Churchill visits boost morale
11th April 1941: The Luftwaffe continues to wreak devastation on cities up and down Britain but Churchill's defiant rhetoric is a unifying force
Cities across Britain suffered a series of hugely damaging air raids in the early months of 1941. Liverpool, Belfast, Plymouth, and Glasgow had all suffered widespread destruction, alongside London. Thousands were being killed every month, and many tens of thousands were made homeless. But Hitler’s Terrorangriff did little to subdue the British. The general population was more prepared for the expected invasion than ever before. But in March and April 1941, there seemed to be no end in sight for the relentless campaign of destruction. It seemed perhaps even more intense than ever.
Throughout it all, Churchill made a series of visits up and down the country to bombed cities. His message of defiance in a series of speeches and broadcasts made him a popular figure. His rousing rhetoric and condemnation of the ‘criminal’ ‘gangsters’ of the ‘perverted’ Nazi regime was a unifying force and was a war-winning factor in its own right.
I was amazed by the eagerness and cheerfulness of the population. W[inston] had a great reception
On the 11th/ 12th April, Churchill visited South Wales and Bristol to see the consequences of recent air raids. He was accompanied by the United States Ambassador, John Winant, Roosevelt’s personal envoy, Averell Harriman (Special Representative of the President to Great Britain for the “Lend-Lease” mission), and the Australian Prime Minister, Robert Menzies. His first visit was to the port of Swansea, which had been torn apart by a massive three-night raid in February.
