years or so. Actually, let's make that 20 years. You're as young as you feel. I'm guessing I'll be about as frightened by "change" in the years ahead as my middle-aged self is currently. Some change is worthy of being frightened by - whatever one's age - because it's simply unwelcome. There are demographic movements afoot in this country right now (choosing my words carefully) that are destabilising and divisive and making us unhappy. And in fact, it's the young who will suffer most. You're right, there are many things today that are better than yesteryear, as you highlight. But some aspects of modern life are a good deal worse, and we all know what those are.
My parents met in London in 1944. Thank you for posting this. They are long gone, I love to remember them as young professionals looking forward to the war ending.
I was born in 1938 and lived near London and remember many of the things in your excellent film scrapbook. A V1 brought in the door on my mums head and I collected shrapnel stroked the milkman’s horse and admired the yanks in the West End , threw paper out of my mums office window on to the victory parade .
Cheers from India. BTW, what was your reaction after you heard the news of India's independence ?
My grandparents lived through the blitz in London. Imagine what they must be thinking now of the total mess we have become.
*ATTENTION* : About *90%* of the comments about old London are *COMPLAINTS* against what London now has become. Many of such comments are distasteful, rude, terrible and often full of hatred, involving race related issues and migration. Just to point out that, although I most certainly understand the sentiment of such comments, my channel is *NOT* intended to be a sewer filled with only discontentment. My channel is intended for everyone to *better understand history* and to avoid repeating the mistakes that humanity has made over and over again. Yesterday I closed the comments section under my other video about London during WW-II because the comments had become unbeareable. Please don't let this happen to my other videos! *ENOUGH IS ENOUGH* and *FROM NOW ON ANY COMMENTS RELATED TO RACE AND IMMIGRATION WILL SIMPLY BE DELETED* . In any case, complaining via RUclips is largely futile. If you are so unhappy then you should do something about it, e.g. by electing the right people next time. *My channel will no longer be a platform for widespread uttering of discontentment* . Please understand! Thank you.
I was born 1948 and that’s all everyone talked about. The war! My aunt trembled her whole life from the blitz but never missed a day of work as stenographer at the Egyptian Embassy.
Dad was in Burma and was fortunate to survive that campaign. Mum was an evacuee. I do t think any of us realize how terrible it was to live through.
I remember the bomb sites of London. Cleared of rubble but not yet rebuilt. I remember the blackened buildings and the great surprise when they washed St Paul’s.
The underground was small, poky and blackened as well. Also the clanking wooden escalators. As a child I was terrified for my toes at the top and bottom.
Thank you for this channel!
It's good to see what my parents would have experienced.
They are long gone,miss them,so much.
Very proud of the sacrifice paid for our freedom by the war time generations.
Thank you, it is an eye opener. All those buildings build in the 1950's to replace the old Georgian and Victorian buildings are like ground zero monuments😢
This is a remarkable film and seeing these images in colour and cleaned up make them so much more relatable. My parents and grandparents all lived in London throughout the war. My Mum was never evacuated even though she was only 7 at the outbreak. She found the V1 bombs the most scary, but generally said her parents did a remarkable job of always making her feel safe. My Dad was 14 at the outbreak and had been conscripted by the end of the war. He was in the RAF. I grew up hearing stories of the bombings and how my Mum slept in a shelter in their yard. Her father was a builder and so obviously very busy. My Mum's school was bombed and so was her auntie's house. Seeing these images has really brought back some of the memories of stories told to us by my mother. Also, some of the images, like the underground, really took me back to growing up in London. I was born at the end of the 50's. People used to dress so smartly and the world was very different. Not better, not worse, just different. This film should be shown to all teenagers whilst studying history at school.
Thank you for sharing these memories!
I was born 11 years after VE-day. My grandparents - who raised me - both were active in WW2, and told me much of those times. One thing that struck me, was the camaderie - the "We're all in this together" attitude.
We see that after a natural disaster here.
I am a 55 year old man who wasn't born then but I have always had an interest in the first and second word wars. Just wanted to thank you for sharing these amazing videos and especially that there in colour showing us all how our capital has changed also showing us that the people of yesterday were kinda friendly people from over countries were welcomed very warmly by us British we all pulled together.very sad that today's people don't have the same values as the people of yester year thanks again for uploading this video 👍👍👍👍👍
I feel the same way. Let's hope many young people will watch the video too (and that they refrain from the standard comments...).
My mum is still alive,still drives her car,you would never guess her age(91)Didn't get evacuated lived through the Blitzl,looking up at the Barrage balloons,rationing,dog fights,stayed in Islington N London,V1s,V2s remembers everything so vividly,I love talking to her about her experiences. Excellent film thanks
Great work!! Well done & thank you for taking the time to put this together in such an insightful way! I revisited the cottage & village my dad was evacuated to in Cornwall when he was a boy on fathers day about 5 years ago. I was lucky enough for him to be able to give me a guided tour of the village by my dad while he was still able to recall his memories & I am so glad that I took the opportunity to take him back down memory lane for the last time just in time before his dementia got the better of him.
His younger sister broke her nose as a baby on the roof of the Anderson shelter as the result of a near miss from the blitz in the east end.
My mum told me how she got so fed up of coming downstairs & going out in the middle of the night to the freezing cold shelter during the air raid's that she used to stay in bed & take her chances telling herself that if it's got her name on the doodlebug then so be it, but still dreaded counting down between the buzz-bomb going silent & the explosions like thunder & lightning.
My Dad's dad served as a home guard on the Isle of Wight & came home to East Ham to find his shoe shop bombed so had to re-locate to live & open a new shop in North London. My Dad went on to do his national service & serve as a radar technician in the R.A.F.
I was born in the mid 60's, grew up & still seen a substantial amount of derelict premises & bomb damage scars left over from the war. which were great places to play & have adventures as a kid but suprising to see that even in 2012 the Olympic village was being built over old bomb damaged factories that I had passed by on a daily basis for years beforehand.
Even more suprising perhaps is the fact that WW2 was referred to as the war to end all wars by the veterans that survived it only to find this most important & valid lesson has not been learned!!!
However, may I recommend the Blitz experience at Flambards, Helston, Cornwall. Well worth a visit!!
My Dad was a "Desert Rat" one of the first, ended up spending 3 years in POW camp, my mum at 18 went into the Land Army for short while and then Joined the ATS, her last posting was at a mixed Battery in Kent on the Ack Ack guns
The houses behind the ones my mum lived in [Victorian Terrace] were destroyed by a land mine, the blast took the windows out of my mums house and the rest of the road [7 houses] they lived in New Brighton, Cheshire
Thank you for this wonderful video. My dad (Yank) was station in Sussex and experienced some bombing when in London in '42. He received two bronze stars as a gunner, and radio man. He told us all about it. He was also in the African theater and Italy.
Fascinating! Thank you. For me the documentary is strangely familiar. I was born in London in 1947. The city was still rather beaten up when I was a teen. LOVED the documentary and the music you chose to accompany the footage.
Great! Thank you very much.
Rick, thank you for this wonderful compilation of film! God bless the memory of all those who fought for our freedom - may we be worthy to enjoy it forever. Warm greetings from California!
I enjoy looking out for my young parents. Never seen then but it's nice seeing their world. Sadly in many ways better than today.
Thanks for doing a good restoration and up loading.
I watch alot of WW2 videos online. This has to be the best I have come across regarding life for the average citizen during the blitz. It demonstrates all that generation went through and highlights their amazing courage. We owe them everything.
My mum was in London throughout the Blitz and a good part of the war. She told me a lot of stories about how it was. She was bombed out of 3 flats, and one night in the blackout she fell into a crater. She had her knitting with her, so knitted until a couple of soldiers walked by and pulled her out. At the end of it all she was flown out to Singapore for clean up, she was in the WVS. She had stories about that time aswell.. i really love these docus. I was born in 1950 so there were still rations, a lot of bombed out buildings, but everyone mucked in together and helped each other. Thank you for these, stay safe.
Clean streets no graffiti no rubbish no excess of road signs much better
I love a good WW2 documentary. This though, was by far one of the best ive seen. Halfway through i thought, 'It would be a great finishing touch if he spends a wee 5 mins at the end talking about the end of the war.' And you did! Brilliant.
Great, thanks!
What really stands out to me is how good everybody’s posture is. Every person is standing perfectly straight, no slouching. Things have really changed now that everybody just sits 24/7.
Brilliant footage and so clear. Very well edited too. My 91 year old husband was born and raised in Kingston Upon Hull. He vividly remembers the strain of the war on families. His father was in the army.
I have talked to many canadian WW2 veterans from western Canada and they often talked about how overwhelming London was at first for them; many being from isolated farms or very small rural villages and the biggest city many had seen was perhaps 40,000 people in size; ...the Underground amazed them all, this being at a time when a subway was still decades away in Canada., and they could not get enough of riding the trains. More than a few actually met their future wives on those trains.
Some wonderful footage of a London that although in harsh times seemed a far more civilized place to be .
It should be noted that the massive canon shown at 08:42 would lob massive shells at the bombers . They didn't explode in the air , they came back to earth and exploded . In London . Not civilized behaviour . All in the name of 'morale' of course .
@FREEDOMVOICE888 STOP SHOUTING!!!!!!!!
@@chasleask8533ok rabbi
@FREEDOMVOICE888 OUT OF ORDER!
Stand stand thank you.
I have just recently discovered your channel and so glad I have. I was born at the end of wwll and find your film is a great help in understanding what my parents went through. Thank you very much in putting your film and narration on line.
Awesome, thank you!
Great work, Rick. Despite the sheer horror of the blitz, it's apparent from your film that the people of London showed a great deal of determination and community spirit in the face of the destruction of their city. My opinion is that this spirit came from a common shared experience and shared values - a way of life worth fighting for.
Excellent, well said. With the fighting now on European soil, in June '44, What a terrible shock it must have been to the public in general, when the V 1 & 2's started to fall.
Hi Philip. It's quit some time since you commented. Happy New Year to you.
Or the collective fear of being blown up and the need to take shelter to survive.
I really enjoyed this. Thank you so much! My mother was living in London during the blitz, working at St Thomas's Hospital. We grew up with so many stories of war time. My father, an Australian, met my mother after he was wounded in action. You bought this period of time to life for me.
Thanks!
I was in London late last October, one of the things I had to do was to climb to the top of the dome of Saint Paul's Cathedral. I've seen the old newsreels from the time of the Blitz, showing the entire neighborhood around the Cathedral, all the way up to the river Thames. Nowadays its simply impossible to imagine what it must have been like to be one of the numerous firefighters trying to put out the fires or being one of many of the volunteers who had the job of keeping Saint Paul safe from the neighboring blazes. Amazing.
My aunt Esme, who never missed one day of work as a stenographer during the blitz, told us that the bus got to St Paul’s and they all got off and carried on on foot!
There were hoses all over the road and devastation everywhere. Yet they walked in their high heels and all dressed up to work as tho nothing had happened. Truly remarkable.
Some are still alive today my Auntie is a 101 this year 2023
Send her my love, congratulations 🎉
Well done her!
Excellent video. Well put together. The 1940s are the era myself & my husband are very interested in. I am 66 & my husband is 70. People seemed very strong willed back then & the camaraderie was good. My grandma had 10 children and sometimes ended up putting somebody's kid in with her own she was so tired. She baked her own bread so they could have 1 slice of bread & dripping for breakfast. She was an amazing cook. However, food was very limited, but although they were hungry, they didn't starve. This was in West Yorkshire.
Thanks very much for your excellent work. My father was on ambulances in London and told us some horrific and sad stories.
My mum Pamela Geary drove ambulances during the London Blitz. Mum refused to discuss it.
Jon do you know which ambulance stations in London you're dad drove from? My late mum. Pamela then Geary drove ambulances during the London Blitz. I can't remember maybe Chelsea.. mum refused to talk about the horror she'd seen.
My dad was a B-17 pilot and he was stationed in England during world war II. He ended up serving 28 years total. They would also fly over Holland and drop care packages and supplies for the people during that time.
My father was born in 1943. He’s still alive - and living in Germany now. It’s amazing how the world changes and grows.
The city where I grew up was so badly scarred by the Second World War. Even now, one of my neighbours still has an Anderson shelter in their back garden (it’s used as a shed).
Thank you, that was interesting. My granny's mum lived in London in the war. I remember Great-Granny Barnes telling me about the barrage balloons and she would say "Gor blimey!" a lot when talking about the bombs dropping on London.
Great film. Thanks for taking the time to document our history. Bravo!
I was born at Uxbridge in April 1938. All aspects of the video are familiar or experienced by me with the exception of evacuation and London streets.
My father was initially in a reserved occupation but subsequently was conscripted into the Royal Engineers Dockyard Reconstruction Unit, serving in Antwerp, Bombay and Singapore. My father, a Scotsman, requested my mother and I lived with my maternal grandparents, which we did. My grandparents kept a boarding house that was requisitions by the Government and we had airforce personnel billeted with us. There was a bombshelter in the garden sleeping up to 10 people made of a Nissan shelter and a car body. At school we spent many lessons in a bombshelter made of large diameter concrete pipes. My grandfather was a Station Foreman at Hayes working for the GWR. He had a large allotment and we kept rabbits and chickens.
I could go on as my life during the war was wonderful. 1962 was a seminal year destroying the Britain I loved and respected.
Thank you for sharing these memories
What happened in 1962?
Vast majority of the youth today care nothing for history. Thank you for putting this out and taking us down the memory lane of your parents.
I was born in 1950 in London and brought up on wartime stories. My Mum and Grandmother, Dad was away fighting , were bombed out of thirteen houses. Each time they were given another house it was always along a railway line. I Remember in the mid 50's there was still ruins from the bombings around Kings Cross. Although people had a terribile Life during those years my Mother told me everyone was so friendly
Thank you for sharing these memories!
Lost my dad New Year’s Day at 79 years of age, he was born and bred in the east end, Stratford in fact, he said east London in the 50’s, 60’s & 70’s was such a great place, I always said to him he lived through the best eras, I wish I was born in 1943 the same as him rather than 1976, the uk as a whole is in tatters now, mass immigration has done is no favours.
I'm nearly 10 years older than you, born 1965, but could not agree more with your comments 👍👍👍👍👍
I was born in 1939 and lived through the war. I worked in Stratford in 1962 as an insurance agent and it was not a great place. You would be shocked at the poverty I am afraid.
Rick your best ever. Thank you so much. The personal details about your parents make it special. My cousin died at Arnhem and lies in the beautiful churchyard at Maurik tended by the wonderful Dutch people.
Thank you very much. Yes this was my most complex project ever. It has two video tracks, one text track and 3 audio tracks in my video editor, plus a detailed script that I wrote before starting any editing... I frequently lost track of where I was in this 60 minute film.
When I watch these old films of how Britain was less than 80 years ago and compare it to now, I know we are in the end times. Beyond words really.
My mum was 12 years old from Battersea at this time and absolutely refused to be evacuated. She ran off with some of her friends and hid in Battersea park. But came back in time for tea. She loved those "good old days".
Thank you for putting this together! I don't understand why people won't take the opportunity with the footage and such that we have, to learn about our past. We used to have to rely on artist's interpretations of things. Here we have these clear videos, or have the ability to clear up the fuzzy ones.
I was born after the war so have no first hand experience, but have read extensively. Recall my first visit to London on the 30th anniversary of the start of the Blitz, coming out of a theater to the sound of the air raid siren and searchlights in the sky; apparently some sort of commemoration. There was still visible reminders of the bomb damage. I am, thankfully, not one who views that time through a modern lens with criticism in mind. I have always been amazed at how the people of that small island held on, and fought back. Makes me very proud to share some of that British heritage! Thank you for your film; some, of course is familiar but the detail you provide is new. Well done!
Thank you very much. You have indeed captured what I had in mind with this film.
I've got to say this has been one of the very best documentaries I've seen on War Time London!!...as a 60s baby I never saw any of WW2 although War was only 15 years past when I popped into the world my mum would tell stories of living through the blitz in London area and one was a meshershmit chasing people down a high street shooting its guns as people ducked into Woolworths shattering the glass !!!
. That just seems too barmy to even think that that could happen !!!!
THE DOODLE BUGS !!!!! Was,a terror attack she remembers well .being in the shelter singing songs like run rabbit run. my mum died of emphysema in her 70s im sure all the smoke from the fires in London would never have been a help along with the toxic chemicals the old Victorians may have used to build houses who knows ..but
Thank you for this very imersive and educational video !!!
Thank you too for sharing your memories
Every generation should be made aware of the worlds darkest times and should never forget those who gave their all.
Thank you for a truly great look at wartime London - the way you've personalised it using your parents' memories is so good. My wonderful mum had just become a teenager when war broke out, felt and she missed out on teenage life as it would have been during peacetime. My gorgeous, talented mum died in February, but finished writing her book My Story As I Remember It, just two years earlier. In it she describes the war, of being bombed out, rationing, being asked to join ENSA (but sadly, her parents thought she was too young, even though she would have been chaperoned), fear of being 'called up', working in a munitions factory and meeting my dad. I'm so proud of my mum.
Thank you for sharing these memories. Is there anywhere I can read your mother's book?
Hello Rick, We published it independently as it was intended for family and friends. However, we were very proud that the Imperial War Museum and The British Library accepted a copy for their archive, and I've deposited mum's book with Thurrock Museum, so I'm not sure how accessible it is to be able to read it. @@Rick88888888
Would she be Joan Tucker?
Yes. That's my wonderful mum, who died one year ago Sunday. Do you know of her? @@MaboPete
So Glad I came across this video,
My mum was evacuated from London during the Blitz and her Dad were in the war… Luckily he survived
I used to watch my nanna making jellied eels that my grandad had caught while fishing
He grew all his own veg in his back garden .. Mums sister worked in the ammunition factory’s as she were older than mum
I remember mum telling me the girls would draw a line up the back of their legs to make it look like they were wearing seamed stockings
My mum would draw them on for her sister, I still remember my Nan scrubbing her front step everyday
And she always had a huge pot on the boil with her whites in and she’d pull her whites out with huge tongs and put them through her mangle
I used to help her hang them out
So many memories came flooding back to me of my grandparents watching this
Thankyou for sharing it was wonderful to watch
Thank you very much for sharing these memories. Yes, my mother also told me about the faked nylon stockings
Thank you for showing this, it was amazing to watch.
Our pleasure!
Many of the younger children will still be with us. My mum was born late 1931 and she’s still with us and full of memories 😊
Care to share your mum's wartime memories here?
@@Rick88888888 she has endless stories, I would be typing for a week. She lived in Scotland and was never effected the same as people in the main cities. I also have a diary from my aunt for most of 1941. She was in Leeds, which escaped much of the bad bombing.
I should really write 2 books 🤦🏼♀️
Thanks for your interest
@@Fees-ShedBest wishes to your Mum. I am also late 1931 - lived through the Blitzes, there were two, just, and the later V weapons.
@@Fees-Shed You and VinceKerrigan should Both publish these stories, even on a blog! It is Stories that make up history; that is really the only way to convey it to future generations.
@@eatiegourmet1015 if the younger generation bother to read it 🙄 I’m afraid that boat has sailed when it comes to our past 🤦🏼♀️
I'm 49 and have noticed in the last 20 years that portions have increased enormously, but also the kind of food and snacks are so much more fattening and decadent. When I was a child, my mother cooked the evening meal and there weren't seconds on offer and a snack would be a jam sandwich or something similar. Now there are loaded milkshakes, giant fondant covered cakes, ice cream, deep fried this and that, syrups in coffee, fast food outlets everywhere. Even a muffin from a coffee shop chain is enough for two people - it's just sheer gluttony wherever you look.
My late grandmother Harriet was from East End of Londen. She has been through the bombing of London and lost most of her family during the Blitz. She found a new family with my late grandfather Huig. Who wss a Dutch servicemen based in London. After the war my grandfather took my grandmother to the Netherlands. I Have always loved the way she never fully spoke Dutch many years later.
And I really enjoy your content, Rick88888888! Especially the work you have put into this. Mooi gedaan.
I remember the second time I visited London I went to Saint Paul's and took the stairs to the cupola of the dome itself...what an absolutely incredible view! Walking around the perimeter of the dome, one can see that London indeed has continued to grow and become a modern, yet beautiful metropolis; it was when I was looking out towards the Thames, across the that pedestrian bridge, I think it's called the Millennial Bridge, and trying to imagine what it was like during the Blitz. Watching videos about the Blitz on documentaries, the entire area around Saint Paul's up to and across the Thames was completely engulfed in flames! I know there were lots of volunteer firefighters at Saint Paul's, and they did an admirable job in putting out any flames, or getting rid of any of the incendiaries that might have landed on the cathedral, still, it was a genuine miracle that the cathedral escaped total destruction during all those many nights, weeks and months of bombing. It speaks well of the character and true grit of Londoners.
Fascinating, that little bit of colour changes the whole experience of watching it. Thanks 👍
Glad you enjoyed it
Thanks for the film. My mother Pamela Geary later Risbridger was born 1916. Mum died in Battersea 1997. She drove ambulances in London during the Blitz. She was also a Nippy at a Lyons Corner House. Mum went on to help make documentaries for the Realist Documentary Film Unit
Thanks! Is any of the footage by the "Realist Documentary Film Unit" available somewhere?
@@Rick88888888 Rick ill try and email you. What's the address? Best wishes Mike Risbridger
As someone who was born and worked in London after the war I find these old films absolutely fascinating.
Brilliant. Thank you for piecing this together and including your fine narration. We all have a solemn duty to teach younger generations the sacrifices made by our parents and grandparents and the lessons of history.
Thanks! If you want to see the complete version (without the 3 minutes of missing scenes) look here: www.ricksfilmrestoration.com/indexEN1.htm
Loved this video I was brought up listening to this music 😍my mother was in the Land army and my father landed on golden beach also he was one of the first to liberate pow from Belsen and never spoke about the war until well into his eighties .my mother and father passed away two years ago within six months of one another my mother would say that my grandfather would not go down to the shelter and one night a unexploded bomb came down in the hallway with my grandfather still in bed they all lived into their late nineties .thank you for showing this ❤I will never forget. The live I. have now is all thanks to the men and women like my mum&Dad
Thank you very much for sharing these memories
I grew up, presumably like so many people of my generation, hearing many stories from both my parents of what it was like being children growing up in London during the Second World War. So important that films and recorded memories from the time are preserved somehow. My mother's school was bombed in 1943 when she was ten and she lost some of her friends thanks to this. She recalled seeing a bomber with its pilot so close to her on her way home for lunch that she said she could see his face, and she dodged among doorways of houses in south-east London because she was terrified and tried to keep out of his sight. Whenever we watched films or TV programmes about the Second World War on TV (common at the time when I was growing up), if a German bomber was flying and we heard its sound my mother would shrink visibly and find it horrible to listen to.
Thank you very much for sharing your memories
Interesting video for me as a thirty something, that has lived in London my whole life. My Grandmother is nearly 93 and still remembers this period of time, like it was yesterday! She now has dementia, but the long term memories are still there. Make the most of your older family members, as you can learn so much.
Thank you for posting this video.
I lived in London for two years in the mid 2000s, going to grad school. I met a woman who as a child hid inside the tubes during the bombings. I wish I had my videocamera with me at the time and interviewed her. The people of London are strong and brave to this day. I was lucky to have been able to stay there a while but only scratched the surface of its long history. I highly recommend going there and spending time. It is well worth it. Fantastic job on the documentary--thank you for your hard work.
Thankyou.
My parents were Londoners and told me some things about the war.
This video has put pictures to their stories.
I am grateful to you for this wonderful insight.