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91-509: 1492-1680 and before he died he was half way through making Davenant foundation grammar school. Ralph Davenant was Rector of St Mary's in Whitechapel in the East End of London . This biography article of an English religious figure is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . St Mary Matfelon St Mary Matfelon church, popularly known as St Mary's, Whitechapel ,

182-554: A beautiful church, or hear sacred music in which they can join, or get into close personal touch with the clergy. The imprimatur which the rector of such a parish has freely given to this new development of the Sunday afternoon service is naturally felt in East London to be a great encouragement. Certainly in no part of London could crowded streets give a better mandate for these social gatherings as conducted at St Mary's. Thomas Lord Busby ,

273-483: A better position than they were at its beginning". People referred to raids as if they were weather, stating that a day was "very blitzy". According to Anna Freud and Edward Glover , London civilians surprisingly did not suffer from widespread shell shock , unlike the soldiers in the Dunkirk evacuation . The psychoanalysts were correct, and the special network of psychiatric clinics opened to receive mental casualties of

364-561: A crowd surge after a woman fell down the steps as she entered the station. A single direct hit on a shelter in Stoke Newington in October 1940 killed 160 civilians. Communal shelters never housed more than one seventh of Greater London residents. Peak use of the Underground as shelter was 177,000 on 27 September 1940 and a November 1940 census of London found that about 4% of residents used

455-587: A disaster with or without German air superiority. Regardless of the ability of the Luftwaffe to win air superiority, Hitler was frustrated it was not happening quickly enough. With no sign of the RAF weakening and the Luftflotten suffering many losses, OKL was keen for a change in strategy. To reduce losses further, strategy changed to prefer night raids, giving the bombers greater protection under cover of darkness. It

546-457: A founder or benefactor with the surname Matfelon. A wine merchant named Richard Matefelun is recorded in the area in the 13th century. In 1511, a parishioner, Richard Hunne , after a dispute with the priest over his infant son's funeral, sought to use the English common law courts to challenge the church's authority. In response, church officials arrested him for trial in an ecclesiastical court on

637-468: A great church for East London. As St Mary's, Whitechapel, is one of the foremost in popularity and equipment for parish work, and one of the best attended of the great East End churches, everything that may account for its reputation will well deserve attention. The church seats thirteen hundred people. The services are fully choral; the Psalms are chanted both morning and evening, the congregation being led by

728-514: A greater loss of manpower. On 7 September, the Germans shifted away from the destruction of the RAF's supporting structures. German intelligence suggested Fighter Command was weakening, and an attack on London would force it into a final battle of annihilation while compelling the British Government to surrender. The decision to change strategy is sometimes claimed as a major mistake by OKL. It

819-510: A parish in its own right but its priest for many years was a nominee of the Rector of Stepney . The church's earliest known priest was Hugh de Fulbourne in 1329. Last rebuilt in the 19th century, the church was firebombed during the Blitz leading to its demolition in 1952. Its nave's stone footprint and graveyard – its headstones removed – are the basis of Altab Ali Park on the south side of

910-611: A policy of unrestricted bombing. His hope was—for reasons of political prestige within Germany itself—that the German population would be protected from the Allied bombings. When this proved impossible, he began to fear that popular feeling would turn against his regime, and he redoubled efforts to mount a similar "terror offensive" against Britain in order to produce a stalemate in which both sides would hesitate to use bombing at all. A major problem in

1001-601: A portrait artist and engraver, was baptised at St Mary’s in 1782. The Blitz Britain The Blitz 1942–1945 The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom , from 7 September 1940 to 11 May 1941, for a little more than 8 months during the Second World War . The Germans conducted mass air attacks against industrial targets, towns, and cities, beginning with raids on London towards

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1092-404: A positive result. However, the use of delayed-action bombs , while initially very effective, gradually had less impact, partly because they failed to detonate. The British had anticipated the change in strategy and dispersed its production facilities, making them less vulnerable to a concentrated attack. Regional commissioners were given plenipotentiary powers to restore communications and organise

1183-405: A sort of Venetian, oval and square. The square windows have ill-proportioned circular pediments; and the oval, or more properly elliptic windows, some of which stand upright and others cross-ways, are surrounded with thick festoons. The steeple, which is of stone, rises above the principal door, and is crowned with a plain square battlement. It was sometime since thoroughly repaired. Richard Welton

1274-470: A specific segment of British industry such as aircraft factories, or against a system of interrelated industries such as Britain's import and distribution network, or even in a blow aimed at breaking the morale of the British population. The Luftwaffe 's strategy became increasingly aimless over the winter of 1940–1941. Disputes among OKL staff revolved more around tactics than strategy. This method condemned

1365-404: A way which shows how Evangelicalism is able without compromise to take full share of the latitude which is now so commonly assigned to congregational utterance in church. Sunday evening at St Mary's is a still larger and more notable demonstration of church-going, and the scene is one of the most encouraging sights which East London can show. The church is filled with at least a thousand persons of

1456-411: Is also an occasion for meetings in church for closer dealings with the industrial classes. The Pleasant Sunday Afternoon movement, in its higher aspects, has been commenced with much success. A gospel address from one of the clergy, the services of an excellent orchestra, reinforced by the fine organ of the church, with popular hymns and sacred solos, attract a class who seldom otherwise see the interior of

1547-458: Is argued that persisting with attacks on RAF airfields might have won air superiority for the Luftwaffe . Others argue that the Luftwaffe made little impression on Fighter Command in the last week of August and first week of September and that the shift in strategy was not decisive. It has also been argued that it was doubtful the Luftwaffe could have won air superiority before the "weather window" began to deteriorate in October. It

1638-518: Is probably derived from the Hebrew word Matfel, which signifies both a woman lately delivered of a son, and a woman carrying her infant son; either of which significations is applicable to the Virgin Mary and her holy babe. The old church being in a very ruinous condition, it was taken down in 1673, and the present edifice was soon after erected in its stead. This is a coarse and very irregular building;

1729-557: Is regularly visited by the rector and his assistant clergy. Mr. Sanders can accordingly put his hand at once on the ills amidst which his people live. Mr. Sanders' picture of the underpaid industries of Whitechapel and the results in bodies and souls of the unfortunate workers contributes important data for a view of the problem from the Christian standpoint, and seldom have the responsibilities of society in this matter been stated with greater power and wiser sympathy. ... Sunday afternoon

1820-502: The Luftwaffe had an unclear strategy and poor intelligence. The OKL had not been informed that Britain was to be considered a potential opponent until early 1938. It had no time to gather reliable intelligence on Britain's industries. Moreover, the OKL could not settle on an appropriate strategy. German planners had to decide whether the Luftwaffe should deliver the weight of its attacks against

1911-459: The Luftwaffe switched its main effort to night attacks. This became official policy on 7 October. The air campaign soon got underway against London and other British cities. However, the Luftwaffe faced limitations. Its aircraft— Dornier Do 17 , Junkers Ju 88 , and Heinkel He 111s —were capable of carrying out strategic missions but were incapable of doing greater damage because of their small bomb loads. The Luftwaffe 's decision in

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2002-450: The Luftwaffe was expected to do so over Britain. From July until September 1940 the Luftwaffe attacked Fighter Command to gain air superiority as a prelude to invasion. This involved the bombing of English Channel convoys, ports, and RAF airfields and supporting industries. Destroying RAF Fighter Command would allow the Germans to gain control of the skies over the invasion area. It was supposed Bomber Command, Coastal Command , and

2093-509: The Reichsmarschall 's own explanation was that Hitler wanted to know only how many bombers there were, not how many engines each had. In July 1939, Göring arranged a display of the Luftwaffe 's most advanced equipment at Rechlin , to give the impression the air force was more prepared for a strategic air war than was actually the case. Although not specifically prepared to conduct independent strategic air operations against an opponent,

2184-609: The British Red Cross and the Salvation Army worked to improve conditions. Entertainment included concerts, films, plays and books from local libraries. Although only a small number of Londoners used the mass shelters, when journalists, celebrities and foreigners visited they became part of the Beveridge Report , part of a national debate on social and class division. Most residents found that such divisions continued within

2275-590: The Committee on Imperial Defence estimated that an attack of 60 days would result in 600,000 dead and 1.2 million wounded. News reports of the Spanish Civil War , such as the bombing of Barcelona , supported the 50-casualties-per-tonne estimate. By 1938, experts generally expected that Germany would try to drop as much as 3,500 tonnes in the first 24 hours of war and average 700 tonnes a day for several weeks. In addition to high-explosive and incendiary bombs ,

2366-708: The German High Command began planning Operation Barbarossa , the invasion of the Soviet Union . Bombing failed to demoralise the British into surrender or do much damage to the war economy; eight months of bombing never seriously hampered British war production, which continued to increase. The greatest effect was to force the British to disperse the production of aircraft and spare parts. British wartime studies concluded that most cities took 10 to 15 days to recover when hit severely, but some, such as Birmingham, took three months. The German air offensive failed because

2457-505: The Hull Blitz . The port cities of Bristol , Cardiff , Portsmouth , Plymouth , Southampton , Sunderland , Swansea , Belfast , and Glasgow were also bombed, as were the industrial centres of Birmingham , Coventry , Manchester , and Sheffield . More than 40,000 civilians were killed by Luftwaffe bombing during the war, almost half of them in the capital, where more than a million houses were destroyed or damaged. In early July 1940,

2548-470: The Indian ". Although the intensity of the bombing was not as great as pre-war expectations, thus making an equal comparison impossible, no psychiatric crisis occurred because of the Blitz even during the period of greatest bombing of September 1940. An American witness wrote, "By every test and measure I am able to apply, these people are staunch to the bone and won't quit ... the British are stronger and in

2639-527: The London Underground stations. Although many civilians had used them for shelter during the First World War, the government in 1939 refused to allow the stations to be used as shelters so as not to interfere with commuter and troop travel and the fears that occupants might refuse to leave. Underground officials were ordered to lock station entrances during raids but by the second week of heavy bombing,

2730-667: The Phoney War , civilians were aware of the deadly power of aerial attacks through newsreels of Barcelona, the Bombing of Guernica and the Bombing of Shanghai . Many popular works of fiction during the 1920s and 1930s portrayed aerial bombing, such as H. G. Wells ' novel The Shape of Things to Come and its 1936 film adaptation , and others such as The Air War of 1936 and The Poison War . Harold Macmillan wrote in 1956 that he and others around him "thought of air warfare in 1938 rather as people think of nuclear war today". Based in part on

2821-614: The Royal Navy could not operate under conditions of German air superiority. The Luftwaffe 's poor intelligence meant that their aircraft were not always able to locate their targets, and thus attacks on factories and airfields failed to achieve the desired results. British fighter aircraft production continued at a rate surpassing Germany's during the Battle of Britain by 2 to 1. The British produced 10,000 aircraft in 1940, in comparison to Germany's 8,000. The replacement of pilots and aircrew

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2912-479: The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) adopted much of this apocalyptic thinking. The policy of RAF Bomber Command became an attempt to achieve victory through the destruction of civilian will, communications and industry. The Luftwaffe took a cautious view of strategic bombing , but the OKL did not oppose the strategic bombardment of industries or cities. It believed it could greatly affect

3003-402: The 'white chapel'. The church's prominent position on the westerly junction of Whitechapel Road made it a landmark and it became the name of the area. The "thoroughly repaired" late Stuart church (before its 1877 complete rebuilding) and some of its history are described in a book of 1829: This church is of some antiquity, as appears by Hugh de Fulbourn being rector thereof in the year 1329. It

3094-410: The Blitz , on 29 December 1940, a Luftwaffe fire raid destroyed the church. It was left in disrepair until it was demolished in 1952. The site of the church became St Mary's Gardens in 1966; it is now a public park called Altab Ali Park ; an outline of the footprint of the church is all that remains of it. Among those buried on the site are the mutineer Richard Parker , the hangman Richard Brandon ,

3185-423: The Blitz. The programme favoured back garden Anderson shelters and small brick surface shelters. Many of the latter were abandoned in 1940 as unsafe. Authorities expected that the raids would be brief and in daylight, rather than attacks by night, which forced Londoners to sleep in shelters. Deep shelters provided most protection against a direct hit. The government did not build them for large populations before

3276-529: The Boys' Club and the Men's Bible Classes. The school sent regular financial donations and other support to what they called the "Whitechapel Mission". The school's Monktonian Magazine of February 1911 has an article "An OM at Work" describing the church, its congregation, and mission in detail. It describes the school as "a kind of fairy godmother" to the boys. In 1920 the mission transferred to St Luke's, Hackney. During

3367-560: The Germans could use poison gas and even bacteriological warfare, all with a high degree of accuracy. In 1939, military theorist Basil Liddell-Hart predicted that 250,000 deaths and injuries in Britain could occur in the first week of war. London hospitals prepared for 300,000 casualties in the first week of war. British air raid sirens sounded for the first time 22 minutes after Neville Chamberlain declared war on Germany . Although bombing attacks unexpectedly did not begin immediately during

3458-600: The Luftwaffe High Command ( Oberkommando der Luftwaffe , OKL) did not develop a methodical strategy for destroying British war industry. Poor intelligence about British industry and economic efficiency led to OKL concentrating on tactics rather than strategy. The bombing effort was diluted by attacks against several sets of industries instead of constant pressure on the most vital. In the 1920s and 1930s, airpower theorists such as Giulio Douhet and Billy Mitchell claimed that air forces could win wars, obviating

3549-459: The Luftwaffe, ordered the new policy on 6 September 1940. From 7 September 1940, London was systematically bombed by the Luftwaffe for 56 of the following 57 days and nights. Notable attacks included a large daylight attack against London on 15 September , a large raid on 29 December 1940 against London resulting in a firestorm known as the Second Great Fire of London , and a large raid on

3640-535: The Tube and other large shelters, 9% in public surface shelters and 27% in private home shelters, implying that the remaining 60% of the city stayed at home. The government distributed Anderson shelters until 1941 and that year began distributing the Morrison shelter , which could be used inside homes. Public demand caused the government in October 1940 to build new deep shelters within the Underground to hold 80,000 people but

3731-508: The air staff that war with Britain or even Russia was a possibility. The amount of firm operational and tactical preparation for a bombing campaign was minimal, largely because of the failure by Hitler as supreme commander to insist upon such a commitment. Ultimately, Hitler was trapped within his own vision of bombing as a terror weapon, formed in the 1930s when he threatened smaller nations into accepting German rule rather than submit to air bombardment. This had important implications. It showed

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3822-415: The amount of space available and made detailed preparations for transporting evacuees. A trial blackout was held on 10 August 1939 and when Germany invaded Poland on 1 September, a blackout began at sunset. Lights were not allowed after dark for almost six years, and the blackout became by far the most unpopular aspect of the war for civilians, even more than rationing . The relocation of the government and

3913-402: The attacks closed due to lack of need. Although the stress of the war resulted in many anxiety attacks, eating disorders, fatigue, weeping, miscarriages, and other physical and mental ailments, society did not collapse. The number of suicides and drunkenness declined, and London recorded only about two cases of "bomb neurosis" per week in the first three months of bombing. Many civilians found that

4004-435: The balance of power on the battlefield by disrupting production and damaging civilian morale. OKL did not believe air power alone could be decisive, and the Luftwaffe did not adopt an official policy of the deliberate bombing of civilians until 1942. The vital industries and transport centres that would be targeted for shutdown were valid military targets. It could be claimed civilians were not to be targeted directly, but

4095-469: The bars at Aldgate, to which the high street leads. It was created as a chapel-of-ease for a western tranche of that sprawling parish. The building was the nexus by 1320 of its own parish: St Mary Matfelon, Whitechapel, whose vicar and vicarage were reserved as the gift of the rector of Stepney. This was the second-oldest church in Stepney after St Dunstan's, Stepney . The church's name may have commemorated

4186-534: The beginning of the National Socialist regime until 1939, there was a debate in German military journals over the role of strategic bombardment, with some contributors arguing along the lines of the British and Americans. General Walther Wever (Chief of the Luftwaffe General Staff 1 March 1935 – 3 June 1936) championed strategic bombing and the building of suitable aircraft, although he emphasised

4277-447: The best way to retain mental stability was to be with family, and after the first few weeks of bombing, avoidance of the evacuation programmes grew. The cheerful crowds visiting bomb sites were so large they interfered with rescue work. Pub visits increased in number (beer was never rationed), and 13,000 attended cricket at Lord's . People left shelters when told instead of refusing to leave, although many housewives reportedly enjoyed

4368-447: The body of the sailor Richard Parker , hanged for his leading role in the Nore mutiny , was given a Christian burial at Whitechapel after his wife exhumed it from the unconsecrated burial ground to which it was originally consigned. Crowds gathered to see the body before it was buried. On 26 August 1880, a fire devastated the church, leaving its thin tower, vestry and church rooms intact. It

4459-438: The body, which is formed of brick, and ornamented with stone rustic work at the corners, is ninety-three feet in length, sixty-three feet in breadth; and the height of the tower and turret is eighty feet. The principal door is ornamented with a kind of rustic pilasters, with cherubs’ heads by way of capitals, and a pediment above. The body is enlightened with a great number of windows, which are of various forms, and different sizes,

4550-410: The bombing of opponents than air defence, although he promoted the development of a bomber force in the 1930s and understood it was possible to use bombers for strategic purposes. He told OKL in 1939 that ruthless employment of the Luftwaffe against the heart of the British will to resist would follow when the moment was right. Hitler quickly developed scepticism toward strategic bombing, confirmed by

4641-886: The break from housework. Some people even told government surveyors that they enjoyed air raids if they occurred occasionally, perhaps once a week. Despite the attacks, defeat in Norway and France , and the threat of invasion, overall morale remained high. A Gallup poll found only 3% of Britons expected to lose the war in May 1940. Another poll found an 88% approval rating for Churchill in July. A third poll found 89% support for his leadership in October. Support for peace negotiations declined from 29% in February. Each setback caused more civilians to volunteer to become unpaid Local Defence Volunteers . Workers worked longer shifts and over weekends. Contributions rose to

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4732-431: The breakdown of production would affect their morale and will to fight. German legal scholars of the 1930s carefully worked out guidelines for what type of bombing was permissible under international law. While direct attacks against civilians were ruled out as "terror bombing", the concept of attacking vital war industries—and probable heavy civilian casualties and breakdown of civilian morale—was ruled as acceptable. From

4823-429: The capital charge of heresy. In December 1514, while awaiting trial, Hunne was found dead in his cell, and murder by church officials was suspected. By 1673, the historic definition of the parish of Stepney was divided into nine separate parishes. The third documented iteration of the church was built on the site largely at the expense of Octavius Coope ; it was opened and re-consecrated on 2 February 1877. In 1797,

4914-461: The civil service was also planned but would only have occurred if necessary so as not to damage civilian morale. Not only was there evacuation over land, but also by ship. The Children's Overseas Reception Board was organised by the government to help parents send their children overseas to four British Dominions —Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. The programme evacuated 2,664 boys and girls (ages 5–15) until its ending in October after

5005-470: The commander of Luftflotte 3 (1 February 1939 – 23 August 1944) and Hans Jeschonnek , Chief of the Luftwaffe General Staff (1 February 1939 – 19 August 1943). The Luftwaffe was not pressed into ground support operations because of pressure from the army or because it was led by ex-soldiers; indeed, the Luftwaffe favoured a model of joint inter-service operations rather than independent strategic air campaigns. Hitler paid less attention to

5096-565: The death of the last Stuart monarch, Queen Anne , Welton refused to take the oath of allegiance to the new Hanoverian king George I in October 1714. He was therefore deprived of his offices on 3 March 1715. The following description of a Sunday service appeared in East London Sketches of Christian Work and Workers by Henry Walker, published by the Religious Tract Society in 1896: The church of St Mary Matfelon - to give it

5187-696: The distribution of supplies to keep the war economy moving. London had nine million people—a fifth of the British population—living in an area of 750 square miles (1,940 square kilometres), which was difficult to defend because of its size. Based on experience with German strategic bombing during World War I against the United Kingdom, the British government estimated that 50 casualties—with about one-third killed—would result for every tonne of bombs dropped on London. The estimate of tonnes of bombs an enemy could drop per day grew as aircraft technology advanced, from 75 in 1922, to 150 in 1934, to 644 in 1937. In 1937

5278-663: The end of the Battle of Britain in 1940 (a battle for daylight air superiority between the Luftwaffe and the Royal Air Force over the United Kingdom). By September 1940, the Luftwaffe had lost the Battle of Britain and the German air fleets ( Luftflotten ) were ordered to attack London, to draw RAF Fighter Command into a battle of annihilation . Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring , commander-in-chief of

5369-402: The experience of German bombing in the First World War, politicians feared mass psychological trauma from aerial attacks and the collapse of civil society. In 1938, a committee of psychiatrists predicted three times as many mental as physical casualties from aerial bombing, implying three to four million psychiatric patients. Winston Churchill told Parliament in 1934, "We must expect that, under

5460-471: The extent to which Hitler mistook Allied strategy for one of morale breaking instead of one of economic warfare , with the collapse of morale as a bonus. Hitler was much more attracted to the political aspects of bombing. As the mere threat of it had produced diplomatic results in the 1930s, he expected that the threat of German retaliation would persuade the Allies to adopt a policy of moderation and not to begin

5551-552: The government relented and ordered the stations to be opened. Each day orderly lines of people queued until 4:00 pm, when they were allowed to enter the stations. In mid-September 1940, about 150,000 people a night slept in the Underground, although by winter and spring the numbers declined to 100,000 or less. Battle noises were muffled and sleep was easier in the deepest stations, but many people were killed from direct hits on stations. In March 1943, 173 men, women and children were crushed to death at Bethnal Green tube station in

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5642-413: The importance of aviation in operational and tactical terms. Wever outlined five points of air strategy: Wever argued that OKL should not be solely educated in tactical and operational matters but also in grand strategy, war economics, armament production and the mentality of potential opponents (also known as intelligence analysis ). Wever's vision was not realised, staff studies in those subjects fell by

5733-434: The interwar period to concentrate on medium bombers can be attributed to several reasons: Hitler did not intend or foresee a war with Britain in 1939, the OKL believed a medium bomber could carry out strategic missions just as well as a heavy bomber force, and Germany did not possess the resources or technical ability to produce four-engined bombers before the war. Although it had equipment capable of doing serious damage,

5824-457: The managing of the Luftwaffe was Göring. Hitler believed the Luftwaffe was "the most effective strategic weapon", and in reply to repeated requests from the Kriegsmarine for control over naval aircraft insisted, "We should never have been able to hold our own in this war if we had not had an undivided Luftwaffe ". Such principles made it much harder to integrate the air force into

5915-411: The middle classes are wending their way to morning service. We enter with them, and find ourselves in a large, spacious, impressive, and richly-decorated building. The church, it should be said, is the grateful and lavish gift of a former parishioner: the lofty roof, richly-coloured walls, and the sculptures and stained-glass windows betoken alike the costliness of the offering and the giver's conception of

6006-441: The military structure encouraged the emergence of a major "communications gap" between Hitler and the Luftwaffe , which other factors helped to exacerbate. For one thing, Göring's fear of Hitler led him to falsify or misrepresent what information was available in the direction of an uncritical and over-optimistic interpretation of air strength. When Göring decided against continuing Wever's original heavy bomber programme in 1937,

6097-463: The need for land and sea combat. It was thought that " the bomber will always get through " and could not be resisted, particularly at night. Industry, seats of government and communications could be destroyed, depriving an opponent of the means to make war. Bombing civilians would cause a collapse of morale and a loss of production in the remaining factories. Democracies, where public opinion was allowed, were thought particularly vulnerable. The RAF and

6188-567: The night of 10–11 May 1941. The Luftwaffe gradually decreased daylight operations in favour of night attacks to evade attacks by the RAF, and the Blitz became a night bombing campaign after October 1940. The Luftwaffe attacked the main Atlantic seaport of Liverpool in the Liverpool Blitz . The North Sea port of Hull , a convenient and easily found target or secondary target for bombers unable to locate their primary targets, suffered

6279-482: The offensive over Britain to failure before it began. In an operational capacity, limitations in weapons technology and quick British reactions were making it more difficult to achieve strategic effect. Attacking ports, shipping and imports as well as disrupting rail traffic in the surrounding areas, especially the distribution of coal, an important fuel in all industrial economies of the Second World War, would net

6370-406: The old historic name - is itself a message of beauty and graciousness in such a quarter. Its noble spire rises two hundred feet in height, far above the houses of the populous and struggling district around, a striking and commanding feature visible far and wide. The beautifully-toned bells are filling the air with their inviting peal. Through the crowded streets of loungers, well-to-do church-goers of

6461-451: The overall strategy and produced in Göring a jealous and damaging defense of his "empire" while removing Hitler voluntarily from the systematic direction of the Luftwaffe at either the strategic or operational level. When Hitler tried to intervene more in the running of the air force later in the war, he was faced with a political conflict of his own making between himself and Göring, which

6552-430: The period of heaviest bombing had passed before they were finished. By the end of 1940 improvements had been made in the Underground and in many other large shelters. Authorities provided stoves and bathrooms and canteen trains provided food. Tickets were issued for bunks in large shelters, to reduce the amount of time spent queuing. Committees quickly formed within shelters as informal governments, and organisations such as

6643-492: The philanthropist Sir John Cass , and "Sir" Jeffrey Dunstan , the " Mayor of Garratt ". The clockmaker Ahasuerus Fromanteel was buried at the church in 1693. The wildlife artist Marmaduke Cradock was buried there in 1717. Whitewash made of lime and chalk was used as paint on the outside of the original church in the Middle Ages, and gave it a bright white finish. It is commonly believed that this prompted locals to call it

6734-573: The pressure of continuous attack upon London, at least three or four million people would be driven out into the open country around the metropolis". Panic during the Munich crisis , such as the migration by 150,000 people to Wales, contributed to fear of social chaos. The government planned the evacuation of four million people—mostly women and children—from urban areas, including 1.4 million from London. It expected about 90% of evacuees to stay in private homes, conducted an extensive survey to determine

6825-408: The results of the Blitz. He frequently complained of the Luftwaffe 's inability to damage industries sufficiently, saying, "The munitions industry cannot be impeded effectively by air raids ... usually, the prescribed targets are not hit". While the war was being planned, Hitler never insisted upon the Luftwaffe planning a strategic bombing campaign and did not even give ample warning to

6916-524: The shelters and many arguments and fights occurred over noise, space and other matters. Anti-Jewish sentiment was reported, particularly around the East End of London, with anti-Semitic graffiti and anti-Semitic rumours, such as that Jewish people were "hogging" air raid shelters. Contrary to pre-war fears of anti-Semitic violence in the East End, one observer found that the "Cockney and the Jew [worked] together, against

7007-591: The sinking of the SS ; City of Benares with the loss of 81 children out of 100 on board. Much civil defence preparation in the form of shelters was left in the hands of local authorities and many areas such as Birmingham , Coventry , Belfast , and the East End of London did not have enough shelters. The unexpected delay to civilian bombing during the Phoney War meant that the shelter programme finished in June 1940, before

7098-405: The surpliced choir. The musical service, though keeping pace with the increasing capacities of present-day congregations, is always well within congregational lines. The growing delight in singing as an act of common worship which now characterises all Christian denominations, and which is a great feature of all East London places of worship is indeed amply provided for at St Mary's, and that, too, in

7189-406: The thoroughfare. A building going by this name or its aliases stood for at least 670 years until its last form was demolished. For all or most of its time, the place of worship stood where Adler Street meets White Church Lane and Whitechapel High Street. The original form was the white chapel or, more formally, the chapel of St Mary, Stepney. The white chapel stood by 1282 at some distance outside

7280-595: The war because of cost, time to build and fears that their safety would cause occupants to refuse to leave to return to work or that anti-war sentiment would develop in large congregations of civilians. The government saw the leading role taken by the Communist Party in advocating the building of deep shelters as an attempt to damage civilian morale, especially after the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939. The most important existing communal shelters were

7371-724: The wayside, and the Air Academies focused on tactics, technology and operational planning rather than on independent strategic air offensives. In 1936, Wever was killed in an air crash, and the failure to implement his vision for the new Luftwaffe was largely attributable to his successors. Ex-army personnel and his successors as Chief of the Luftwaffe General Staff, Albert Kesselring (3 June 1936 – 31 May 1937) and Hans-Jürgen Stumpff (1 June 1937 – 31 January 1939) are usually blamed for abandoning strategic planning for close air support . Two prominent enthusiasts for ground-support operations (direct or indirect) were Hugo Sperrle ,

7462-524: The words "The Dean the Traitor" underneath. The apostle John, depicted as a mere boy, was considered singularly like Prince James Edward , and Christ himself was identified by some with Henry Sacheverell . Crowds flocked to see the altarpiece, among them Mrs Kennett, who recognised her husband with indignant astonishment. Kennett took proceedings in the court of the bishop of London, John Robinson , and on 26 April 1714 obtained an order for its removal. Upon

7553-449: The working and poorer classes of Whitechapel. The beautiful and impressive service is an experience not to be forgotten. The sermon, too, is redolent of the place and the people. In the evening the vicar applies himself to the actual circumstances and difficulties of the congregation he knows so well. Here it may be mentioned that the population of the parish is twenty thousand, and that every family of this large number, Jew and Gentile alike,

7644-495: Was a Catholic then after the English Reformation a Church of England parish church on Whitechapel Road , Whitechapel , London (in the county of Middlesex until 1889). It is repeatedly supposed by many works and oral histories that the church was covered in a lime whitewash , which gave the chapelry (district) its common name, Whitechapel. Around 1320, it became called St Mary Matfelon. About that time it became

7735-538: Was admitted rector of St Mary's on 30 June 1697. Welton had strong Jacobite sympathies, and regarded the Whig clergymen as apostates. About the close of 1713 he had a new altarpiece placed in the church, representing the Last Supper . The painter, James Fellowes , was instructed to portray Bishop Burnet in the semblance of Judas, but, fearing the consequences, he obtained permission to substitute Dean White Kennett with

7826-479: Was also possible, if RAF losses became severe, that they could pull out to the north, wait for the German invasion, then redeploy southward again. Other historians argue that the outcome of the air battle was irrelevant; the massive numerical superiority of British naval forces and the inherent weakness of the Kriegsmarine would have made the projected German invasion, Unternehmen Seelöwe (Operation Sea Lion),

7917-463: Was decided to focus on bombing Britain's industrial cities, in daylight to begin with. The main focus was London. The first major raid took place on 7 September. On 15 September, on a date known as Battle of Britain Day, a large-scale raid was launched in daylight, but suffered significant loss for no lasting gain. Although there were a few large air battles fought in daylight later in the month and into October,

8008-428: Was more difficult. Both the RAF and Luftwaffe struggled to replace manpower losses, though the Germans had larger reserves of trained aircrew. The circumstances affected the Germans more than the British. Operating over home territory, British aircrew could fly again if they survived being shot down. German crews, even if they survived, faced capture. Moreover, bombers had four to five crewmen on board, representing

8099-509: Was not fully resolved until the war was almost over. In 1940 and 1941, Göring's refusal to co-operate with the Kriegsmarine denied the entire Wehrmacht military forces of the Reich the chance to strangle British sea communications, which might have had a strategic or decisive effect in the war against the British Empire. The deliberate separation of the Luftwaffe from the rest of

8190-407: Was originally a chapel of ease to the church of St Dunstan, Stepney , and is supposed to have obtained the epithet of White from having been white-washed or plastered on the outside. The first church erected on the spot after it ceased to be a chapel of ease of Stepney parish, was dedicated to St Mary Matfelon; a name which has given birth to many conjectures respecting its signification, but which

8281-492: Was rebuilt and opened once more on 1 December 1882, this time with a capacity for 1600 worshippers and including an external pulpit for sermons, some of which were given in Yiddish . Monkton Combe School near Bath, Somerset maintained a strong evangelical missionary relationship with this church, beginning in 1906 under the auspices of the then Rector, Rev. A. M. Robinson, an Old Monktonian. Old boys served as curates and ran

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