Architectures of survival: Air war and urbanism in Britain, 1935–52

254 Pages·2019·7.739 MB·English

by  Adam Page

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Adam Page Architectures of survival investigates the relationship
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is Lecturer in between air war and urbanism in modern Britain.
History at the
It asks how the development of airpower and the
University of A
targeting of cities infl uenced perceptions of urban
Lincoln
spaces and visions of urban futures. An original and
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innovative work of history, this book brings together
a diverse range of source material to highlight C
the connections between practices of warfare and
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urbanism in the twentieth century.
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Moving from the interwar period to the Cold War, this T
book demonstrates how airpower created a permanent
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threat to cities. It considers how architects, planners
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and government offi cials reframed bombing as an
ongoing urban problem, rather than one contingent T
to a particular confl ict, and details how the constant
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threat of air raids prompted planning for defence and
planning for development to become increasingly R
entangled. Page highlights the importance of war and
OF SURVIVAL
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the anticipation of war in modern urban history, and
argues that the designation of the city as a target has S
had long-lasting consequences. The book draws on

archival material from local and national government, O A I R WA R A N D U R B A N I S M
architectural and town planning journals, and
I N B R I TA I N , 1 9 3 5 – 5 2
cultural texts, to demonstrate how air war became F
incorporated into civilian debates about the future
of cities and infrastructure, and vulnerability to air S
raids was projected onto the mundane material culture U
of everyday urban life.
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This book will be of particular interest to urban
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historians, social, cultural and political historians of
modern Britain, urban sociologists, architects and I
planners. It will also interest historians of the Second V
World War and the Cold War.
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www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
A D A M P A G E
Architectures of survival

Architectures of survival
Air war and urbanism in Britain,
1935–52
Adam Page
Manchester University Press
Copyright © Adam Page 2019
The right of Adam Page to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by
him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Published by Manchester University Press
Altrincham Street, Manchester M1 7JA
www.manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 978 1 5261 2258 2 hardback
First published 2019
The publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for any
external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guar-
antee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
Typeset by
Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Stockport, Cheshire
Contents
List of figures vi
Acknowledgements viii
Introduction 1
1 In the next war: the future of cities and the future of war 20
2 Planning a ‘militant peace’: air raid precautions for
peace and for war 58
3 Cities under fire: the ‘new blitz reality’ 95
4 Seeing cities through bombsights: urban geographies
of war after 1945 132
5 A ‘peace that is no peace’: reconstruction, defence
and development in town and country 169
Conclusion: war without limits 209
Select bibliography 222
Index 237
List of figures
Figures
1 Poster from the RIBA Exhibition in March 1939, Journal of
the Royal Institute of British Architects, 46 (March 1939),
p. 509. (RIBA Library Photograph Collection) 77
2 The city from above was ‘A Perfect Target for Air Bandits’,
‘A Realistic Plan for ARP’, Picture Post, 21 January 1939,
p. 55. 79
3 The city as a ‘death trap’, ‘A Realistic Plan for ARP’, Picture
Post, 21 January 1939, p. 55. 80
4 PRO: HO 200/4: Plan for new deep tube shelters included
in ‘Report on the New Tube Shelters and Their Use by the
Public’, 22 April 1943. (The National Archives, Kew) 101
5 A bird’s-eye view of the Army Exhibition in the basement
of John Lewis in Oxford Street, ‘The Wartime Exhibition’,
Architectural Review, 94 (October 1943), p. 100. (RIBA
Library Photograph Collection) 112
6 PRO: HO 357/10: Map included in Working Party on the
Effects of Air Attack paper, ‘Total Casualties from the
Assumed Attack on London’, 18 May 1949. (The National
Archives, Kew) 138
7 PRO: HO 357/10: Working Party on the Effects of Air
Attack, ‘Casualties from a Random Attack on London’,
c. September 1949, p. 7. (The National Archives, Kew) 140
8 Detail from the Map of London with proposed Central
Key Areas, in PRO: HO 225/19: Chief Scientific Adviser’s
Office, ‘Proposal for Defining Central Key Areas’, 1950.
(The National Archives, Kew) 145
9 The Rings of the Greater London Plan, in Architects’
Journal, 101 (March 1945). (RIBA Library Photograph
Collection) 147
List of figures vii
10 The camouflaged cooling towers in Leicester, Architectural
Review, 89 (September 1939), p. 146. (RIBA Library
Photograph Collection) 178
11 A watercolour painting by Hugh Casson used as an
illustration of the aesthetic potential of camouflage in an
English village in his article ‘The Aesthetics of
Camouflage’, Architectural Review, 96 (September 1944),
p. 66. (Copyright © Estate of Hugh Casson RA,
image courtesy of the RIBA Collections) 179
12 This map was included as Annex I in PRO: HO 205/296:
‘Location of the Power Station Proposed to be Erected
at the East India Docks, Poplar’, note by the Air Ministry,
10 July 1946. (The National Archives, Kew) 197
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank friends, family and colleagues for the big and
small parts they played in the making of this book. This project
began with research funded by the University of Sheffield, and my
thanks go first of all to Holger Nehring for his guidance as well as
his openness to different approaches and ideas. I am grateful to
Clare Griffiths for a very valuable second opinion and perspective.
My thanks also go to Simon Gunn and Adam Piette, who helped me
to see the thing afresh and gave me new threads to pursue. Simon in
particular was an invaluable supporter, and I am especially grateful
for his encouragement when the way forward was far from clear. I
was fortunate enough to have six months as a fellow at the MECS
Institute for Advanced Study at Leuphana University in Lüneburg,
funded by the German Research Foundation, where I continued to
work on the project. My time there was a refreshing and inspiring
introduction to ideas and people, which allowed me the time and
space to slowly begin reappraising my research. Thanks to everyone
at MECS, and to Anneke and Dawid in particular, for making me
feel at home in northern Germany. More recently, I have been excep-
tionally fortunate to find myself among so many new friends and
colleagues at Lincoln. I am grateful for the work and support of Tom
Dark, MUP, and the anonymous reviewers who provided helpful
criticism and suggestions. I would also like to thank the archives
and archivists who helped me in my research, and those who have
given me permission to quote from the various papers and collec-
tions cited in the book. Some elements of chapters 2 and 3 previously
appeared in the article ‘Planning Permanent Air Raid Precautions:
Architecture, Air War and the Changing Perceptions of British Cities
in the Late 1930s’, Urban History 43:1 (February 2016), 117–134.
The publication of this book has been made possible by a grant
Acknowledgements ix
from the Scouloudi Foundation in association with the Institute of
Historical Research. It was supported by the University of Lincoln.
Writing this has often seemed an anachronistic and disconnecting
experience, as life seemed always to be happening in the next room.
I would like to thank friends and family for bringing me back in now
and again. Most of them will get the benefit of anonymity, but not all.
So special thanks to Patrick, Jemma, Anne, Steven and, of course,
Tom for your humour and patience and everything else. In different
ways and at different times, you have proven excellent companions.
It has not been an easy few years for my family, and I would like to
thank my mother and sisters for their strength and solidarity. I am
incredibly lucky to have two interesting and funny sisters, who have
each had a profound influence on me and who I try to be. Thanks
then to Ella and to Sally. I look forward to seeing what happens next,
and I will, of course, be there alongside you throughout. My father
is not here to read this, but I would like to thank him. Although it
was never easy or uncomplicated, some valuable things found their
way through to me, and I can surely trace elements of his somewhat
awkward and stubborn discontent in whatever brought me to where I
am. Finally, I would like to thank my mother, Marian. Her generosity,
courage and commitment has always been quietly inspiring to me.
It was through her experience and outlook that I first began to think
about the impact of militarisation and war on people and their lives.
I think this is some kind of response to that, and I dedicate this book
to her.