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HOME INTELLIGENCE SPECIAL REPORT on conditions in MERSEYSIDE .

I. INTRODUCTORY NOTE

A special study was made in Liverpool from June 3rd - 10th, 1941. A day in Birkenhead and a day in Bootle were included in this period. The welfare of the civilian population was investigated and special attention was paid to labour problems. (Appendix I). The report has been submitted to the Regional Information Officer, North-West Region, and many helpful criticisms have been embodied.

It should be noted that this report gives an impression and does not pretend to be comprehensive. It was not possible to see all officials concerned nor to check every statement. Detailed descriptions of emergency measures have been omitted.

A list of persons interviewed and other sources of information is appended.

II. DESCRIPTION.

To the visitor, Liverpool has a depressed and sordid atmosphere. This is partly due to its blackness and the number of very poor seen in the streets, and is enhanced by the blitz debris. (The atmosphere in Birkenhead is strikingly more cheerful.) The population, about 850,000 before the war, is thought to have increased slightly, owing to increased activity in the docks and shipyards and the expansion of factories, mainly engineering and aircraft works. The mixed population of the city is a special feature. There are small colonies of Chinese, Arabs, Greeks and West Indians, transient seamen of all nationalities and a large settlement of Irish, reported to be of a poor, even primitive type. The feud between the Catholics and Orangemen has raged hotly in the past but has somewhat abated since the war.

Raids on Liverpool started in June, 1940 and gradually increased in intensity. There was a heavy attack in December but the worst period was from the 1st to the 8th of May, when there was a blitz every night. 1,435 of the total of 2,549 deaths occurred in this week. 700 water mains were hit and electricity and gas affected. The telephone is still out of action in the city centre, and it is unlikely that the city will have more than a skeleton telephone service while the war lasts. The docks suffered severely and half the houses have been damaged. In Bootle, 14,000 out of 17,000 houses were damaged and all utility services put out of action. There is still a considerable feeling of neglect because of these raids were not at first given sufficient publicity. Liverpool dislikes being disguised as a ‘North West town’, while London raids are described in detail, and the suppression of casualty figures and the extent of the damage is resented.

III. INFORMATION SERVICES

(1) The Liverpool Information Committee Secretary is the Town Clerk, who appears too preoccupied with other responsibilities to give much time to the work. A complaint from various members of the Information Committee was that they were not themselves given sufficient authoritative information with which to combat rumours. The Ministry of Information was blamed.

(2) In Liverpool, the Emergency Information Service has been reorganised. The new system, as we understood it, is as follows: The A.R.P. Controller decides when an emergency has arisen and informs, first, the R.I.O. (who sends the loud speaker vans), secondly, the Emergency Information Officer, and thirdly, the Chief Constable. Heads of Departments, such as the Assistance Board officer and the M.O.H., send typed copies of instructions to be broadcast and two Civil Defence cadets act as dispatch riders. In the last raids, the Emergency Information Officer appears to have had difficulty in getting information, and there was a complaint that inaccurate instructions were broadcast. In spite of this, the vans proved their value and were appreciated. It was remarked that small cars fitted with loud speakers were more useful than vans which are too large to negotiate back streets and debris, and increase the traffic congestion.

Large advertisements in the news columns of local papers were found to be a good way of distributing information, but we were told that publicity in general was not good, that people did not know about emergency measures and that printed instructions on Help for the Homeless issued to officials were not kept up to date. We spoke to a woman who had been referred to four different offices to make a claim for furniture removal. Each visit involved a long journey, and, with tears in her eyes, she said that no one seemed to know where she should go. There were other cases of this sort, which produced the feeling that it was only people who spun a good tale who could get help.

In Bootle, public offices were destroyed and we were told that confusion and distress would have been lessened if more effort had been made to make known their emergency quarters. Actually the offices were rapidly blitzed out of one building after another, until finally the large M.O.I. van became the main information centre. In Liverpool a central information bureau for changed business addresses would have been much appreciated.

(3) The C.A.Bs are said to have functioned well, in spite of the fact that the Municipal Information Bureau in the Museum was hit, as well as many C.A.Bs. Regional Assistance enabled certain deficiencies at the time of the blitz to be covered, by allocating C.A.B. workers to M.O.I. vans. The Regional Information Officer considers this to have been most helpful. The C.A.Bs are run by the Personal Service Society, which is well known and respected. At the Municipal Information Bureau, queries are answered which do not need special investigation of a case-work nature.

IV. THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES

The local authorities are aware that renewed attacks are likely but, in Liverpool, they appear rather too easily satisfied with the provisions made and are inclined to ignore public opinion and psychological factors. Their attitude was indicated in the way in which they replied to questions by quoting praise for past efforts instead of detailing future provisions. Their reception of the enquiry was friendly but not welcoming. They were inclined to be defensive and unwilling to discuss difficulties. As an instance, not one official mentioned the reorganisation of the fire fighting service, undertaken by a Whitehall official, and, considering the subject outside our sphere, we did not press for details. (We observed that pipes have now been laid from the Mersey: from unofficial sources, we heard that when the water gave out firemen stood idle instead of helping to save furniture and prevent sparks catching new buildings.) Apparently Regional officials are having great difficulty in persuading Liverpool to begin the provision of static water tanks on blitzed sites, as has been extensively in Manchester. There is some resentment because the Whitehall official is said to be getting masses of equipment which the deposed fire chief is said to have pleaded for in vain.

The difficulties in emergency appear to have been increased by the fact that Liverpool, Bootle, Wallasey, Birkenhead, and also outlying suburbs such as Huyton, are separated, rather artificially, each under its own authority. This complicates the organisation of billeting and Rest Centres and leads to situations such as the overcrowding of hospitals in one area when those adjoining had room. The need for further co-ordination is felt by the public and acknowledged by certain officials. Thus, the exodus problem is now being handled in a comprehensive way, which includes the County authorities.

There seems also a regrettable lack of co-operation between the authorities and voluntary bodies in Liverpool, and between police and wardens. The Emergency Committee of three, which meets daily, is considered to be unreceptive of ideas and unwilling to delegate powers. The authorities in general are described as “apathetic and moribund” - a phrase often used, though not always deserved. The Birkenhead authorities appeared more alive to public feeling. They have appointed a woman Welfare Officer who administers the Lord Mayor's Fund and makes each applicant feel he is receiving personal consideration. She has organised teams of workers for after-care visiting following raids, a system which might well be copied elsewhere.

V. EMERGENCY MEASURES.

Emergency measures have been gradually improved and the authorities feel it was fortunate that the mild early raids acted as a rehearsal. The official attitude, as stated to us, is that the safety of the people matters more than their comfort; there is little sympathy for those that have been frightened rather than hurt. As we were not in the city during a raid it was hard to gauge the effect of this on morale.

Distress after the blitz is alleged to have been caused by the enormous crowds of sight-seers (one town is supposed to have run 7/- bus trips for the purpose); the Regional Information Officer states that the “sightseer trips” were probably a myth based on the fact that pleasure coaches, drafted in to replace blitzed buses, were seen going through the city. The large number of private cars brought into service also fostered the idea of sightseers. A genuine cause of distress were the gruesome sights in over-filled mortuaries. The main mortuary at Bootle was itself destroyed, along with a large number of bodies. City hospitals also became crowded: when one was blitzed no note was kept of the destination of hastily evacuated patients. People are still touring country hospitals in search of relations. Some of the people from Rest Centres are also untraced, and it is evident that the problems of record keeping need further consideration.

There are an adequate number of Rest Centres run on a well organised, de-centralised system, and a policy of rapid dispersal by billeting was carried out to the satisfaction of officials. They were able to deal with the large number of 37,000 people in a week, since there was a survey of all available accommodation, and arrangements for an emergency staff (drawn from various departments of the corporation) who used compulsory powers when necessary. There were hostels for difficult types, such as old people or very large families. From unofficial sources we heard that ill-feeling had been caused by the bullying manner of some billeting officers, and it was also said that the people were not really dispersed, as they congregated unorganised in halls on the outskirts of the city and beyond. In these the standard of behaviour and cleanliness rapidly deteriorated. Volunteers in charge said conditions were indescribable; people would not even make use of the lavatories provided (a suggested explanation was that some slum lavatories are so dirty that parents forbid their use). P.A.C. officials in city centres were able to exercise more control and made the people help with scrubbing and cleaning. It was felt that their discipline was sometimes unsympathetic, but it is evident that if volunteers are to take charge of halls they should have preliminary training and rehearsal. It was remarked that good lighting and somewhere to lie down were important factors in keeping up morale.

Feeding arrangements had been carefully organised and worked more or less according to plan. The Rest Centres are supplied from P.A.C. central kitchens and the Education Authority has charge of other emergency feeding centres, mobile squads and the British Restaurants, which are popular, though not, strictly, an emergency measure. There is ample provision for alternative cooking should any or all of the first centres fail. In spite of planning, there was some confusion; stories were told of people in Rest Centres waiting till 3.00 p.m. or later for a meal, and the mobile canteens were said to be badly directed; some demolition workers and others were without food for long periods. It was suggested that it would be better if all Rest Centres had, at least, facilities for making tea, which should be given to people as soon as possible. Besides the P.A.C., and the Education Authority, the Dock and Harbour Board has a hand in organising feeding where dockers are concerned. It is thought that arrangements could be improved if they were co-ordinated by a single controller. On the docks, Cadbury's Canteen, sent from Birmingham during the emergency, first gave free cocoa and later charged a nominal sum, which undersold other canteens and caused dissatisfaction. Similar complaints have been noted in other areas.

In Bootle an Organiser from the Region took over the feeding. His work, later handed on to a London official, was praised, but some local people complained, apparently with little justification, that he had a superior, academic manner and did not appear to appreciate the strain they had undergone. This is probably a typical reaction to outside help, and one which regional officials should be prepared to meet.

An Assistance Board officer pointed out the importance of feeding the people waiting for immediate relief. Delay is inevitable, and unless applicants are made as comfortable and happy as possible they exert a depressing effect on each other. The Assistance Board was universally praised, though a few of its officers were unprepared to deal with what seems the unreasonable touchiness of people not accustomed to apply for relief. There were not many complaints of money given for relief being misused, though some people spent most of it on funerals and there were people who got a grant for clothes and then applied to the W.V.S. for a free issue. One W.V.S. office was mobbed and had to close down. The Lord Mayor's Fund has had many appeals for help with funerals, as it seems that Government aid is still connected in the minds of the people with the idea of a public funeral or pauper burial.

VI. TREKKING, EVACUATION, AND REHOUSING.

After the blitz there was a nightly trek from the city. It is supposed by some of the authorities to have been small, and they discount as a myth the tales of sleeping in the open. There is reason to think they underestimate the movement. The maximal figure for the nightly exodus, given by the Regional Information Officer, is 50,000. Some officials say the “wind-up cases” should be made to stay put, and are critical of certain country folk who “opened their arms to the people, irrespective of if it were necessary.” This is said to encourage panic. In Liverpool it was said that if trekking facilities were made “everyone would go and it couldn't be done.” The Regional Information Officer describes the official policy as doing nothing to encourage the nightly exodus, but to be ready to deal with it if it should recur. In Bootle so few houses were left that the nightly movement had official sanction and help was given with fares to work.

Records of permanent evacuation were destroyed, but it is known that most of the original evacuees returned. There has been a new movement out since the blitz, but only school children and expectant mothers come under an official scheme. Others are paid allowances if they can find their own billet, and there were cases of mothers and babies and old people who could not manage this. The billeting of Catholic children in Wales has proved especially difficult; one priest even urged them to return on the ground that spiritual was more important than bodily safety. There is an unusually strong desire for family unity, and the phrase, “We'll all die together”, is often heard regardless of the fact that bombs do not respect family groups. It was felt that more women would go away and stay away if better arrangements could be made for their husbands and adolescent children in their absence. After seven nights of blitz many were at the end of their tether and begged to be sent out. It was felt that another seven nights would have emptied the city. Even after this experience people who found billets are drifting back, and in some quarters there is a feeling that the most dangerous areas should be compulsorily cleared. The area immediately behind the city is said to have reached saturation point and there were reports of 20 people living in one council house and other instances of overcrowding.

Over half the Liverpool houses have been damaged. Houses, both furnished and unfurnished, are now requisitioned, but it is obvious that rehousing will become increasingly difficult, and some sort of building seems imperative. The re-housing officer has plans for bungalows of a semi-permanent nature. They are divided three-room houses or huts, with kitchenettes and showers and a shelter between every two. They could be built of salvage materials (except for the shelters) and would be arranged in groups round the perimeter of the city, in touch with existing transport, shops and public houses. Each might have a community centre. The plan was not at first sanctioned by the Ministry of Health, possibly on the grounds that bungalows of this type would be used as a substitute for proper rehousing after the war.

In Bootle the housing situation is even more acute. At present people can only be offered street shelters for sleeping, with the prospect of a billet in the town later. This is not what they want and the authorities recognise the necessity of establishing colonies of people outside the area.

VII. SCHOOLS.

Most schools reinstituted a full-time programme six months ago, but many have now been damaged and attendance is poor owing to the long distances that must be travelled and the fact that in practice Catholic children cannot be made to attend non-Catholic schools.

VIII. SHELTERS.

Since the last blitz people are said to be more in favour of the smaller surface shelters, which stood up well. Those built with unsatisfactory cement are being demolished. A nightly movement from the suburbs into large basement shelters in the city has abated but not ceased. At midnight we saw some shelters with as many as 500 occupants, though there was no alert. The station of the Mersey Tunnel was crowded. It was adopted as a shelter in spite of official discouragement and the warning that it might be in danger of flooding, and a marshal and nurse are now provided and lavatories have been installed. There is no canteen and no alternative lighting system, though there have been as many as 2,000 shelterers. People sleep on the platform. Workmen were seen cooking an evening meal on spirit lamps. There are groups of Greeks and Chinese and occasional soldiers and sailors, sometimes drunk. Children were seen running about at midnight, and as the station is cleared by 5.00 a.m. for workmen's trains one supposes they must suffer from lack of sleep.

Shelter inspectors make a round every night. Public shelters are clean, and usually well ventilated and well lit. Where bunks have been installed they have been put in bays, leaving a clear passage. In the large shelters marshals have been employed, and are said to be most effective when they are corporation officials in uniform. Hot water urns are being fitted so that people can make their own tea, as it is felt that canteens encourage those who are not genuine shelterers. The Liverpool authorities would still prefer people to shelter at home and have advocated the use of Andersons and strengthened rooms. It may be for this reason that little entertainment has been organised in public shelters.

There were the familiar complaints of immorality in shelters, and the women Police Patrols have a difficult task in a city where there are many seamen and foreigners. They report that young girls in their early teens run away from home and are sometimes “lost” in shelters for weeks at a time. The Police Patrols had a shelter and hostel of their own, but both were damaged in the blitz.

IX. OTHER PROBLEMS

Other problems included looting, and the now familiar demand for more cigarettes for “blitzed” towns. The distribution of food is said to be bad, and we again came across the feeling that neighbouring towns did not realise or sympathise with the problems of the town that is blitzed.

Our attention was drawn to the numbers of Irish who come to Liverpool hoping to get a permit to go to Ireland. Those eligible may do so only if they are intending to stay for the duration, but it seems that it is common knowledge that it is safe to promise this, as the recruitment of labour in Belfast makes it easy to return to England should they wish.

The most pressing problem remains the need to do something about housing before the winter. There is, in some quarters, a demand for a special officer to take charge of civilian welfare, and there are people who feel that when a town is badly blitzed there should be a system by which emergency measures are taken over by officials from outside the area. The suggestion of a special welfare officer has never been formulated as a working proposal. Bootle might be ready to accept being taken over by outside officials but Liverpool is always resentful of any such action. Compulsory evacuation is also suggested and receives strong support from certain people.

X. MORALE.

The people seem fatalistic and there is an unusual family solidarity, encouraged by the Catholic element. Though they are dour by temperament and have not the Cockney resilience, they stood their eight-day ordeal with fortitude and seem able to readjust to normal conditions. As in Portsmouth, it was remarked that the morale of the “near-bombed” suffered more than that of the bombed. It was also said that people were ready to help themselves until they realised there was official help available. They then expected everything done for them.

There seems some resentment against the authorities who are accused of trying to force people to stay in the city during bombing, by making it difficult for them to get out. Unless they can sleep where they feel safe, there is some fear that they might get out of control in a new crisis. The investigation of the cumulative effects of lack of sleep is also demanded. We noticed nervousness and increasing apprehension as the time of the full moon approached.

A symptom which may indicate fear is the distrust of foreign elements. Anti-Jewish feeling is said to be growing. Jews are supposed to be cowards who have fled to the best billets in safe areas and who avoid fire-watching duties. One restaurant recently refused to serve Jewish customers. Greeks are also disliked and there are occasional outbursts against the Chinese in shelters, though they give no trouble and are cleaner than the general shelter population. There have also been unfortunate incidents when Free French sailors were subjected to insults and rough usage. The same attitude was perhaps reflected in objections to members of the Peace Service Union who helped in a Rest Centre, and to the fear and distrust of communist activities. In brief there seems to be a need to have someone to blame, and someone to act as scapegoat to work off the people's own fears.

The prevalence of rumours, such as the story that 30,000 were killed in the blitz, and that incendiary envelopes were to be dropped, is another sign of weakness.

The conclusion is that morale in general seems good, but that it would be as well if the authorities were more alive to a strong undercurrent of anxiety that exists.