Blitz

The Second World War was not only fought in the skies above Europe or on distant beaches – it crashed into lives across the UK night after night as the bombs and missiles fell. May 2026 marks the 85th anniversary of the end of the Night Blitz. But the aerial assault on Britain did not stop in May 1941. For decades, ‘The Blitz’ – from the German ‘Blitzkrieg’ or lightning war – has been framed as a few desperate months beginning in September 1940 that mainly affected London. In reality, bombing continued, in one form or another, until the spring of 1945. BLITZ tells this broader, longer and more devastating story of one of the defining events of the twentieth century, in which more than 60,000 civilians were killed and millions made homeless. From Eastbourne to Glasgow, from Cardiff to Newcastle, John Nichol uncovers forgotten tragedies and the extraordinary resilience of communities across the country. He tells of civilians at the forefront of war, heroic firefighters battling infernos, the unflinching bravery required to defuse unexploded bombs, families wiped out in an instant, and communities left bereft by a single blast. Drawing on interviews with survivors, diaries, official records and eyewitness testimonies, Nichol gives voice to the men, women and children who endured nights of fire and fear, and to those who found the courage to run towards danger. He also brings the story up to date by speaking to people involved in similar situations today: mass casualty events, the terrible fire at Grenfell Tower, bomb disposal in modern warfare and individual acts of astonishing bravery. At once gripping and compassionate, BLITZ will make you see this supposedly familiar history afresh. It is the definitive account of a nationwide struggle that shaped the course of the war and the spirit of a generation. The book includes maps and two plate sections with 38 photos and archival images.