WW2 – Cottage Capers

On this day in history….15th August 1941

On this day in history : 15th August 1941 – The execution by firing squad, at the Tower of London, of Corporal Josef Jakobs…. It is to be the last ever execution at the Tower….

The Miniature Firing Range, Tower of London – ‘The Shed of Death’ – Photograph from the collections of the Imperial War Museums

Jakobs, born in Luxembourg in 1898, was a German spy – who during World War Two worked for the Abwehr, the German Army’s intelligence department….

On the 31st of January he was flown into Ramsay, Huntingdonshire from Schipol Airport, Holland…. He parachuted from the aircraft and landed in a field but broke his ankle in the process…. The following morning, to get the attention of two farmers, Charles Baldock and Harry Coulson, who were working nearby, he fired his pistol into the air….

The Home Guard were notified and Jakobs, still wearing his flying suit, was arrested…. He was carrying £500 in British currency, a radio transmitter, forged identity papers – and a German sausage! He also carried a photograph of German singer and actress Clara Bauerle, who was his lover and also a spy…. She was already in England and the idea was for him to join her….

Jakobs was transferred to Cannon Row Police Station in London, where he gave a voluntary statement to MI5…. He was then taken to Brixton Prison Infirmary where his ankle was treated before being held at Dulwich Hospital for the next two months….

His court martial took place on the 4th and 5th of August 1941 at the Duke of York’s Headquarters in Chelsea…. The British had been aware that he was coming to England as they had been informed by a double agent, Welsh Nationalist Arthur Owens…. Jakobs was found guilty and sentenced to death….

The execution took place ten days later at the miniature rifle range at the Tower of London…. Jakobs was tied blindfolded to a Windsor chair…. Eight soldiers of the Holding Battalion Scots Guards took aim with their 303 Lee-Enfields at a white cotton target pinned above his heart…. At 7.12am a silent signal was given by Lieutenant-Colonel C.R. Gerard…. Jakobs died instantly; five bullets hit him, three of the soldiers had been issued with blanks…. Jakobs was buried in an unmarked grave in St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery, Kensal Green, London….

The Windsor chair on which Jakobs was executed – Image credit : Hu Nhu – own work – CC BY-SA 4.0

On this day in history….23rd July 1940

On this day in history : 23rd July 1940 – Winston Churchill changes the name of the Local Defence Volunteers to the Home Guard….

From the collections of the Imperial War Museums

The LDV had been set up in May 1940; Anthony Eden, the Secretary of State for War, called for men between the ages of 17 and 65 to sign up for the new force…. Very often they were in fact men above and below this age, or those deemed unfit for active service…. In the beginning it was very much a ‘make-do’ organisation, with improvised uniforms and weapons….

However, it evolved into a well-equipped and trained army of some 1.7 million men – not only ready for a possible invasion but also involved with bomb disposal and manning coastal artillery and anti-aircraft guns….

The Home Guard was stood down on the 23d of December 1944 – during its existence 1,206 men lost their lives through serving it….

British History

On this day in history….26th June 1939

On this day in history : 26th June 1939 – Private Rupert Alexander, Service No. 10000001, signs up to the Middlesex Regiment, as Britain’s first National Serviceman….

The Spring of 1939 saw the deterioration of international relations and Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain had to consider necessary preparations in case Britain found itself at war with Nazi Germany…. Parliament approved the Military Training Act which required men to undertake 6 months military training…. In the beginning this was limited to men between the ages of 20 to 22…. Some 240,000 registered for service….

War was declared on the 3rd of September 1939 and the National Service (Armed Forces) Act came in…. Now all men between 18 to 41 had to register…. There were some exemptions, such as those medically unfit and some key professionals, including farmers, engineers, bakers, doctors and the clergy…. Tribunals were held for conscientious objectors – who were usually assigned essential non-combat tasks it their hearings were successful….

Tribunal for conscientious objectors in Britain during WW2 – Public domain

In December 1941 a second National Service Act was passed…. The age was extended for men, up to the age of 60…. It meant all men up to this age were expected to do some sort of war effort work, such as police and civilian defence – those under the age of 51 were required to be available for military service….

All unmarried women, or widows without children, between the ages of 20 to 30 were liable to be called up to do work related to the war…. Pregnant women were not exempt but were generally not called up….

British History

On this day in history….15th April 1941

On this day in history : 15th April 1941 – Over 900 people are killed and a further 1500 injured during the Belfast Blitz – when 200 Luftwaffe bombers strike military and manufacturing targets in the city….

Rescue workers searching through rubble after an air raid on Belfast – From the collections of the Imperial War Museums

It was Easter Tuesday night, at around 10.40pm, when the air raid sirens sounded…. Many had believed that Belfast was out of reach of the Luftwaffe – and so the city was unprepared…. A smaller attack had taken place a few days before – possibly as a test of Belfast’s defences…. A cryptic warning had come across the airwaves from the traitor William Joyce, otherwise known as ‘Lord Haw-Haw’, when he announced in a radio broadcast from Hamburg, that there would be “Easter eggs for Belfast”….

The city played a great part in the war effort – with its large shipyard, aircraft manufacturing facilities and munition factories…. 200 Luftwaffe bombers had taken off from bases in occupied Northern France and the Netherlands…. The six hours of horror, death and destruction they were to unleash on Belfast resulted in the greatest loss of life in a single night’s raid – apart from London….

Visibility on the night was poor – which may account for the heavy civilian loss…. Over 55,000, half of Belfast City’s houses, were hit by bombs…. Streets were wiped away, all their occupants killed….over 100,000 were left homeless…. Many public buildings were destroyed , including the Ulster Hospital for Women and Children, the Strand Public Elementary School, the Belfast City Hall’s Banqueting Hall, countless of churches, railway stations, hotels….all obliterated….

Antrim Road corner of Duncairn Gardens, Belfast – Public Records of Northern Ireland

Few children had been evacuated from the city – some 80,000 still remained….

Mortuary services only had the capacity to deal with 200 bodies…. A further 150 corpses were buried in a mass grave, 123 of which remained unidentified…. St. George’s Market became a temporary mortuary for 255 of the dead…. Many more bodies and body parts were unidentifiable and were buried in mass graves in the city’s cemeteries….

Haw-Haw was later to announce…. “The Fuhrer will give you time to bury your dead before the next attack…. Tuesday was only a sample….”

A second massive air raid took place three weeks later…. A further 150 people lost their lives….

Soldiers clearing rubble after the May air raid – From the collections of the Imperial War Museums

British History, Uncategorized

On this day in history….30th September 1938

On this day in history : 30th September 1938 – Neville Chamberlain arrives back in the UK with an agreement signed by Hitler…. He claims “I believe it is peace for our time” – he could not have been more misguided….

Chamberlain holds the paper signed by himself and Hitler on his return to Heston Airport – Ministry of Information Official Photographer – Public domain

The Prime Minister had met with the German leader three times in the last two weeks of September…. This last meeting had been at the Munich Conference – which involved talks between Britain, Germany, France and Italy, to decide the future of Sudetenland, part of Western Czechoslovakia…. The Czech government had been hoping Britain and France would come to its aid in the event of a German invasion…. However, it was Chamberlain’s main priority to avert war – British people were terrified of another conflict within Europe…. It was agreed that Germany would annex a large part of Czechoslovakia and Britain and France would not support any resistance put up by Czechoslovakia; in return a non-aggression pact was signed with Germany…. Czechoslovakia was forced to hand over Sudetenland, though it had not even been present at the conference….

Chamberlain arrives in Munich, September 1938 – Courtesy : Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-H12967 CC BY-SA 3.0

British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (left) and German Chancellor Adolf Hitler leave their meeting at Bad Godesberg, 23rd September 1938 – Courtesy: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-H12751/CC BY-SA 3.0

Chamberlain, Daladier, Hitler, Mussolini and Italian Foreign Minister Count Galeazzo Ciano as they prepare to sign the Munich Agreement – CC BY-SA 3.0 de

Chamberlain arrived back at Heston Airport, West London, where a large crowd greeted him, eager to hear him read out the signed agreement…. He then went on to Buckingham Palace, where he appeared on the balcony with the King and Queen – and then went on to hold a further audience outside No.10 Downing Street…. The crowds were jubilant….but there were also many who believed Chamberlain had given in to the demands of Hitler….

Needless to say, Hitler did not adhere to his promise…. A year later he dismissed the agreement as a ‘scrap of paper’ and on the 1st of September 1939 Germany invaded Poland…. World War 2 was declared two days later…. Chamberlain was succeeded by Winston Churchill after being forced to resign in May 1940; he died the following November….