Air Raid Sirens in WWII

As part of their Blitzkrieg warfare, the Germans launched nightly air raids on England during WWII. These air raids were performed by the Luftwaffe, and Air Raid Wardens were nominated to sound sirens when the Luftwaffe was arriving; another siren rang to signal the beginning of the raid; and yet another to announce the end of the raids.

People that were doing important war work were supposed to pay no heed to the first siren, and instead go to their shelters only when enemy aircraft was directly overhead, at the second siren.
This is because sometimes the planes would fly by, but not drop any bombs, so leaving the factories on the first siren would simply delay work. Also, most people weren't killed by the bombs themselves, but by flying bits of debris or shells of the bombs.

The sirens themselves were sounded in short blasts and long notes, and often were simply imporvised on the wardens' whistles. However, the siren announcing the end of an air raid was one long, continuous, two-minute note.

One factory worker, a woman, said: "Sometimes the Germans would drop their bombs before the second bell went. On one occasion a bomb hit the factory before we were given permission to go to the shelter. The paint department went up. I saw several people flying through the air and I just ran home. I was suffering from shock. I was suspended for six weeks without pay." She went on to say that she wished she didn't have to work, but that she knew it was essential for the war, and that it was as dangerous as being a soldier.

Often, movies, or other events, were interrupted because of the air raids. One woman said: "When they had turned on the cinema lights, it seemed not just to have severed the film sequence, but shattered a fantasy, an intrusion that made me feel irritable and angry. Through the endless yards of celluloid, reality had intruded - reminding us that outside, a war was still going on, and we must not forget it. Not even in the cinema could we dream, perchance to sleep."

Clearly, the Luftwaffe air raids, and the British governments' signaling and shelter policies scared some people, endangered others, and generally broke the morale of all who had to take part in them. I still believe, though, that this trauma was nothing compared to what the soldiers had to suffer through on the battlefield.