Lucy Worsley reveals the real ‘Blitz Spirit’

Tuesday: Blitz Spirit with Lucy Worsley; (BBC1, 8.30pm)
Lucy Worsley in Senate House, University of LondonLucy Worsley in Senate House, University of London
Lucy Worsley in Senate House, University of London

It’s 80 years since Britain faced an eight-month onslaught from German bombers, but that’s arguably not the only reason the time is right for the new documentary Blitz Spirit with Lucy Worsley.

After all, Britain has been facing a crisis over the past year, with the nation being urged to show the same resilience that got them through one of the most terrifying periods in its history.

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According to BBC Commissioning Editor Simon Young: “Never has there been a more timely moment to explore what Blitz Spirit really means – and to unpack the archetypal experience of Britons in the midst of crisis. And there is nobody better equipped to tease apart the myths and truths of this piece of national folklore than Lucy Worsley and the team who made [Worsley’s 2018 documentary] Suffragettes such a standout success.”

The Blitz took place between 7 September 1940 and 11 May 1941, when German planes dropped 32,000 tonnes of bombs on British cities – from Clydebank to Coventry, Liverpool to London. It would claim the lives of 44,652 people. Some were killed in their own beds, while others would be buried beneath the rubble of tube stations and bomb shelters.

Now historian Worsley is giving viewers an insight into what it must have been like to endure the bombing as she explores the lives of six real people who lived, worked and volunteered during the Blitz.

As with Suffragettes, the feature-length documentary uses a mix of archive footage and actors reading powerful and emotional first-hand accounts. Their words are drawn from biographies and oral history collections, Mass Observation records and private, unpublished diaries. The film also finds Lucy reporting from Senate House, the original Ministry of Information building, as well as visiting key locations including the Imperial War Museum archive in London and the Mass Observation archive at The Keep in Sussex.

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In the process, she learns more about how people coped with the daily realities of the Blitz, from the terrifying build-up to the air raids and the horrors of their aftermath, but finds that for some people, the danger could even be thrilling. Of course, she’ll also be examining the famous Blitz spirit, and the remarkable resilience shown. To borrow another phrase that dates back to the Second World War, did people really just keep calm and carry on, and why has it come to be seen as such a benchmark of Britishness?

In perhaps another parallel to our current situation, Worsley will be shining a light on the vital role played by front-line workers and volunteers. It was a time when many women found themselves taking on jobs that had previously been closed to them. Thousands signed up to do their bit for Civil Defence, as ARP wardens, stretcher bearers or nurses. In this they were joined by men who were ineligible for military service or who worked in key roles like the fire service.

As Worsley discovers, it was time of great suffering, but it also gave rise to some truly inspirational stories.

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