London 1940
175 Words
London 1940
The whistling stopped. People waited, braced for an explosion. Maybe the bomb was a failure, or one with a delayed timing device that would detonate in daylight when children were playing in the London streets or on a Sunday morning as Londoners made their way in heavy traffic to their place of worship.
A sudden explosion rocked the Underground shelter. Lights dimmed, went out, then came back on. Minutes later, the all-clear siren blared. Londoners, dazed, exhausted, and wary, climbed the Underground stairs to the streets. Many returned to their homes, if they were still standing. Volunteers helped others, now homeless and in shock, to rescue centers. Entire neighborhoods burned through the night while firemen fought to save them.
England was at war with Germany, and they called this period of death and destruction the Blitz. During the worst of it, London’s citizens endured a total of fifty-seven consecutive bombing raids. Everyone lived in a constant state of heightened awareness, a kind of an adrenaline fed excitement, not knowing if one’s next breath would be the last.
- Writer
