A 19-metre-long section of brick wall near the waterfront in Southampton, known as ‘The D-Day Wall’ still bears the graffiti left by US troops, 76 years ago. During the Second World War, more than 3.5 million men passed through the city. 

In February 1942 Arthur Harris was appointed Commander-in-Chief of Bomber Command. His task was to expedite what was already the official strategy of the Air Ministry, that of dislocating the German transport system and destroying the morale of the civilian population, particularly in industrial areas. The Butt report (August 1941) found that only one in three attacking bombers at that stage of the war got within five miles of their target - this meant that targets would have to be large cities and industrial complexes rather than precise targets.

After August 25, 1940, when the British Royal Air Force dropped the first bombs on Berlin, the “Immediate Air Raid Protection Programme” was implemented. The program stated that all German cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants and sites of strategic importance should be equipped with sufficient air-raid bunkers for the population.

Born in Hull in 1903, Amy was a pioneering pilot who set many long distance flight records in the 1930s. During the Second World War she joined the newly formed Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), which transported Royal Air Force aircraft around the country.

During the Second World War, the German Propagandakompanie (Propaganda Troops) was a branch of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS. Its function was to produce and disseminate propaganda material, both for the fighting troops and the civilian population. These companies were the only news-reporting units in areas of military operation, as civilian news correspondents were not permitted to enter combat zones. They functioned both as soldiers and as reporters, writing from the front for the radio and newspapers. In the Luftwaffe, the PK reporters often flew together with the crew on missions and air raids.

The Battle of Britain is one of the most important events in the history of Britain. But understanding those who were there, who fought, suffered and endured, allows us not only to understand those events, but connect us directly to those ‘few’ who gave so much not only to the many, but to all future generations.

What comes to mind when you think of art looted during wartime? Or the kind of weapons used during the Second World War? In both cases, swords are probably not your first choice.

Wartime London in Paintings tells the story of the artists commissioned by the War Artists Advisory Committee (WAAC) who lived and worked in London and how they interacted with the Committee to produce a body of work which today gives us a fresh insight into the city’s wartime history.

The lockdown and coronavirus restrictions in the spring of 2020 brought about many changes in lifestyles. As I could no longer travel in Britain and Europe, I resolved to walk five miles each day in and around Rogerstone.

On 6 August 1945, Allied forces dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. The detonation of these weapons killed thousands of people instantly and many more continued to suffer the effects of radiation poisoning. In this post, we share the testimonies of three women who were directly affected by the dropping of the atomic bombs, as interviewed by artist Lee Karen Stow.

From 7th September 1940, London was bombed by the German Air Force for 57 consecutive nights. The resulting devastation altered the landscape and the character of the city beyond all recognition. Over 40,000 people were killed; churches, houses, shops and offices were reduced to rubble.

At 8:15am on the morning of August 6 2015, in blistering heat I stood with young and old at ground zero in Hiroshima, Japan. It was a bewildering, searing moment of collective remembrance, melting in the buzz of cicadas and hum of birdsong. I photographed the sky because it was clear, blue and beautiful, as it apparently was that morning in 1945 when the atomic bomb ‘Little Boy’ was dropped from a United States military plane. Three days later, on August 9, ‘Fat Man’ fell on Nagasaki.