50 caught looting in Plymouth during the Blitz
THE heroic image of wartime Plymouth has been dealt a blow by new research.
During the Second World War Blitz, 50 Plymothians were caught and convicted of looting, the research by an historian reveals.
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The looters moved in as German bombs rained down on the city.
Shockingly, many were men and women in positions of trust, according to a new book by Exeter University historian Dr Todd Gray.
Plymouth's heaviest bombing took place from March to April of 1941. It was during this period that looting appears to have been heaviest, with children, servicemen, wardens and firefighters all taking part.
The home of Wilfred Shawe on the Hoe was one of the many destroyed on the night of April 22.
In a letter to The Herald's sister paper, the Western Morning News, Mr Shawe later described the looting in Plymouth as being "really appalling".
He wrote lamenting the looting of the only item, a frying pan, that he had managed to salvage from his home.
In response to an earlier news item on heavy looting in the port Mr Shawe wrote: "I do not think he exaggerates in the least."
A journalist recorded the day before that German planes had "rained death and destruction on an already severely mauled city".
Looting was punishable by death, and on March 6 the chairman of Plymouth's police court had warned that "looters will be very severely dealt with in future. The public must realise that bombed property must not be touched, however great the temptation."
The court was hearing the case of a city man who was accused of stealing a wooden floorboard from a bombed house.
In the middle of March a firewatcher at a Plymouth cinema, looted an adjoining building, then in flames. When caught, he claimed the items were gifts but the judge decided otherwise and he served three months in prison.
Dr Gray's research is the first study of the looting that accompanied the Blitz across Britain.
Public shock at the bombing was replaced by anger and outrage as looting spread across the country, Dr Gray said.
Dr Gray's book, Looting in Wartime Britain, relies on police records, court papers, newspaper accounts and documents released under the Freedom of Information Act.
Nationwide more than 10,000 people were prosecuted.
"While looting was realised at the time as an unfortunate part of the Home Front it has been all but forgotten today," Dr Gray said.
"It runs counter to the feeling that the country was unified in its struggle against German fascism.
"This history of looting is an uncomfortable aspect of the past but to ignore it is to diminish that generation's struggle."
Looting in Wartime Britain is published by The Mint Press via Stevensbooks at www.stevensbooks.co.uk or 01392 459760. Price: £9.99
18 Comments
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by Jimmy Hunt, Blitzed
Monday, November 09 2009, 10:21PM
“I feel sorry for the Plymouth Blitz.
My house was gone and I not seen my mrs for a long time.”
by Biggles!, plymouth
Monday, November 09 2009, 8:10PM
“Was it looting? Where is the line between looting and salvaging - does the property have to be more or less intact for it to be looting??
Because that would be fair enough - if a family is in a bomb shelter and someone nabbed the silverware then yep that's looting...
If I found a frying pan in a big old pile of rubble - and my house is also a big pile of rubble - well I'm gonna fry me up something to eat! - That's making the best out of a bad situation I think.”
by Cias, Plymouth
Monday, November 09 2009, 3:52PM
“50 Caught looting in Plymouth during the blitz - Police expect to make an arrest "in the near future".”
by Dave, At sea
Monday, November 09 2009, 3:37PM
“So? People in desperate situations will take desperate measures. Why do we seek to impose our 'standards' on a situation we have no experience of?”
by Vor, somewhere nice
Monday, November 09 2009, 3:32PM
“Hehe
Plymouth in the blitz = Swilley 2009
Nothing changes does it?
Bet you the same families are still claiming benefits!”
by Hoof Hearted, In the Blitz
Monday, November 09 2009, 3:08PM
“Someone who lived throught the Plymouth Blitz told me their house got hit by an incendiary while they were out, but the neighbours were able to extinguish the fire because they never locked their doors. I think we're hearing about the minority here - criminals have always been around.”
by John, plymouth
Monday, November 09 2009, 2:41PM
“Rich, sorry to hear about your grandparents, but was it common for families to return the next day and find their neighbours had looted their home? I don't know. Were many Plymothians just a load of chavs then as they are today? what are the Herald, you and, I suspect, others saying?”
by John, plymouth
Monday, November 09 2009, 2:32PM
“James, my comment still stands. The Article appears in the local newspaper covering the Plymouth area. It is symptomatic of poor journalism reporting about even poorer historical research. Academics nowadays search ever more desperately for some new angle or approach to an historical subject. Mostly failing miserably. But, having said that, you make a good critical comment.”
by rich, plymouth
Monday, November 09 2009, 2:29PM
“"Insignificant or significant" John asks?
I recall a story my mother recently shared with me concerning my fathers family home in Plymouth during the war. With my grandfather killed in action at sea during November 1939 my grandmother was left to raise and look after the family. During the time of the bombing it was common for families to take shelter outside the city. Returning after one particular night she and her children found that their home had been damaged by a bomb but much worse, the house had been ransacked apparently by so called 'neighbours' and everything of value had been stolen.
John, I guess that would have been "significant" to her don't you?”
by James, Mutley
Monday, November 09 2009, 1:16PM
“John have you read the book? if you have then fair enough but if you havent then your comment is a stupid comment written by a stupid person for stupid people. It is the herald who have written this artical and i suspect it is the herald who has provided no context. Knowing the herald they have probably conveniantly missed out the context to provide a better story!”