0:00:00 > 0:00:02September 3rd, 1939,
0:00:02 > 0:00:05and families all over the country flock to their radios.
0:00:05 > 0:00:10NEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN: 'I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received...
0:00:10 > 0:00:15'and that consequently, this country is at war with Germany.'
0:00:17 > 0:00:20In that brief moment, life in our country changed forever.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22World War II had begun,
0:00:22 > 0:00:25but victory wouldn't be assured by military might alone.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31The Blitz, evacuation, rationing and the loss of loved ones -
0:00:31 > 0:00:36the war on the Home Front meant everyone had to do their bit.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40From the country's women who took on everything farming, factory work,
0:00:40 > 0:00:42even flying Spitfires...
0:00:42 > 0:00:47to the nation's the auxiliary firemen who worked through the terror of countless air raids.
0:00:47 > 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 > 0:01:04I'm travelling across the UK,
0:01:04 > 0:01:06exploring how different parts of the country
0:01:06 > 0:01:09made unique contributions to the war effort here at home.
0:01:09 > 0:01:14I'm revealing the incredible efforts ordinary people went to
0:01:14 > 0:01:16throughout the war years.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18Today I've arrived in our capital city.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22London would see its fair share of devastation throughout the war,
0:01:22 > 0:01:25suffering 71 attacks during the Blitz alone.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27SIREN WAILS
0:01:27 > 0:01:32But Londoners would rise to the challenges of wartime life.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34On today's programme,
0:01:34 > 0:01:37I'll be taking a ride to hear how London's cabbies took on new roles...
0:01:37 > 0:01:41One of the journalists nick-named them, "the suicide squad".
0:01:41 > 0:01:45..meeting women that helped defend the city's skies...
0:01:45 > 0:01:49We heard this plane. It was screaming. It's a horrible noise,
0:01:49 > 0:01:52when they're screaming, diving at you.
0:01:52 > 0:01:57..and hearing how 14-year-olds found themselves fighting devastating fires.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01You'd find yourself on the end of the hose, holding the branch,
0:02:01 > 0:02:03hoping for the best.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17As the nation's capital, this city was always going to be
0:02:17 > 0:02:19a prime target for the Germans.
0:02:19 > 0:02:22And despite some optimistic reassurances
0:02:22 > 0:02:25about peace in our time, the Government here took no chances,
0:02:25 > 0:02:28and they started to prepare this city for war.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37SIRENS WAIL
0:02:37 > 0:02:40As part of those efforts, around 3.5 million children
0:02:40 > 0:02:43were evacuated to the countryside.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46But as our youngsters readied themselves to escape London,
0:02:46 > 0:02:51in Europe, another group of children faced a desperate bid to get in.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54Britain would come to the rescue of children who faced discrimination
0:02:54 > 0:02:57and almost certain death at the hands of the Nazis.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03Anti-Semitism was on the rise in Europe.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05In November, 1938,
0:03:05 > 0:03:08the shooting of a diplomat by a young German-born Jew
0:03:08 > 0:03:14precipitated a night of terrifying violence that would shock the world.
0:03:14 > 0:03:15Across German and Austria,
0:03:15 > 0:03:20the Night of Broken Glass, or Kristallnacht saw thousands of
0:03:20 > 0:03:24Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues ransacked and set alight.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26I was in the street,
0:03:26 > 0:03:28looking at it.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32and I saw all the shops being smashed in.
0:03:32 > 0:03:33Our neighbours,
0:03:33 > 0:03:37the people who were in our apartment the day before,
0:03:37 > 0:03:39now shouted obscenities.
0:03:39 > 0:03:44"Jude, Jude, Jew, Jew. Perish, Jude."
0:03:44 > 0:03:47After Kristallnacht,
0:03:47 > 0:03:50life for Europe's Jewish citizens would never be the same.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53The Wiener Library in London holds documents
0:03:53 > 0:03:56detailing their persecution.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59Jews were beaten up and killed, shops looted.
0:03:59 > 0:04:05About 30,000 men detained and sent to concentration camps.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08It was a truly horrendous event.
0:04:08 > 0:04:13And that then caused the Jews in Germany and Austria
0:04:13 > 0:04:16to realise they had absolutely no future there, and that they had,
0:04:16 > 0:04:20as a matter of life and death, to get out if they could.
0:04:20 > 0:04:25The influence of the Nazis would see close relationships torn apart.
0:04:25 > 0:04:32Ten-year-old Otto Deutsch was shocked when a family friend burst into his Vienna apartment.
0:04:32 > 0:04:37"Uncle Kurt", in inverted commas here, broke into our apartment
0:04:37 > 0:04:40with his group of young thugs...
0:04:40 > 0:04:42some of them hardly older than I was.
0:04:45 > 0:04:48Then the reality really gripped me.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51We were given two days
0:04:51 > 0:04:54to leave our little home.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57And that was the beginning.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59Otto's father was taken away,
0:04:59 > 0:05:03leaving him with his mother and sister.
0:05:03 > 0:05:07Judy Benton was a 16-year-old living in Meissen, East Germany.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10She didn't get to say goodbye to her parents
0:05:13 > 0:05:15I came home from school at lunchtime
0:05:15 > 0:05:20and the doors in our apartment were open,
0:05:20 > 0:05:24and nobody was there, and a neighbour came in and said,
0:05:24 > 0:05:30"The Gestapo has just been and they're looking for you and they're coming back for you."
0:05:30 > 0:05:34Children in Austria, Germany and beyond were in grave danger,
0:05:34 > 0:05:36but Britain offered to help.
0:05:36 > 0:05:39Working with organisations in Berlin and Vienna,
0:05:39 > 0:05:41plans to rescue them were quickly formed.
0:05:41 > 0:05:46They drew up lists in Berlin and Vienna, trains were arranged,
0:05:46 > 0:05:49and the children then came to Britain.
0:05:49 > 0:05:52In an unprecedented undertaking, Kindertransport trains
0:05:52 > 0:05:57were laid on to save persecuted children from the clutches of the Nazis.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59For ten-year-old Otto,
0:05:59 > 0:06:02it would mean the start of a new life...
0:06:02 > 0:06:04without his family.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06Mother came early in the morning,
0:06:06 > 0:06:09kissed me and cuddled me.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13"Otto, you're going to England."
0:06:13 > 0:06:15"But when are we going?"
0:06:17 > 0:06:19"No, Otto.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22"Not we, but you."
0:06:22 > 0:06:23Across the continent,
0:06:23 > 0:06:26thousands of children were taken to train stations
0:06:26 > 0:06:31to wave goodbye to their families, and be ushered to safety.
0:06:31 > 0:06:37On the loudspeaker, news was given through
0:06:37 > 0:06:40that there were to be no emotional scenes.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43My mother turned her back on me.
0:06:43 > 0:06:48She knew that if I was to see her cry, I wouldn't be such a big man.
0:06:48 > 0:06:53It was my sister, Adele...
0:06:53 > 0:06:56who took me to the platform.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00I remember the last words I heard my sister...
0:07:00 > 0:07:05I hear it so distinct that I can hear it now.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07"Otto, sei schon brav,
0:07:07 > 0:07:10"wir sehen uns bald wieder."
0:07:10 > 0:07:11"Be a good boy.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14"We'll see each other again shortly."
0:07:14 > 0:07:18Otto was on his way to safety,
0:07:18 > 0:07:21but would never see his sister again.
0:07:21 > 0:07:25For Judy, with no parents to get her a place on a Kindertransport train,
0:07:25 > 0:07:27her situation seemed impossible.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29Arriving at the station,
0:07:29 > 0:07:32she would have to think fast to make her escape.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35Everybody came on to me -
0:07:35 > 0:07:37"Please would you do this, would you do that?"
0:07:39 > 0:07:43I thought, "Well, they think I'm a nurse. I'm not a nurse,
0:07:43 > 0:07:45"but I'll make myself a nurse."
0:07:45 > 0:07:49Judy ran into town and bought a child's nurse's costume.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51Donning its Red Cross hat and an apron,
0:07:51 > 0:07:56she managed to sneak on the train suitably disguised.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59She was now on her way to Britain, too.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03Kindertransport children arrived at London's Liverpool Street station.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07For the young Otto, England was another world.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10Things were the same and yet different.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13the grass was the same, the trees were the same,
0:08:13 > 0:08:17but the people were different, even differently dressed to us.
0:08:17 > 0:08:18For ten months,
0:08:18 > 0:08:22trains rescued desperate children from Germany, Poland, Austria
0:08:22 > 0:08:26and Czechoslovakia, before boats brought them to Britain.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29It was only when war broke out that the transport ended.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32Tony's been taking me through records of children whose lives
0:08:32 > 0:08:35were saved by the Kindertransport.
0:08:35 > 0:08:37Well, this, I think, tells the story,
0:08:37 > 0:08:40Just so happens it is the first one on the pile.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43A young lad called Julius Blumenthal.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46Date of birth, 1926. Sex, male. There he is.
0:08:46 > 0:08:51And it says here, "Father in concentration camp. Mother dead."
0:08:51 > 0:08:54And somebody's written in red, "Very urgent indeed."
0:08:54 > 0:08:56- Yes.- And he's moved in...
0:08:56 > 0:09:00- May, 1939.- May, 1939, yeah.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02How many, in total, do we think made it over here?
0:09:02 > 0:09:06It was just under 10,000 children who made it over here.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08Alas, not many of their parents.
0:09:08 > 0:09:13And that has been the cause for criticism of the British.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16We could, I think, have tried to get more of the parents out,
0:09:16 > 0:09:18if the German authorities had been willing,
0:09:18 > 0:09:20and that's an unknown question.
0:09:20 > 0:09:25It's estimated that 10% of Jewish children in Germany and Austria
0:09:25 > 0:09:27were saved by the Kindertransport.
0:09:27 > 0:09:31Otto was welcomed into the arms of a family in Northumberland.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34Judy studied at an agricultural college in Surrey.
0:09:34 > 0:09:35All across Britain,
0:09:35 > 0:09:39the Kindertransport children were beginning new lives.
0:09:39 > 0:09:44They were, on the whole, given these traumatic events early in their lives,
0:09:44 > 0:09:48I think, remarkably successful at building new lives
0:09:48 > 0:09:52and making a tremendous contribution to British society.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54Had it not been for the Kindertransport,
0:09:54 > 0:09:57I doubt if I would have been alive today.
0:09:57 > 0:10:04It was a very horrible experience, and, as a child, it sticks.
0:10:04 > 0:10:09But I get over things, I don't think back.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13I think if you think back, then you cannot enjoy life.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16Now I have a lovely family...
0:10:17 > 0:10:22..and kids, grandkids and great-grandkids.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25And I've found my place again, and I belong again.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31With war imminent,
0:10:31 > 0:10:34the Government began to draw up plans to defend the country.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38They'd long known that if German bombers ever entered British skies,
0:10:38 > 0:10:42the Fire Service would be essential in saving lives.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45Knowing that the existing brigades would be severely stretched,
0:10:45 > 0:10:48in 1938, the Government started recruitment
0:10:48 > 0:10:51for the Auxiliary Fire Service.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53Within a few months, thousands had signed up.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56One was 14-year-old Stacey Simkins.
0:10:56 > 0:11:02Already working, he was attracted by the fringe benefits of the job.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06You were, first of all,
0:11:06 > 0:11:10allowed to use their table tennis facilities,
0:11:10 > 0:11:14and secondly, when you finished they let you slide down the pole,
0:11:14 > 0:11:18so, to be quite honest with you, that's the main reason I joined.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22Volunteers would come from all walks of life.
0:11:22 > 0:11:27Elena Payami is Assistant Curator at the London Fire Service Museum.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30Some of them may have been conscientious objectors.
0:11:30 > 0:11:32Some of them might have had some infirmity that meant
0:11:32 > 0:11:34they couldn't go to fight.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36There might have been any reason,
0:11:36 > 0:11:39but it was a huge section of society that decided to come and do this.
0:11:39 > 0:11:46Also, from the poshos, down to the gor-blimeys,
0:11:46 > 0:11:50the whole spectrum, they just got on together.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52After only 60 hours of training,
0:11:52 > 0:11:56the AFS members were soon were soon ready for action
0:11:56 > 0:11:59but, with no sight of war, they'd face a long wait.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02We had quite a long period where nothing really happened.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06Well over a year when AFS personnel weren't really doing a lot,
0:12:06 > 0:12:07so this phoney war period.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09And they got a couple of unfortunate nicknames.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11"Army dodgers" being one of them,
0:12:11 > 0:12:13"the darts and snooker brigade" being another.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15All over the country,
0:12:15 > 0:12:18people were unsure how effective the auxiliaries were going to be.
0:12:18 > 0:12:23A park keeper from Eltham, South London recorded his view of the volunteers
0:12:23 > 0:12:27as part of his diary entries to the Mass Observation project.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29Set up two years before the war,
0:12:29 > 0:12:34it asked hundreds of members of the public to keep records of their everyday lives.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37"Sept 3rd, 1939.
0:12:37 > 0:12:42"The fire station officer tells me he has not rested in 72 hours.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44"Neither have several of his regular men.
0:12:44 > 0:12:48"He deplores the lack of discipline among some of the volunteers - AFS -
0:12:48 > 0:12:51"they stand around and smoke and do not realise
0:12:51 > 0:12:53"what sort of job they've taken on.
0:12:53 > 0:12:57"Having received no communication from one of these many sub depots,
0:12:57 > 0:13:00"he went in a car himself to investigate.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03"The men were playing nap. Others had gone home to supper,
0:13:03 > 0:13:09"though food and beds are provided and men must be on call night and day, taking turns at sleeping.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11"None should leave without permission."
0:13:11 > 0:13:17"September 16th. Auxiliary firemen paraded this morning outside the park
0:13:17 > 0:13:20"for practice with one of the trailer pumps.
0:13:20 > 0:13:24"Owing to the engine being cold, half an hour was spent in starting it up.
0:13:24 > 0:13:29"When they got going however, they made a very good show, and appear very efficient.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32"At fire drill, from being summoned to posts to the actual pumping of water,
0:13:32 > 0:13:34"the time was two-and-a-half minutes."
0:13:34 > 0:13:39With an army of Auxiliary Fire Service volunteers in place,
0:13:39 > 0:13:42the next challenge was equipment.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46The shortage of fire engines meant that 2,000 trailer pumps were quickly produced.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49And they'd be needed. London was about to experience
0:13:49 > 0:13:53devastating fire storms on an unprecedented scale.
0:13:53 > 0:13:58To give you an idea, the Surrey Docks fire, 7th September, 1940...
0:13:58 > 0:14:02That fire was so enormous, they had hundreds of pumps in attendance.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04If I can compare that for you -
0:14:04 > 0:14:06a ten-pump fire, pump being a fire engine,
0:14:06 > 0:14:08would make the national news today.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12They had 500 pump fires during the Blitz.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15- SIRENS WAIL - On September 7th, 1940,
0:14:15 > 0:14:19German planes dropped hundreds of tons of high explosive
0:14:19 > 0:14:21and incendiary devices on East London.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24It was the start of an eight-month blitz on the city.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28The AFS were suddenly face-to-face with conditions
0:14:28 > 0:14:31they couldn't have imagined in their worst nightmares.
0:14:31 > 0:14:36The fires were so massive that they created fire storms.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38It sucks air in from surrounding streets,
0:14:38 > 0:14:41and there'd be this horrible whistling sound
0:14:41 > 0:14:44coming along the roads as the fire's drawing in air.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46it would be quite eerie.
0:14:46 > 0:14:53The biggest fire I saw was the one when that famous picture was taken.
0:14:53 > 0:15:00You never saw any flames, all you saw was this huge...
0:15:00 > 0:15:05you know, as if somebody had come out and painted all the clouds
0:15:05 > 0:15:08with lovely crimson paint. It was just aglow.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11Stacey was working as a messenger boy for the service,
0:15:11 > 0:15:13communicating between crews,
0:15:13 > 0:15:17but soon the 14-year-old was battling blazes, too.
0:15:17 > 0:15:21It seemed to be, nine times out of ten, you'd get up to a crew
0:15:21 > 0:15:23who were playing on a burning building,
0:15:23 > 0:15:26and one of them was sure to say to you,
0:15:26 > 0:15:29"Here, mate, hang on to this for a minute,"
0:15:29 > 0:15:33and you'd find yourself on the end of the hose,
0:15:33 > 0:15:36holding the branch, hoping for the best.
0:15:36 > 0:15:42AFS crews put their lives at risk every time they donned their heavy woollen uniforms,
0:15:42 > 0:15:46even when in the relative safety of their stations.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50Stacey was on guard one night when he answered a call of nature.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54I heard a little whistle, like a "phseew",
0:15:54 > 0:15:59and the next thing I knew, the snooker table had moved up
0:15:59 > 0:16:01about six or eight feet.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04I was underneath it, as was this other fella.
0:16:04 > 0:16:09A bomb had created a crater where Stacey had been standing, seconds earlier.
0:16:09 > 0:16:14I just thought, "Well there's somebody up there must like me."
0:16:14 > 0:16:19So I began to think that I was invincible.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22Stacey was one of the lucky ones.
0:16:22 > 0:16:27Throughout the war, 327 AFS and regular firemen and women in London
0:16:27 > 0:16:29would lose their lives.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31One of Stacey's crew would be amongst them.
0:16:31 > 0:16:36He was up the top, directing a stream of water onto a building,
0:16:36 > 0:16:38and another bomb dropped,
0:16:38 > 0:16:41and the building just flared straight up.
0:16:41 > 0:16:46And he was in the middle of it, and he died of severe burns.
0:16:46 > 0:16:52You got hardened to the fact that people might die, and that was it.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56Fire fighters, whether AFS members or regulars,
0:16:56 > 0:16:59faced death from literally every direction.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02The streets themselves were full of craters and potholes.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05Bombs are still falling, buildings are collapsing around you.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07You barely have enough water to put them out,
0:17:07 > 0:17:11and sometimes you'd be in a small crew, and if you needed back up,
0:17:11 > 0:17:13it just simply wasn't there.
0:17:13 > 0:17:18Somehow, though, the brave fire fighters took this all in their stride.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22You were concentrating on what you're doing,
0:17:22 > 0:17:25and you're too busy to get frightened.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29And all you know is the bit that you're actually doing.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32One thing I would never describe myself as...
0:17:32 > 0:17:36as a hero.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40I was just somebody doing what I was supposed to be doing,
0:17:40 > 0:17:42and doing it to the best of my abilities.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45That was it, as far as I was concerned.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47By the time war ended,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50and the skies across the country had cleared of smoke,
0:17:50 > 0:17:53the AFS had shed their original nicknames.
0:17:53 > 0:17:54By the end of the war,
0:17:54 > 0:17:57they were known as, "the heroes with grimy faces."
0:17:57 > 0:17:59They would be cheered by members of the public
0:17:59 > 0:18:01on their way back in the morning,
0:18:01 > 0:18:03covered in filth and soot, and tired.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06They'd be given cups of tea, and Churchill himself said that
0:18:06 > 0:18:09they were a grand old lot whose work must never be forgotten,
0:18:09 > 0:18:10and that is so true.
0:18:10 > 0:18:15If it hadn't been for the AFS, I think London would have burnt down.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19During the Blitz, London endured 57 nights of bombing raids,
0:18:19 > 0:18:24with up to 300 bombers a night attacking the city.
0:18:24 > 0:18:31In the first month alone, 5,730 people died and 10,000 were injured.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35The bravery and sacrifice of the AFS proved their doubters wrong
0:18:35 > 0:18:38and their efforts saved untold lives.
0:18:40 > 0:18:42Now, fire trucks and other emergency vehicles
0:18:42 > 0:18:45may well have been in short supply in London during the war,
0:18:45 > 0:18:50but there is one form of transport the city has always had plenty of...
0:18:50 > 0:18:52Taxi!
0:18:52 > 0:18:55Although there are days when you have to wonder. There we go!
0:18:55 > 0:18:59In 1939, there were over 6,500 taxis on London's streets.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02During the war, over a third of them would be requisitioned.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05Not only would the taxis be converted,
0:19:05 > 0:19:07but the cabbies' jobs, too.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11Now, this is an absolutely beauty, Alf. What kind of taxi have you got here?
0:19:11 > 0:19:14This, dear boy, is a 1930s Austin Low Loader.
0:19:14 > 0:19:18Now how long have you been a cabbie for yourself, Alf?
0:19:18 > 0:19:21I've been a London cabbie for 50 years, dear boy.
0:19:21 > 0:19:2350 years.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26I know I don't look old enough, but 50 years, man and boy.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29- HE LAUGHS - And you've made the history of the London taxis
0:19:29 > 0:19:30a real passion of yours?
0:19:30 > 0:19:32I have a thing about it.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35I love taxis, I love the history of London taxis.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37I love what the London cabbies,
0:19:37 > 0:19:39the bravery they showed during the war,
0:19:39 > 0:19:42with all the various aspects of what the cabs were used for.
0:19:42 > 0:19:44Well, what were they used for?
0:19:44 > 0:19:51The London County Council requisitioned 2,500 vehicles, or taxis.
0:19:51 > 0:19:552,000 were used as fire tenders, emergency fire tenders,
0:19:55 > 0:19:59300 were used for emergency ambulances,
0:19:59 > 0:20:02and a couple of hundred were used, would you believe it,
0:20:02 > 0:20:04for troop personnel carriers.
0:20:04 > 0:20:08How was it possible to convert a taxi like this into a fire truck?
0:20:08 > 0:20:13Well, what they did is, they stuck a trailer onto the back with a pump,
0:20:13 > 0:20:15and they were trained.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18But the beauty was, because they knew the Knowledge,
0:20:18 > 0:20:21when there was a call, they went all through the back streets,
0:20:21 > 0:20:24and were there before the big tenders, you know, to the fires.
0:20:29 > 0:20:34They were known by fellow cab drivers as, "the Blitz crew,"
0:20:34 > 0:20:38but one of the papers, or a journalist,
0:20:38 > 0:20:41nicknamed them, "The Suicide Squad."
0:20:41 > 0:20:43Driving in the blackout could be deadly.
0:20:43 > 0:20:46Cabbies had to cover their headlights.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48Just three slits let light peek through,
0:20:48 > 0:20:51allowing them to navigate London's streets.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54Well, this taxi driver got a fare from one of the posh clubs
0:20:54 > 0:20:59in Pall Mall. He wanted to go to Kensington.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03And they got halfway, and it was completely black.
0:21:03 > 0:21:05Couldn't see a foot in front of him.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08So, he said, "Well I'm sorry, guv, I can't go any further."
0:21:08 > 0:21:12He went, "Don't worry, my man, I'll get in front and walk in front".
0:21:12 > 0:21:15So he's walking in front, saying "Over here, over here,"
0:21:15 > 0:21:17and he walked half the way to Kensington,
0:21:17 > 0:21:19and he turned round to the driver and said,
0:21:19 > 0:21:21"How much do I owe you, driver?"
0:21:21 > 0:21:24And he went, "I can't charge you any money. You bleeding walked all the way, ain't you?!"
0:21:24 > 0:21:27He said, "No, I insist. I thoroughly enjoyed it."
0:21:27 > 0:21:29HE LAUGHS
0:21:29 > 0:21:32- That's the sort of camaraderie you got in the war, you know.- Yup.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40D'you think London would have kept functioning without the taxis?
0:21:40 > 0:21:43They were like a second army, I believe, a second army,
0:21:43 > 0:21:45and they were indispensable.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47I've got a great empathy for London,
0:21:47 > 0:21:49and what the Londoners did in World War II,
0:21:49 > 0:21:51especially the taxi drivers.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57But the taxi drivers weren't the only resource the government would call on.
0:21:57 > 0:22:02In 1938, the Auxiliary Territorial Service, or ATS, was launched,
0:22:02 > 0:22:04recruiting women to help Army units
0:22:04 > 0:22:07with cooking and other domestic duties.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11By 1940, over 35,000 women had signed up.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14And the Government soon realised
0:22:14 > 0:22:17they could be used for more than just pastry and paperwork.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21I've come to the Royal Artillery Museum in Woolwich
0:22:21 > 0:22:24to meet ATS recruit, Dorothy Hughes.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27Posted to London as part of an Anti-Aircraft company,
0:22:27 > 0:22:29she led a team predicting the path
0:22:29 > 0:22:34of enemy aircraft, so her male colleagues could fire at them.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37We had to know about range finding, height finding,
0:22:37 > 0:22:39certainly spotting planes.
0:22:39 > 0:22:43And it all came naturally.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45You did it so often, over and over again.
0:22:45 > 0:22:49The women of the ATS were soon proving their worth
0:22:49 > 0:22:52on the front lines of Britain's defences.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55So the Government decided to see if they could operate searchlights.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59Mary Simpson was one of the trial's recruits.
0:22:59 > 0:23:03Only 17, she'd help man the powerful lights sweeping Britain's skies
0:23:03 > 0:23:05to pick out enemy aircraft,
0:23:05 > 0:23:09and remembers vividly the first plane she spotted.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11This night, we had a call out,
0:23:11 > 0:23:13and this was really...
0:23:13 > 0:23:16German planes.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18I think we were all crying!
0:23:18 > 0:23:20SHE LAUGHS
0:23:20 > 0:23:22Terrified.
0:23:22 > 0:23:23Overcoming their fear,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26the girls shone their lights on the incoming bomber,
0:23:26 > 0:23:28highlighting it for the gunners.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31It was them against a powerful machine.
0:23:31 > 0:23:38Famous Luftwaffe, challenged by nine...
0:23:38 > 0:23:40There was only nine girls on site...
0:23:41 > 0:23:44Challenged THEM.
0:23:44 > 0:23:49And we'd got one, "We've got one, we've got one!"
0:23:49 > 0:23:53The ATS women were now fulfilling a multitude of roles,
0:23:53 > 0:23:57but the Government drew the line at allowing them to fire weapons.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00And that wasn't the only discrimination the ATS faced.
0:24:00 > 0:24:05We were encroaching on the men's territory and they hated it.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09It was just, "Get back to the kitchen."
0:24:09 > 0:24:14Oh, the sarcastic remarks. You know, "Girls won't stand the life."
0:24:14 > 0:24:18But we did prove them wrong.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21It was hard, but we were determined.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25Having established themselves as vital to Britain's aerial defences,
0:24:25 > 0:24:29they now found themselves constantly in the crosshairs of enemy pilots.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33You'd hear first of all the whirring of the aircraft coming over,
0:24:33 > 0:24:36and then you'd hear the whistling of the bombs,
0:24:36 > 0:24:38and sort of think, "Oh, good, that went past,"
0:24:38 > 0:24:41because you only heard the whistle if it had gone past you.
0:24:41 > 0:24:44Mary would be directly in the line of fire
0:24:44 > 0:24:48as she caught aircraft in her spotlight.
0:24:48 > 0:24:50With no means of defence,
0:24:50 > 0:24:53there was little to do but switch it off and take cover.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57We heard this plane that was screaming. It's a horrible noise,
0:24:57 > 0:25:01when they're screaming, diving at you down the beam.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04But we knew what to do. We doused the lights, we jumped down,
0:25:04 > 0:25:09and, of course, I couldn't get out, because the girl sitting next to me,
0:25:09 > 0:25:12she had to get out first, and she landed on the ground.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14I landed on top of her.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18She was screaming, "I've been shot, I've been shot!"
0:25:18 > 0:25:20SHE LAUGHS
0:25:20 > 0:25:22We were all crying,
0:25:22 > 0:25:27"You can't be shot, Julie. We didn't hear any shots."
0:25:27 > 0:25:30"I have been shot, he's shot me in the ankle."
0:25:30 > 0:25:33And, of course, we got her up, looked,
0:25:33 > 0:25:36and she'd broken her ankle when she fell.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39The ATS' work was dangerous and hard,
0:25:39 > 0:25:42but close friendships were formed,
0:25:42 > 0:25:45as the young women shared accommodation, often far from home.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49And, when not defending our skies, they'd manage to have a bit of fun.
0:25:49 > 0:25:56We'd play childish games - hopscotch, skipping ropes and hide and seek.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58SHE LAUGHS
0:25:58 > 0:26:01Although never actually firing a weapon,
0:26:01 > 0:26:05the women were key in destroying incoming enemy aircraft.
0:26:05 > 0:26:10The human cost of their actions was something they had to put out of their minds.
0:26:10 > 0:26:15And we never thought what the outcome of us picking that plane up,
0:26:15 > 0:26:17what happened to it.
0:26:20 > 0:26:21How many lives we took.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28Never thought of it that way, it was just a plane.
0:26:28 > 0:26:33A bomber landed on Wimbledon Common, quite next to our gun site.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37And it was then I realised we weren't firing at metal.
0:26:37 > 0:26:42Two chaps got out of it, and they were only the same age I was,
0:26:42 > 0:26:46and they looked scared. Really, really scared.
0:26:46 > 0:26:50And I thought, "No, we're hitting human beings."
0:26:50 > 0:26:56After D-Day, ATS members were moved to different duties and areas.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58Mary and three colleagues stayed with their searchlights,
0:26:58 > 0:27:02but now they were using them to pick out victims
0:27:02 > 0:27:05in sites devastated by the Germans' lethal buzz bombs.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07We never discussed it.
0:27:07 > 0:27:12Even after that first night,
0:27:12 > 0:27:15we never discussed what we'd seen.
0:27:15 > 0:27:20We'd just go and sit in the bath and cry our hearts out, have a cry.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23It was the only place we could do it.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30SHE SIGHS
0:27:30 > 0:27:33But...
0:27:33 > 0:27:35I think we grew up then.
0:27:37 > 0:27:39I think we really grew up.
0:27:41 > 0:27:46The ATS would help destroy just under 2,000 flying bombs,
0:27:46 > 0:27:49and 627 enemy aircraft.
0:27:49 > 0:27:52But, in the process, more than 70 would lose their lives.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57"Freedom made the call and they answered,
0:27:57 > 0:27:59"Just as their mothers answered before.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02"Let us salute them, knowing we need them,
0:28:02 > 0:28:04"Fighting the good fight once more."
0:28:04 > 0:28:08Those words to a popular ATS song of the time pay tribute,
0:28:08 > 0:28:12not just to those women who gave their lives in the service of their country,
0:28:12 > 0:28:14but also to the thousands of Londoners
0:28:14 > 0:28:18who kept our capital going through its darkest hours.
0:28:18 > 0:28:23Next time on How We Won the War, I'll be meeting two women
0:28:23 > 0:28:25who risked life and limb delivering bombers...
0:28:25 > 0:28:28Discovering the foodstuff that created quite a buzz...
0:28:28 > 0:28:31And learning how a 23-year-old agent
0:28:31 > 0:28:34carried out deadly missions in occupied France.
0:28:52 > 0:28:55Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd