The Bethnal Green Tube Shelter Disaster part I

The years between the Blitz of 1940/41 and the V1 and V2 rockets of 1944/45 were commonly known as the lull.  Consisting mainly of nuisance and reprisal raids, this period saw very little enemy bombardment in comparison.  However, on 3 March 1943, Britain suffered its greatest wartime civilian loss of life, when 173 people perished at the Bethnal Green tube shelter during an air raid.  At 8:17 p.m. on March 3^rd, the air-raid warning sounded and a large number of people in the Bethnal Green area started to make their way towards the shelter.  According to most accounts, people were entering the shelter in an orderly fashion and without haste, when, without warning, a salvo of anti-aircraft rockets were discharged from nearby Victoria Park.  The loud swooshing sound given off by these new A.A. guns had never been heard before by the people of Bethnal Green and was immediately mistaken for German bombs.  Compounded with frightened people screaming ‘they’re bombs, they’re bombs, everybody get down! etc,’ the large crowd flew into a panic and surged ahead, desperate to gain shelter. A woman fell, either as a result of this surge or as an “unlucky coincidence”, on the third step from the bottom while holding or leading a child, creating a domino effect and within 90 seconds some 300 people were entangled in a mass pile-up. 

Shelter wardens and civilians immediately tried to free people from the entanglement, but with little success.  The lack of light due to the blackout along with the adverse weather conditions made the task even more difficult.  The first ambulance arrived at 8:50 and by 11.30 all of the casualties had been removed from the stairway and taken to various hospitals and churches throughout Bethnal Green and the East End.  In total 173 people were killed, 60 were treated for serious injuries and 10 were released with only bumps and bruises.

The Home Office War Room received a message on 4 March at 0840 stating that a panic had occurred at the Bethnal Green tube shelter the previous night and 178 people were killed and 60 more seriously injured.[1]  Sir Ernest Gower, London Regional Commissioner, also submitted a report on behalf of the Emergency Committee of Bethnal Green to the Home Office on March 4^th, stating that the deaths at the tube shelter had been caused by a panic.  He also stated that the panic had been caused by the anti-aircraft guns that were fired in Victoria Park.

There were a number of matters the Home Secretary, Mr. Herbert Morrison, needed to address immediately in regards to the disaster, starting with whether there should be an independent inquiry and who would conduct it.  The Home Secretary argued that; in the absence of any ‘reason to the contrary’, any enquiry should be held in public.[2]  A public enquiry would have a ‘reassuring’ effect and do more to address public opinion; while a private enquiry might suggest the Government had something to hide.  Lastly, and most importantly, there was a huge demand for a public enquiry by the relatives of the victims and the rest of the residents of Bethnal Green. 

Arguments presented by the Home Office for a private enquiry emphasized the issue of home security.  Another argument for a private enquiry was the effect on morale and how the public would react to hearing an account of the events that might include fear and panic. The third argument for a private enquiry was to eliminate the possibility of ‘irresponsible or disaffected local interest and personages’ being given the opportunity to use the unfortunate event as ‘propaganda’, i.e. Oswald Mosley and the British Union of Fascists.   To this point there were three arguments for a public enquiry and three arguments for a private enquiry.  However, the fourth and prevailing argument in favor of a private enquiry, and the most important in the eyes of the Home Office, simply stated ‘We are at war.’[3]

In a statement in The Times on 6th March, Mr. Morrison claimed that the ‘Government will probe this matter to the utmost.’  He expressed his personal sympathies to ‘all of those who have suffered the loss of relatives and friends in this tragic accident’, but was quick to point out that Londoners were ‘tested and hardened’ and were able to ‘bear suffering and loss bravely as any people in the world.’[4]  He also warned the public of pursuing negligence through blame by stating ‘no good Londoner will want to indulge in any scope goat hunting.’  With that said, he tried to reassure the public that the Government had every intention to bring to justice anyone found of negligence, including officials from the Ministry of Home Security.

On the 8 March, the Home secretary met with Deputy Prime Minister, Clement Atlee, Secretary of State, Anthony Eden and other members of the War Cabinet. After a brief overview the previous week’s activities, he referred to the tragedy in Bethnal Green.  The minutes state that the disaster had not been started by panic, but rather by one or two people that had fallen due to blackout conditions, which prompted others to fall, creating a mass pile-up.  Mr. Morrison informed the other members of the War Cabinet that a meeting had been held by the newly formed Victims’ Relatives Committee and they demanded a public enquiry.[5]  The committee proposed to circulate a ‘monster petition’ to put the necessary pressure on the government to hold an enquiry, preferably under the chairmanship of a judge,  to eliminate any possibility of the incident form being ‘hushed up.’ 

According to the minutes, Morrison also favored an enquiry, but felt that it should not be held in public.  The Home Secretary suggested that Mr. Laurence Dunne, a Metropolitan Magistrate, handle the proceedings of the enquiry and after a short discussion, the War Cabinet endorsed his proposal.  Mr. Morrison and the War Cabinet initially favored the conclusion of the enquiry being made public, but only after strict security considerations.  The War Cabinet also agreed that a statement should be made, by the Home Secretary in the House of Commons on the 10^th of March.[6]

The following day the Home Office released a statement to the press stating that Mr. Laurence Dunne would be conducting the inquest on the behalf of His Majesty’s Government, and although the enquiry was to be held in public, any sensitive material that could be valuable to the enemy may be held in private.  Furthermore, the press report stated that ‘the results of the enquiry will be published’.[7] 

The Home Secretary addressed Parliament on March 10^th and after a brief account of the events of the disaster, he stated

The Government are determined to do whatever is possible to throw light upon the circumstances attending this sad event.  Without in any was assuming that there was negligence in any quarter, the Government wish to be assured, and wish the public to be assured, that any avoidable defect either in the structure and equipment of the shelter, or in the arrangements for its staffing, or for the supervision of those within the shelter, is brought to light so that steps can be taken both in this shelter and elsewhere to minimize the risk of any.

Morrison continued his address by reminding Members of Parliament that:

As many aspects of the incident concern Civil Defense arrangements related to acts of war, on which it is undesirable that information should be given to the enemy, the Government have decided in the national interest that the inquiry shorn be held in private; but the conclusion will, subject to security considerations, be published.[8]     

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[1] HO 205/227

[2] HO 205/227

[3] HO 205/227

[4] The Times March 6, 1943/ HO 192/348

[5] CAB 65/33/38

[6] CAB 65/33/38

[7] HO 205/207

[8] HC Deb 10 March 1943 vol. 387 cc668-71

The Bethnal Green Tube Shelter Disaster part II

On April 3^rd the Home Secretary presented the War Cabinet and the Civil Defense Committee with memorandum W.P. (43) 137 which summarized the conclusion of Mr. Dunne’s inquest. It stated that the main cause of the disaster was a forward surge of shelterers who had been ‘considerably alarmed by the discharge of a salvo of anti-aircraft rockets.’  Mr. Dunne concluded that the crowd was ‘out of hand and frantic with nervousness and worry’ and although ‘panic is not the right word’ there was certainly those that showed a ‘loss of self-control’ which was escalated by additional anti-aircraft fire.[1] 

The Home Secretary also expressed a certain amount of anxiety with the Report’s references to ‘psychological causes’ as one of the main reasons for the disaster.  He feared that it would have had a huge affect on morale and ‘be likely to assist the enemy.’[2]  He felt that that point made by Mr. Dunne would be beneficial to the enemy and detrimental to national security.  Therefore, he prepared a summary for publication, in conjunction with Mr. Dunne and with his approval, modifying these statements in regards to psychological causes of the disaster, but not to ‘criticisms of errors of commission or omission in administration.’  Mr. Dunne agreed to the modifications and the White Paper was subsequently agreed upon as the official statement by His Majesty’s Government.

However, the Home Secretary soon concluded that, by omitting the main cause of the incident on the grounds of national security, the balance of the report had been disturbed and therefore made the Bethnal Green authorities seem responsible for the disaster.  Therefore, the decision to produce the White Paper was abandoned by Morrison and a copy of the Dunne Report was sent to the Bethnal Green Emergency Committee to reassure them that they were free from any responsibility. However, Section 2 of the Official Secrets Act of 1911 prevented the Bethnal Green authorities from making any public statement on the matter.

On the 5^th of April the War Cabinet met once again, this time Winston Churchill sat in on the meeting. The main discussion was about Memorandum W.P. (43) 137 and whether the contents of the Dunne inquest should be made public.  Because Morrison had stated in the House of Commons on March 8^th that subject to security considerations the findings of the Report would be published, the pressure by the people of Bethnal Green to hold a public enquiry had eased.   The Home Secretary feared that by not publishing the findings of the Report, it would appear that the Government had something to hide from the public. However, it was the view of the other members of the War Cabinet, including the Prime Minister, that publication of the conclusion would draw “disproportionate importance (of the event), and might encourage the enemy to make further nuisance raids.’[3]

The War Cabinet decided that the Government would not publish the conclusion to the Dunne report, but instead the Home Secretary would make another statement in the House of Commons.[4]  Mr. Morrison was to include in his statement to the House of Commons that Mr. Dunne’s report had been fully received and suggestions from the findings had already been implemented and modifications for the Bethnal Green Tube Shelter and all air raid shelter throughout the country, had been taken to help reduce the risk of something like this from happening again.    

On April 8^th, exactly one month after his first comments on the matter, Mr. Morrison addressed the House of Commons.  This time he had every intention in making a definitive statement on the official position of the His Majesty’s Government. The Home Secretary stated:

It is impossible to make a fair summary of the report or even the conclusion,                      

without conveying information valuable to the enemy.  The omission of some of          

the conclusion on security grounds disturbs the balance and must have the effect      

of misleading any reader who has not had access to the full text.  In these            

circumstances the Government have regretfully felt bound to decide not to publish           

the conclusion.  It is difficult to judge how far all the factors that contributed to         

the accident could have been foreseen and provided against, but after careful     

consideration I have reached the conclusion that acts of culpable negligence are            

not properly to be included amongst causes.  Certain suggestions were made by    

Mr. Dunne for modifications of existing arrangements which might reduce the      

risk of further disaster of this kind, and action is already being taken to introduce       

these modifications, not only at this shelter but at similar shelters elsewhere.[5]

Sir Percy Harris, Member of Parliament for Bethnal Green and the main advocate for the publication of the Dunne Report, quickly followed up the Home Secretary’s opening comment by asking him “Does he (Herbert Morrison) realize the bad effect there will be on the morale of the people if suspicion arises that he want to conceal the facts that have been stated to the magistrate who made the inquiry?”  To which Morrison replied:

I think the House and the people of the district concerned know me sufficiently well to believe that I would not wish to suppress this report in order to protect anybody.  I would not do that, but I am in the dilemma that if I seek to make a summary, it will not be a fair summary if I eliminate those points on which there are security objections.[6]

Although Mr. Morrison both publicly and privately thanked Mr. Dunne for his thorough and articulate report, he still withheld the conclusion from the public.  Mr. Dunne endorsed the Home Secretary’s decision to withhold the Report’s findings, but harbored suspicions that this was the Government’s intentions from the beginning. 

By July of 1944, the debate over the publication of the Dunne Report began to resurface in Parliament because of a highly publicized lawsuit filed against the Bethnal Green authorities by Mrs. Anne Baker.  Mrs. Baker lost her daughter and husband in the shelter disaster and filed a suit in July of 1943 through the law offices of Messers Dolland and Hearse. Over the next twelve months the details of the incident were heard for the first time in a public court of law.  Mrs. Baker’s claim stated that the Bethnal Green Council was guilty of negligence because they did not provide a safe and proper entrance to the shelter; the staircase was dangerous; the steps were uneven and worn; the light was insufficient and there were no handrails running down the middle of the stairway.  In absence of the Dunne Report as inadmissible evidence on grounds of national security, Mr. Justice Singleton of the King’s Bench Division had no choice than to rule on 18^th of July 1944, that the accident was not caused by the guns firing at Victoria Park, but rather the poor conditions of the stairs and the insufficient light.  Mrs. Baker was awarded 950 pounds for her damages in the form of her husband’s death, 250 pounds in damages of her daughter’s death and 100 pounds awarded for the damages of her own injuries, totaling 1,150 pounds. 

On January 19, 1945 the Government agreed to publish the Dunne Report in its entirety in an address made to the House of Commons by the Minister of the Exchequer, Sir John Anderson.  There had already been dozens of lawsuits filed on behalf of the victims’ relatives and survivors.  The Ministry of Home Security issued a statement on March 2^nd, 1945, stating that those who were receiving a pension due to damages inflicted by the accident were free to decide whether to maintain their pension position or pursue their rights at law.  However, if they chose to pursue their legal rights, they would forfeit their government pension.  By 1951 there had been over 250 claims filed and the Ministry of the Exchequer made its last payment in January of the same year, bringing the total to L69,613 14. 4.   

The censoring of the Dunne Report essentially did very little to prevent the details of the accident from being withheld from the public.  Mrs. Baker’s case divulged all of the same sensitive material within the Dunne Report, including references to psychological causes, panic and the name of the borough that was held accountable for negligence.  Sadly, the real loser of the entire unfortunate event was the Bethnal Green authorities.  Accused and convicted of negligence due to the censoring of the Dunne Report, the Bethnal Green council were effectively gagged from proving the innocence; something that has altered the history of the disaster to this day.

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[1] PREM 4/40/15

[2] PREM 4/40/15

[3] CAB 65/34/2

[4] CAB 65/34/2

[5] HC Deb 08 April 1943 vol. 388 cc 786-8

[6] HC Deb 08 April 1943 vol. 388 cc 786-8

Thought of the Week

I find it extremely difficult to believe that the newly elected Republicans, along with their incumbent cohorts, in the House and Senate expect us to go along with their plan to extend tax credits to those who make more than $250,000 per, to a cost of 800 billion of the tax payers dollars, while only adding to the federal deficit that they claim they want to balance.  As if that wasn’t enough of a kick in the shorts, the Republicans are desperate to flex their ideological muscle by imposing the ever so trendy austerity measures that are being implemented in Western countries such as Great Britain, France, Greece, Spain, Germany, etc., etc.

Now, I am no economists: but I do keep myself informed well enough to know that we, the public tax payer, bailed out private sector banks to the tune of a lot of money, and are now having public funds cut in favor of 800 billion dollars of our tax dollars to re-invest in the private sector? So our reward for bailing out the banks is to have public services cut?  Does this sound miss-guided to anybody else?
Just a thought…

First Stop: Lexington, Virginia

Lexington, Virginia is truly one of America’s most beautiful places.  Situated in the Shenandoah Valley between the Blue Ridge and Alleghany Mountains, the area is filled with picturesque scenery of autumn colored rainbows and mountain top villages.  We took a drive west toward the Virginia/West Virginia border the past weekend and saw some of the most stunning images I have ever seen, complete with roadside lookouts that provided panoramic views of 18^th Century America. 

Founded in 1777, Lexington is rich in Civil War history and legacy.  The town is home to two of America’s oldest institutions: The Virginia Military Institute and Washington and Lee University.  The V.M.I. was founded in 1839 and is one of six senior military colleges, and the only state sponsored military college in Virginia.  Often considered the ‘West Point of the South’, the V.M.I. has had some very prominent teachers and alumni. 

Stonewall Jackson taught at the V.M.I. previous to the outbreak of the Civil War and used his influence to promote the Institute as one of the Confederacy’s leading academies for commissioned officers.  Cadets at the V.M.I. played an important part in the Battle of Chancellorsville, where they help pushed back an advancing Union army and eventually broke through their lines, handing Lee an important victory.  However, General ‘Stonewall’ Jackson was shot in the arm and hand by friendly fire, and eventually died from his wounds, where he was brought back to Lexington and laid to rest in the local cemetery.  Needless to say, Stonewall Jackson is a bit of a local commodity: one can see his house when he lived here, his grave site along with other Civil War soldiers and a museum dedicated to his life.

The other great Confederate General, Robert E. Lee also enjoys a fine legacy here in Lexington.  After the war he retried to Lexington and reluctantly accepted the position of President to then Washington College until his death in 1970.  Washington College changed their name to Washington and Lee University in honor of its most famous President the following year.  Washington and Lee University had a very distinguished and storied history before Lee took up his post.  Established as Augusta Academy in 1749 some 20 miles outside of Lexington, it began as one America’s first institutes of letters.  Amidst the furry of patriotism during the War of Independence, Augusta Academy’s name was changed to Liberty Hall in 1776.  It moved to Lexington in 1780 and was chartered as Liberty Hall Academy two years later.  In 1796, George Washington gave the academy $20,000 in stock to save it from certain insolvency.  As a gesture of their appreciation, the board decided to change the academy’s name to Washington Academy and then to Washington College in 1813, as it remained until 1870. 

Keeping with its strong military tradition, Lexington is also famous for the George C. Marshall Foundation.  Named after America’s Chief of Staff from 1939-1945, George C. Marshall is one America’s finest military personalities. As a cadet at the Virginia Military Institute, Marshall excelled in soldiery and graduated with the top honors of class captain.  After choosing a life in the Army, Marshall took a post in the Philippines, followed by officer training school at Fort Leavenworth, where also excelled and also graduated with top honors.  Upon America’s entry into World War I, Marshall was assigned to General Pershing’s staff, where he assisted in the Meusse-Argonne offensive of 1918.  After the war, Marshall was assigned to various posts including Command of the 15 Infantry Division for three years in China.  After much work with the Civilian Conservation Corps during the 1930’s, Marshall was called to Washington as a one-star general.  In 1938, he was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff and Roosevelt made him Chief of Staff the following year.  His contributions to the war effort in Europe and Asia were immeasurable and command the respect of men such as FDR, Churchill, De Gaulle and Stalin.  He worked professionally and efficiently with John Dill, Alan Brooke and Lord Mountbatten of the British staff and helped ‘win’ the war.

Marshall was adamant about Europe’s economic recovery, to prevent social and political instability.  As Secretary of State to Truman, he championed the Marshall Plan that oversaw economic and material aid to Europe for the assurance of their survival (and to prevent the influence of communism).  He later served as Truman’s Secretary of Defense during the Korean War and President of the American Red Cross.  He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953.  Although Marshall is not exempt from criticism, as any one man would be, I believe that he is one of the few people of this era that acted mainly within his judgment. 

So as you can see, Lexington is a military town: rich in history and, therefore, without exception, hypocrisy…more on that later.   As

Here We Go!

'When Those Were The Days' is a Blog to help me expand my ideas about history and society.  I believe that history is essential to our existence and can help us improve our society by creating a more equal world.

My current project is a piece of social history the explores the Blitz and its impact on American public opinion.  Of course objective facts like dates, people, and statistics will be used throughout this thesis, but I am more interested in how the British and American people felt about the war in Europe and how that has shaped our world today. 

Also, my wife and I intend to use this as travel log for our trip across America, gathering research and seeing the sites!  Hopefully nothing but good will come of it...