Front Line 1940-41: The Official Story of Civil Defence of Britain

This booklet, one of a series documenting the effect of the War on the Home Front, shows the devastation of Axis bombing raids throughout the UK. There is a clear Anglo-centric tone to the book, with much of the focus being on the London Blitz. Personal courage in the face of bombing raids was, however, not solely restricted to London as many Scottish cities, towns and villages were devastated by fires and bomb damage. The booklet does eventually, albeit somewhat backhandedly, describe the brave deeds of the Scots in the aftermath of attacks as “belong[ing] to the fighting traditions of Scotland”. This statement is, however, followed by: “though they were not done by picturesque, kilted figures at the charge but by drab, dungareed men and women in tin hats.”

This publication is a good example of the historic trend to be extremely London focussed when exploring the effect of Axis bombing raids. Scotland too was significantly affected by raids, with the first ever bombing raid on UK territory taking place along the Firth of Forth.