0:00:02 > 0:00:06September 3rd, 1939, and families all over the country flock to their radios.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09ARCHIVE: I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received,
0:00:09 > 0:00:15and that, consequently, this country is at war with Germany.
0:00:17 > 0:00:21In that brief moment, life in our country changed forever.
0:00:21 > 0:00:22World War II had begun,
0:00:22 > 0:00:26but victory wouldn't be assured by military might alone.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31The Blitz, evacuation, rationing, the loss of loved ones -
0:00:31 > 0:00:34the war on the home front meant that everyone had to do their bit.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39From the country's women, who took on everything -
0:00:39 > 0:00:42farming, factory work, even flying Spitfires -
0:00:42 > 0:00:46to the nation's auxiliary firemen who worked through the terror of countless air raids,
0:00:46 > 0:00:51this is the story of ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53This is How We Won The War.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05For the next two weeks, I'll be criss-crossing the UK.
0:01:05 > 0:01:09Region by region, I'll be exploring how different parts of the country
0:01:09 > 0:01:12made unique contributions to the war effort here at home.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16I'll be looking at the lives of ordinary citizens
0:01:16 > 0:01:19and the incredible efforts they went to to help us win the War.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22I'm starting here in Northern Ireland.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25It's a part of the country that's often overlooked,
0:01:25 > 0:01:30yet a place of vital importance to our eventual victory in World War II.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33On today's programme, devastated by the Blitz,
0:01:33 > 0:01:37the people of Belfast unite as one...
0:01:37 > 0:01:40Their mother and I lay under the table,
0:01:40 > 0:01:43and the wee girl lay with her arms around her mammy and me.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47We had a community spirit because we all became like a big family.
0:01:47 > 0:01:50..the traditional techniques used to produce materials
0:01:50 > 0:01:54for hundreds of thousands of British uniforms in the War...
0:01:54 > 0:01:56That looks absolutely terrifying, Eugene.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59I'm amazed that you haven't lost any fingers over the years.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01..and a Spitfire a day keeps the Nazis away -
0:02:01 > 0:02:04how the people of Northern Ireland raised enough money
0:02:04 > 0:02:07to build 17 of the iconic fighters.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11The Spitfire captured the imagination.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13They were queuing up on Royal Avenue waiting to come in
0:02:13 > 0:02:17and deposit their contributions to the fund.
0:02:25 > 0:02:29When war broke out in September 1939, most people living here
0:02:29 > 0:02:32thought they would be an unlikely target for Hitler.
0:02:32 > 0:02:33And it is easy to see why.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35To the south was the Republic of Ireland -
0:02:35 > 0:02:37they, of course, were neutral -
0:02:37 > 0:02:40and to the east, well, the rest of Great Britain,
0:02:40 > 0:02:42with its army and anti-aircraft defences.
0:02:42 > 0:02:47The idea the German air force would even get this far seemed pretty unlikely.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51The theory was simple - if you were in Northern Ireland, you were safe.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57But it was an assumption that was to cost the people of Belfast dearly.
0:02:57 > 0:02:59AIR RAID SIREN
0:03:03 > 0:03:07A year after war broke out, Germany began a relentless bombardment
0:03:07 > 0:03:10of industrial and civilian centres across the UK.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14In just nine months, the Blitz claimed 60,000 British lives.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19London, Coventry, Birmingham, Manchester, and Liverpool -
0:03:19 > 0:03:23just some of the cities targeted by the Luftwaffe because of their
0:03:23 > 0:03:26industrial importance, devastated by ruthless bombing campaigns.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32But despite the fact Belfast was also a hub of industry,
0:03:32 > 0:03:35producing 140 warships and millions of shells for the war,
0:03:35 > 0:03:39Northern Ireland failed to grasp the scale of the threat.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43A failure historian Brian Barton has looked at in detail.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46Now, Brian, tell me, how prepared was Belfast
0:03:46 > 0:03:48for the onset of the War?
0:03:48 > 0:03:51Well, it was probably the least well-prepared major city
0:03:51 > 0:03:53or port in the United Kingdom.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56Very few people had been evacuated out of the city,
0:03:56 > 0:03:5980,000 children were still there at the time of the Blitz.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01It had 22 anti-aircraft guns -
0:04:01 > 0:04:03Liverpool had over 100 at the time of the Blitz.
0:04:03 > 0:04:08It had one fighter squadron, based at Aldergrove airport,
0:04:08 > 0:04:11of Hurricane fighters, only equipped, however,
0:04:11 > 0:04:14for daytime fighting, not for night time-operations.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17There was an assumption that Belfast would never be attacked -
0:04:17 > 0:04:19too far away, too remote, too insignificant.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24Belfast had been hit once before, when bombs fell on the docks
0:04:24 > 0:04:27and industrial targets, killing 13 people.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30But on the night of 15th April, 1941,
0:04:30 > 0:04:33the first of three devastating attacks struck the city.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37It was to become known as The Easter Raid,
0:04:37 > 0:04:41and some of the details of the tragedy are held here at the Linenhall library.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44So, Brian, what are we looking at here?
0:04:44 > 0:04:48Well, this is an ARP message book kept at a control centre -
0:04:48 > 0:04:51the control centre in this case was for D District.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55It covers the night of the Easter Tuesday raid, 15th and 16th of April.
0:04:55 > 0:04:59Here we are, look, "Fire reported at Hanover Street - HQ fire brigade have arrived."
0:04:59 > 0:05:01These are little moments in time that these messages
0:05:01 > 0:05:04have captured, aren't they? Endless, endless entries.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07You get a sense of the pattern of the raid -
0:05:07 > 0:05:10the early reports are of incendiary bombs
0:05:10 > 0:05:14and the first part of the raid was mainly incendiary bombs, the first 20-25 minutes.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17Then subsequent to that it's high explosives,
0:05:17 > 0:05:20then later on, about two o'clock, a further wave of incendiaries.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23'It's estimated that between 800 and 1,000 people
0:05:23 > 0:05:26'were killed in that raid.'
0:05:26 > 0:05:28It's believed no other city apart from London,
0:05:28 > 0:05:30lost as many people in one single night
0:05:30 > 0:05:32as Belfast did on that night.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36The main weight of the bombings - something like 200 tonnes of bombs,
0:05:36 > 0:05:4130,000 incendiaries - fell almost exclusively on working class,
0:05:41 > 0:05:44densely populated, poorly constructed terraced housing.
0:05:44 > 0:05:4810.25, and it says, "Rescue squad military,
0:05:48 > 0:05:52"in Strathdene Street, entrance by Halliday's Road,
0:05:52 > 0:05:55"two dead taken away, two injured to hospital.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59"One dead (?) in debris, warden still digging,
0:05:59 > 0:06:01"one ambulance required in half an hour."
0:06:01 > 0:06:04I mean, there is a snapshot of what was happening
0:06:04 > 0:06:08to try and resolve another terrible situation in this location.
0:06:08 > 0:06:10It's just one of thousands.
0:06:19 > 0:06:25What was the overall effect on this city, on this population of 400,000?
0:06:25 > 0:06:28I think the main effect was one which was totally unforeseen
0:06:28 > 0:06:32by the government, that there was a crash evacuation across the city,
0:06:32 > 0:06:34people in fear and panic fleeing from the city.
0:06:34 > 0:06:38They did so because they were now aware that Belfast was a target.
0:06:38 > 0:06:40They did so because they recognised,
0:06:40 > 0:06:43they appreciated just how utterly undefended they were.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46Those written reports of the fire and bomb damage
0:06:46 > 0:06:48are a very graphic reminder of the horrors
0:06:48 > 0:06:52that the people of Belfast had to face here over 70 years ago.
0:06:52 > 0:06:55But they are a list of events, and no matter how tragic,
0:06:55 > 0:06:58they can never get you quite as close to the truth
0:06:58 > 0:07:01as an account from somebody who was actually there.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06Emily McGill from West Belfast was 31 years old when the attacks started.
0:07:06 > 0:07:11She vividly remembers how the raids affected everyone's lives.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13Before the raids started,
0:07:13 > 0:07:15the Shankill Road would have been empty,
0:07:15 > 0:07:18people were all in their house for the night,
0:07:18 > 0:07:21and as soon as the sirens went there was hundreds
0:07:21 > 0:07:24coming up the Shankill Road to go to the hills.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26Cos you were safe there.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30And when we got up to the mountains we lay in close to the mountains.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34One night we were there and the Germans came in,
0:07:34 > 0:07:37and Belfast just went up in fire.
0:07:38 > 0:07:43Like thousands of men all over the UK, Emily's husband Bertie
0:07:43 > 0:07:44had joined the Auxiliary Fire Service.
0:07:44 > 0:07:48He drove the fire engine, you know, from work if there was fires.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53One night my husband was going out as usual
0:07:53 > 0:07:56and I say to him, "I wish you didn't go tonight."
0:07:56 > 0:07:59He says, "Why? That's not like you."
0:07:59 > 0:08:03"There's just this feeling over me, I just don't want you to go out."
0:08:03 > 0:08:05"Ach," he says, "don't be ridiculous."
0:08:05 > 0:08:08He says, "Come on and I'll leave you round to the air raid shelter."
0:08:08 > 0:08:13Belfast had air raid shelters for only a quarter of the population.
0:08:13 > 0:08:18Emily and her husband found their local one full to capacity.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21When we got there, there was so many people outside it
0:08:21 > 0:08:24he said to me, "It's no use standing here."
0:08:24 > 0:08:26So him and I went up to the park,
0:08:26 > 0:08:31which was just across the road, and he said to me, "Lie face down."
0:08:31 > 0:08:35And we heard the German airplanes coming over,
0:08:35 > 0:08:38and the next thing I was hit.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42You know, just like as if a ton of bricks had fallen on you,
0:08:42 > 0:08:45and I said to my husband, "I'm hit."
0:08:45 > 0:08:48He says, "No, you're not, it was just the vibration of the ground."
0:08:48 > 0:08:52But I said, "No, I feel the blood."
0:08:52 > 0:08:54I felt the blood running down my back and down my arm.
0:08:54 > 0:08:59The shrapnel came through the park and went through my back.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02He said he thought he was going to lose me,
0:09:02 > 0:09:07and I didn't think I would live myself, so I prepared myself to die.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14Elsewhere in the city, Moya Woodside kept a diary
0:09:14 > 0:09:17of her Blitz experiences.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20The wife of a Belfast surgeon, she was also part
0:09:20 > 0:09:23of a unique experiment called "Mass Observation".
0:09:23 > 0:09:26Set up two years before the War, the project asked hundreds
0:09:26 > 0:09:30of members of the public to keep records of their day-to-day lives.
0:09:30 > 0:09:35An archive of almost 300,000 pages of personal writings
0:09:35 > 0:09:38are held here at the University of Sussex.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41Today, diaries like Moya's provide a unique insight
0:09:41 > 0:09:44into the wartime lives of everyday citizens.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49"The bombs started falling at 10.45.
0:09:49 > 0:09:54"I went to bed, tried to sleep, but this proved impossible."
0:09:56 > 0:09:59"Nazi planes kept coming back and coming back,
0:09:59 > 0:10:02"for all the world like some giant swarm of insects
0:10:02 > 0:10:06"whose drone was only ineffectually interrupted by bangs and crashes."
0:10:09 > 0:10:15"This was civilisation in 1941 - sitting shivering,
0:10:15 > 0:10:19"bored and frightened in a cubby hole at 3.30am."
0:10:21 > 0:10:26But in the face of such terror, the people of Northern Ireland were pulling together.
0:10:26 > 0:10:30We had a community spirit because we all became like a big family.
0:10:32 > 0:10:37There was an air raid, and the man two doors up,
0:10:37 > 0:10:43he came to my house and I was on my own and he took me with them.
0:10:43 > 0:10:48They had a little girl, and their mother and I lay under the table,
0:10:48 > 0:10:52and the wee girl lay with her arms around her mammie and me,
0:10:52 > 0:10:55and she sang, "When they sound the last all-clear,
0:10:55 > 0:10:57"how happy, my darling, we'll be.
0:10:57 > 0:11:01"When they turn on the lights, those dark lonely nights,
0:11:01 > 0:11:03"will just be a memory.
0:11:03 > 0:11:08"No more we'll be apart, always together, sweetheart,
0:11:08 > 0:11:11"for the peace bells will ring, and the whole world will sing,
0:11:11 > 0:11:15"when they sound the last all-clear."
0:11:21 > 0:11:24While millions of men were away fighting,
0:11:24 > 0:11:28those left behind tried to carry on with life as best they could.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31But the impact of the War was felt everywhere, in all sorts of ways.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36The story of Belfast during the War -
0:11:36 > 0:11:38like so many other towns and cities across the UK -
0:11:38 > 0:11:42is of a community really pulling together for the common good.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46I'm on my way to the zoo here to find out a little bit more
0:11:46 > 0:11:49about one such story that involved a rescue -
0:11:49 > 0:11:51with a difference.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05Now, it's not every day that you get to drive through a zoo,
0:12:05 > 0:12:07looking for a bloke called Alyn.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13What have we got there, monkeys?
0:12:13 > 0:12:14Oh, there are the gorillas.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21It's a nice zoo, this.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25There are the chimpanzees.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30Now, somebody said go right at the penguins -
0:12:30 > 0:12:31there's the penguins.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35What a great place to navigate round.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43'After a few wrong turns, I finally track down my quarry -
0:12:43 > 0:12:45'curator of elephants Alyn Cairns.'
0:12:48 > 0:12:50Alyn, how long has the zoo been here in Belfast?
0:12:50 > 0:12:52Well, the zoo was built in 1934,
0:12:52 > 0:12:55and it was built as part of a pleasure complex,
0:12:55 > 0:12:58and it was one of the most modern zoos of that time.
0:12:58 > 0:13:01So, five years after it opens the War comes along and things change.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04What happened was, at that time it wasn't the MOD,
0:13:04 > 0:13:06it was the Public Ministry of Security,
0:13:06 > 0:13:09and they actually gave us orders to destroy some of the animals,
0:13:09 > 0:13:13actually quite a lot of the animals - 33 animals in total.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16'The order was designed to deal with the wartime cost
0:13:16 > 0:13:19'of food for the zoo and the fear that bomb damage might allow
0:13:19 > 0:13:22'dangerous animals to escape into the city.'
0:13:22 > 0:13:25As a zookeeper yourself, Alyn, the idea of putting down
0:13:25 > 0:13:28the animals in your care is probably impossible to imagine?
0:13:28 > 0:13:33Absolutely horrendous to think if I was faced with that decision,
0:13:33 > 0:13:37and also for all of our staff here I think it would just be
0:13:37 > 0:13:40so difficult, and actually at the time we do know
0:13:40 > 0:13:44from records that we have that Dick Foster was the head keeper,
0:13:44 > 0:13:48and indeed he had to stay there while the Ministry were doing this,
0:13:48 > 0:13:51and he was in tears, you know, and it took a lot of consoling for him.
0:13:51 > 0:13:55And I think it actually had quite an effect on him,
0:13:55 > 0:13:58because not long after the War he actually left the zoo.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02During the war a volunteer at the zoo, Denise Austen,
0:14:02 > 0:14:06took unusual steps to ensure a baby elephant was saved from the cull list.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10Alyn took me to meet her relative, David Ramsey.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14It was a baby elephant called Sheila.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16She and Sheila were very great friends
0:14:16 > 0:14:18and I think the two of them had bonded.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22And, really, Denise became the surrogate mother for Sheila.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24Denise was worried, I think,
0:14:24 > 0:14:27that the elephant would be upset by the anti-aircraft gun fire
0:14:27 > 0:14:29that was being generated round the Cave hill here,
0:14:29 > 0:14:36worried about the raids and that the animal might become nervous, etc,
0:14:36 > 0:14:39and become mentally upset and have to be put down.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43Initially, when the air raid sirens came on she'd would've come up
0:14:43 > 0:14:46from her home to the zoo to be with Sheila to comfort her,
0:14:46 > 0:14:49but that was a lot of effort, getting out at maybe one or two
0:14:49 > 0:14:52in the morning to come up here, so Denise, being a very pragmatic woman,
0:14:52 > 0:14:57just decided the much easier option - why not take the elephant home with you?
0:14:59 > 0:15:01It would be pretty unusual.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05A cocker spaniel in the back garden might be more normal,
0:15:05 > 0:15:09but they had a fairly big coachhouse just adjoining the house,
0:15:09 > 0:15:12and the elephant only had a few hundred yards to walk
0:15:12 > 0:15:15from the main gate here down through my grandfather's farm
0:15:15 > 0:15:18to the back of Denise's house.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20And then, if the air raid sirens went out,
0:15:20 > 0:15:23Denise just got out of bed, walked out the back door
0:15:23 > 0:15:26into the coachhouse and stood with Sheila, stroking her ear
0:15:26 > 0:15:30and talking to her, massaging her trunk until the all clear was sounded.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32And how long did it go on for before she got rumbled?
0:15:32 > 0:15:36Quite a long period of time, probably around 18 months
0:15:36 > 0:15:41or two years before the incident where the elephant actually chased a small dog.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45It chased a small dog through a number of boundary fences of local householders,
0:15:45 > 0:15:49and it was only when they approached the zoo to be compensated
0:15:49 > 0:15:53for the damage to their property that the head zookeeper, Mr Foster, realised.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55How would you summarise Denise's actions?
0:15:55 > 0:15:58I think she was a remarkable woman.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01I think to be able to spirit an animal weighing over a ton
0:16:01 > 0:16:05out of the zoo at night under the watchful eyes of the head keeper, Dick Foster,
0:16:05 > 0:16:09and get it away and back each day without anybody saying to her,
0:16:09 > 0:16:11"Denise, what are you doing?"
0:16:11 > 0:16:16Just remarkable. Couldn't be done. I think she's a form of magician.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22All over the country, incredible stories like Denise and Sheila's
0:16:22 > 0:16:26encapsulate the sense of spirit that got us through the Blitz.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30And as the RAF battled to prevent Germany dominating the skies,
0:16:30 > 0:16:35the Spitfire - perhaps one of the most important aircraft of World War II -
0:16:35 > 0:16:38earned a special place in the hearts of Northern Ireland.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45In August 1940, The Belfast Telegraph - the voice of the city -
0:16:45 > 0:16:49launched the 100,000 Shillings Fund,
0:16:49 > 0:16:52a donation scheme to fund the purchase of a Spitfire.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56But the people of Northern Ireland weren't happy with just one.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02The heroism of our troops on the front lines is well-documented,
0:17:02 > 0:17:05but as a young reporter with the paper, Malcolm Brodie's job
0:17:05 > 0:17:09was to capture the incredible stories of those making donations to the Fund here at home.
0:17:09 > 0:17:14The Spitfire captured the imagination.
0:17:14 > 0:17:16They were queuing up on Royal Avenue
0:17:16 > 0:17:21waiting to come in and deposit their contribution to the Fund.
0:17:21 > 0:17:26The stories that they brought with them were, invariably,
0:17:26 > 0:17:29one relating to their efforts to raise this money.
0:17:29 > 0:17:34One guy, I understood, sold his donkey to get money for it.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39Kids who knew nothing about war
0:17:39 > 0:17:44decided to stage street parties, all for the Spitfire Fund.
0:17:46 > 0:17:52And a lot of catchphrases, like "A Spitfire a day keeps the Nazis away."
0:17:54 > 0:18:00I remember on one particular occasion a woman came in and she had this parcel.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04And she opened it up and in it were her son's effects.
0:18:04 > 0:18:11He had been killed just before the evacuation at Dunkirk,
0:18:11 > 0:18:15and in it was his wallet with two fivers in it,
0:18:15 > 0:18:19and she said, "I'm giving that to the Fund,
0:18:19 > 0:18:22"I'm giving that in memory of my boy."
0:18:26 > 0:18:33There was a fascination amongst the public as to the amount the Fund was raising
0:18:33 > 0:18:37and our billboards gave the figure every night.
0:18:37 > 0:18:42And we had a huge tobacco factory, Gallagher's,
0:18:42 > 0:18:46and the staff would pour up Royal Avenue from work,
0:18:46 > 0:18:49and you would see them stopping and looking just to say,
0:18:49 > 0:18:52"Right, what is it tonight there?"
0:18:54 > 0:18:57In coming together as they did, the people of Northern Ireland
0:18:57 > 0:19:01smashed the original 100,000 shillings target,
0:19:01 > 0:19:06raising almost £3 million in today's money - enough to buy 17 Spitfires.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12They were named after the areas and businesses that donated the cash.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16This, of course, is what the Fund was all about -
0:19:16 > 0:19:20some lovely black and white photographs of just some of the Telegraph Spitfires.
0:19:20 > 0:19:25Belfast itself, Armagh, Harlandic -
0:19:25 > 0:19:28Harland and Wolff's very own one - and Londonderry's.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31And in amongst all this is just some more information
0:19:31 > 0:19:33as to how the money was raised.
0:19:33 > 0:19:39This is amazing, the headline here reads, "Pensioner's self-denial."
0:19:39 > 0:19:42"Pensioner gives up a shilling a week." How about that?
0:19:42 > 0:19:48This one - "30 shillings raised from the sale of a wedding ring from a woman in Newry."
0:19:48 > 0:19:52I mean, generosity that's hard to fathom these days.
0:19:52 > 0:19:56And this is lovely - this is the story of two boys in Ballymena.
0:19:56 > 0:20:01They created a machine made out of Meccano parts that contained
0:20:01 > 0:20:04an image of Hitler and Churchill, and if you put a penny in the slot
0:20:04 > 0:20:08Churchill would kick Hitler up the backside.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15Northern Ireland felt this was part of their war effort,
0:20:15 > 0:20:20and they had so many people killed in the War, killed in action.
0:20:20 > 0:20:25And they felt Northern Ireland is playing its part,
0:20:25 > 0:20:27and they were proud of it.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31The aircraft went on to play an invaluable role
0:20:31 > 0:20:34in the Battle of Britain, and one of the legendary fighters
0:20:34 > 0:20:38was piloted by Londonderry-born Cecil Austin,
0:20:38 > 0:20:41who put Spitfires above all the other planes he flew in the War.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44He said there was nothing like flying the Spitfires.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49He said it was just the most exhilarating thing he had ever done.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52They were much lighter to the touch and much quicker to respond,
0:20:52 > 0:20:54I think they were faster, as well.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57After flying missions all over the UK,
0:20:57 > 0:21:01he eventually ended up stationed back at home in Northern Ireland.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04Ballyhalbert's on the Atlantic, really, or on the coast,
0:21:04 > 0:21:09and a big priority at that time was protecting the Atlantic convoys.
0:21:09 > 0:21:13And he was very proud of the fact that, among the many Spitfires
0:21:13 > 0:21:19that he flew out of Ballyhalbert, one of them was the Down Spitfire.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23It was one of the 17 Spitfires that were bought through
0:21:23 > 0:21:27the Belfast Telegraph Fund and it was named after County Down.
0:21:27 > 0:21:33I actually found the flight that he made in the Down Spitfire.
0:21:33 > 0:21:38P7823, it says, "December 9th, convoy patrol."
0:21:38 > 0:21:42And that's the very plane and the very convoy
0:21:42 > 0:21:46that is actually captured in the painting of the Down Spitfire,
0:21:46 > 0:21:48and that's my dad flying it.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56I'm very proud of him.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03They were just boys, really, but they...
0:22:03 > 0:22:06I don't know what it was that drove them to do it,
0:22:06 > 0:22:11but they had a real determination, and I think they were a very special generation, too.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15I don't think that our generation - even those of us here
0:22:15 > 0:22:19in Northern Ireland who have lived through a 35-year war,
0:22:19 > 0:22:23as many people would describe it - it's still not the same.
0:22:23 > 0:22:28They had real steel and grit, and something that set them aside.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30I think they really were "the few".
0:22:34 > 0:22:40And in 1994, a refurbished plane was renamed the Enniskillen
0:22:40 > 0:22:43to mark the contribution the Belfast Spitfires made to the War.
0:23:09 > 0:23:14But it wasn't just money to pay for the planes the people of Belfast contributed.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18It was the very materials used to build them, as well.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21The wings of Spitfires were sometimes covered in linen -
0:23:21 > 0:23:25a material derived from a traditional Northern Irish crop.
0:23:25 > 0:23:32Flax was an essential ingredient to the already established textile business here,
0:23:32 > 0:23:35and I'm looking for McConville's Mill.
0:23:37 > 0:23:38Here we are, right here.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43There we are, McConville's Flax Mill and Museum.
0:23:43 > 0:23:45It's home to brothers Eugene and Felix,
0:23:45 > 0:23:48whose passion for flax has given them a detailed knowledge
0:23:48 > 0:23:52of how ancient techniques were adapted for the war effort.
0:23:52 > 0:23:54It is a pretty tough crop.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57Now, you couldn't process that there now as you see it now.
0:23:57 > 0:24:03That has to be stopped in water for nine to 14 nights to soften the fibre.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06Now, this is it here after it's dried.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08Now, this looks like hay, doesn't it?
0:24:08 > 0:24:10Yes, not unlike hay.
0:24:10 > 0:24:13Now, if you compare them, first thing you'll notice
0:24:13 > 0:24:14is the two different colours.
0:24:14 > 0:24:19Now this is pretty tough, this is soft and limber.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22Oh, you're right, look at that - I can wrap that round my finger.
0:24:22 > 0:24:23That is ready for scutching.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26By soaking the crop in water, the flax becomes soft enough
0:24:26 > 0:24:29for the fibres to be extracted from the tough stalks.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32This is done through a process called scutching.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35This is industrialised scutching.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38We'll just jump over the bench and put a bit through
0:24:38 > 0:24:42and let you see how it used to be done in the olden days, during the War days.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45Let's have a look then, guys. I've certainly come to the right place.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50Well, there's six blades on cast-iron stocks,
0:24:50 > 0:24:52and they're flying round at high speed.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01That looks absolutely terrifying, Eugene.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03I'm amazed you haven't lost any fingers over the years.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08Have you finished yours, Felix?
0:25:08 > 0:25:09HE LAUGHS
0:25:09 > 0:25:13Are you slacking with your scutching?
0:25:13 > 0:25:16Lovely. Let's have a look at it. Where's the finished article?
0:25:16 > 0:25:18That's the finished article there, Jules.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23Millions of men went into battle wearing clothes made from this raw product,
0:25:23 > 0:25:27but first it had to spun into linen, ready to be stitched.
0:25:28 > 0:25:32Valerie Wilson, curator of textiles at the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum,
0:25:32 > 0:25:36has a wealth of stories from the sewing front lines.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38Valerie, hello. How are you?
0:25:38 > 0:25:40It's nice to meet you, how are you?
0:25:40 > 0:25:43- Well, this certainly sets the scene. - Yes, well, welcome to the drapers.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46Now, the statistics that surround textile production
0:25:46 > 0:25:50here in Northern Ireland when we think about the War are staggering.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53Well, they are. Even just before the War
0:25:53 > 0:25:56it was estimated that one in five people in Northern Ireland
0:25:56 > 0:25:59were working in the linen industry,
0:25:59 > 0:26:03either in the growing of flax or the finishing off of the actual fabrics.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05We had a very trained, very able workforce here,
0:26:05 > 0:26:08we had all the facilities, all of the factories
0:26:08 > 0:26:11and also the right climate for flax production.
0:26:11 > 0:26:12- LAUGHING:- It likes it wet, does it?
0:26:12 > 0:26:15Wet and damp, sort of constantly.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17Ulster Linen was used in everything
0:26:17 > 0:26:20from parachute harnesses to military bootlaces,
0:26:20 > 0:26:23but the industry's adoption of other fabrics meant Northern Ireland
0:26:23 > 0:26:26provided the bulk of Britain's uniforms during the War.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28There were so many different roles,
0:26:28 > 0:26:31and every different role needed its own uniform,
0:26:31 > 0:26:34so the factories in Ulster that had previously been making
0:26:34 > 0:26:39linen sheeting, linen tablecloths, household goods, and shirts
0:26:39 > 0:26:41switched production to all the uniform fabrics
0:26:41 > 0:26:43because the skills were there,
0:26:43 > 0:26:46and the women who had previously been making up shirts
0:26:46 > 0:26:50found themselves making battle dress blouses - same skills, really.
0:26:50 > 0:26:56In 1940, the Ministry of Commerce were placing orders
0:26:56 > 0:27:01for up to 60,000 denim overalls a week, 60,000 shirts,
0:27:01 > 0:27:0330,000 battle dress shirts,
0:27:03 > 0:27:08and 100,000 gas haversacks per year.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10So the statistics are incredible.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14Now, I gather there's a very human side to this production story.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17It's not just about volume and uniforms.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20Within the shirts, is it true that love letters were stashed away?
0:27:20 > 0:27:22Oh yes, I have this on good authority -
0:27:22 > 0:27:25the good authority being my late mother.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28She started work in a shirt factory in Ballymena
0:27:28 > 0:27:32about the same week that war broke out in 1939.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36She was a 14-year-old girl, and she assured me that only the older girls
0:27:36 > 0:27:40on the production line put their names and addresses and little notes
0:27:40 > 0:27:44into the pockets in the hope that they'd get a penpal out of it.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48ARCHIVE: Here's a Sister Susie sending a message to a soldier,
0:27:48 > 0:27:51"This shirt was made by an Ulster lass
0:27:51 > 0:27:52"whose lips were made for kissing,
0:27:52 > 0:27:55"so hurry up and win the war, you don't know what you're missing."
0:28:02 > 0:28:06During the War, the Belfast Civil Defence Authority
0:28:06 > 0:28:11issued a publication called the Belfast Citizens' Handbook.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14It said that the good citizen was one who realised that
0:28:14 > 0:28:17the only way victory would be achieved is that if every man,
0:28:17 > 0:28:19every woman, every boy, every girl,
0:28:19 > 0:28:23gave every ounce, every day, in every way.
0:28:23 > 0:28:25And, certainly, from what I've seen here,
0:28:25 > 0:28:29the people of Northern Ireland did that admirably.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31Next time, I'm in Scotland
0:28:31 > 0:28:35enjoying a taste of the food dished up during the War...
0:28:36 > 0:28:39..and revealing the mysteries of a field in East Kilbride.
0:28:39 > 0:28:44This marker here is where a well-known aviator landed.
0:28:46 > 0:28:50Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd