Video


Roundtable 25 March 2020 - Coronavirus and the real lessons of the Second World War.

As the Coronavirus crisis intensified and the UK locked down, a group of historians got together for an online roundtable to discuss the government's emergency response and civil defence strategy during the Second World War. From blackout regulations and public safety communications to emergency field hospitals for Blitz casualties, from the difficulties of volunteer coordination to the emergence of fire fighters as essential "grimy-faced heroes", the government of the day faced a huge range of logistical and communications challenges.

The discussion showed there are lessons to be learned from the Second World War - just not the "Blitz spirit" lessons that were often invoked in the early days of Coronavirus.

Read the Policy Paper here.

Participants:

Rosemary Cresswell (Hull)
Barry Doyle (Huddersfield)
Shane Ewen (Leeds Beckett)
Henry Irving (Leeds Beckett)
Mark Roodhouse (York)
Marc Wiggan (Oslo)

Chaired by Alix Mortimer, editing by Andrew McTominey

Categories:

About Us


H&P is based at the Institute of Historical Research, Senate House, University of London.

We are the only project in the UK providing access to an international network of more than 500 historians with a broad range of expertise. H&P offers a range of resources for historians, policy makers and journalists.

Read More