During the Blitz, the morale of the British people was clandestinely monitored by Home Intelligence, a unit of the Ministry of Information that kept watch on the behaviour and opinions of the public and eavesdropped on their conversations. Drawing on a wide range of intelligence sources from every region of the United Kingdom, a small team of officials based at the Senate House of the University of London compiled secret reports on the state of popular morale as the
Luftwaffe attacked Britain's major towns and cities between September 1940 and May 1941. Edited and introduced by two leading historians of the period, who tell the inside story
of Home Intelligence and why it proved so controversial in Whitehall, the complete and unabridged sequence of reports provide us with a unique and extraordinary window into the mindset of the British during a momentous period in their history. Not only do they include in-depth reports on the effects of the bombing, including special reports on Coventry, Clydebank, Hull, Barrow-in-Furness, Plymouth, Merseyside and Portsmouth, but also insights into almost every aspect of everyday life in Britain
as well as the response of the public to the shifting military fortunes of the war.Reading like the collective diary of a nation, the reports strip away the nostalgia that has
grown up around the period, reminding us instead of the sufferings and sacrifices, the many frustrations and difficulties of daily life, the administrative bungling, the grumbling and petty jealousies, and the determination of the overwhelming majority to put up with it all for the sake of beating Hitler.
During the Blitz, the morale of the British people was clandestinely monitored by Home Intelligence, a unit of the Ministry of Information that kept watch on the behaviour and opinions of the public and eavesdropped on their conversations. Drawing on a wide range of intelligence sources from every region of the United Kingdom, a small team of officials based at the Senate House of the University of London compiled secret reports on the state of popular morale as the
Luftwaffe attacked Britain's major towns and cities between September 1940 and May 1941. Edited and introduced by two leading historians of the period, who tell the inside story
of Home Intelligence and why it proved so controversial in Whitehall, the complete and unabridged sequence of reports provide us with a unique and extraordinary window into the mindset of the British during a momentous period in their history. Not only do they include in-depth reports on the effects of the bombing, including special reports on Coventry, Clydebank, Hull, Barrow-in-Furness, Plymouth, Merseyside and Portsmouth, but also insights into almost every aspect of everyday life in Britain
as well as the response of the public to the shifting military fortunes of the war.Reading like the collective diary of a nation, the reports strip away the nostalgia that has
grown up around the period, reminding us instead of the sufferings and sacrifices, the many frustrations and difficulties of daily life, the administrative bungling, the grumbling and petty jealousies, and the determination of the overwhelming majority to put up with it all for the sake of beating Hitler.
Acknowledgments
Paul Addison and Jeremy A. Crang, 'Home Intelligence, the Blitz and
the British'
I. September-December 1940
II. January-March 1941
III. April-June 1941
Abbreviations
Glossary
Index
Paul Addison was a historian of twentieth century Britain who
taught at the University of Edinburgh from 1967 to 2005. He was
Director of the Centre for Second World War Studies at Edinburgh
from 1996 to 2005 and a Visiting Fellow of All Souls from
1990-1991.
Jeremy A. Crang is a historian of twentieth-century Britain who has
taught at the University of Edinburgh since 1993. He was Assistant
Director of the Centre for Second World War Studies at Edinburgh
from 1996 to 2005 and has held visiting fellowships at Churchill
College, Cambridge (2006 and 2010) and Pembroke College, Oxford
(2014).
Reports from the period of the German night bombing offensive
against London and other cities, ably edited by Crang... and the
late Addison... add enormously to readers' understanding of what
remains an iconic moment in modern British history.
*CHOICE magazine*
This is a treasure trove ... a unique and invaluable set of
documents... The volume is peppered with [...] examples that reveal
how in times of fear and uncertainty people can embrace the most
outlandish and sometimes malign ideas.
*David Stafford, Finest Hour, the journal of the International
Churchill Society*
It's a world of carefully documented observations about how people
were thinking, and very easy to lose yourself in for hours at a
time
*Desperate Reader*
Perfect for any history enthusiast, the book provides and absorbing
and often surprising insight into the attitudes and reactions of
the public to everything.
*WI Life*
I really cant over emphasise this enough its genuinely fascinating
to read... it really is a book to settle down with and just enjoy,
as well as a unique insight into a part of our relatively recent
history. The description of it reading like a diary for the nation
is absolutely accurate, complete with all the grumbles and petty
complaints that suggests which is what makes it all so
compelling.
*Shiny New Books*
Students of history will be grateful for it as a reference work and
treasure trove for many years to come
*Julie V Gottleib, Times Literary Supplement*
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