This is a glossary of general Second World War terms. You will also find footnotes as required with individual sources.
A B C D E F G H I L M N O P R S T U W
A
A.F.S. A[uxiliary] F[ire] S[ervice]. Volunteers were trained to help the professional fire service.
A.R.P. A[ir] R[aid] P[recautions]. A.R.P. became the name of the organisation that was in charge of air raid precautions.
Admiralty The government department in charge of the Royal Navy.
Air raid Bombing raids by enemy aircraft upon towns, cities, factories, railways, bridges and military targets.
Air raid shelter A place that offered protection against bombs. Although shelters saved many lives during the War, very few of them could withstand a direct hit from a large bomb. See also Anderson and Morrison Shelters, Public Shelters.
Air raid warden Official person in charge of local arrangements for air raids - running air raid shelters, giving advice, keeping lists of people living in local houses, helping with rescue work, checking on blackout.
Alert Warning of an air raid - usually given by special sirens in the Second World War.
All clear Special notes on sirens to signal that an air raid had finished and that it was safe to leave shelters.
Anderson Shelter Small air raid shelter that was put up in people's gardens.
Anti-aircraft gun A quick-firing gun used to fire at enemy aircraft overhead. These guns were set up around air fields, docks and military bases, and also in towns and cities where they were often placed in parks and playing fields away from houses. They made a tremendous noise and the shells that they fired burst into fragments in the air, called flak or flack. The guns had a nickname - 'ack-ack'
Auxiliary An additional person who gave help or support to the regular staff of an organisation like the army or air force.
B
Baffle walls Freestanding walls built opposite entrances to buildings to protect these entrances from blast.
Barrage Repeated gunfire.
Battery A unit of guns or rocket launchers.
Billeting Providing someone with a place to stay.
Billeting officer A person in charge of billeting arrangements. Before the war, billeting officers had to identify premises that could be used to house people from the cities if bombing started. When evacuation happened, they had to organise places for everyone to stay.
Billeting Tribunal A local committee to whom people could appeal if they disagreed with how they had been billeted, or how they had people billeted with them.
Black market Illegal trade, operating outside the law.
Blackout At night in Britain, all outside lights had to be switched off and people had to make sure that no lights could be seen from within their houses - hence people put up 'blackout curtains'. This was done to make it harder for enemy planes to find targets. The police and air raid wardens warned people if they hadn't made their houses dark, or if they flashed torches around. Even car and other vehicle lights had to be made very dim. Often people had accidents in the blackout because they couldn't see very well at night.
Blast The force of air caused by an explosion.
Blitz A sudden and intensive attack, especially by air, that is meant to overwhelm the enemy. An abbreviation of the German word, blitzkrieg, which means ‘lightening war’. ‘The Blitz’ was first used to describe the heavy bombing of London in 1940/1941.
British High Command The senior politicians and military leaders in charge of the war.
Broadcast A radio programme. During the war, the government used radio broadcasts to give information to people and to ask them to work hard to win the war.
C
Camouflage Using disguise to hide something. In the war, ships, planes, tanks, guns, and buildings were camouflaged by using special painting patterns, or covering them, so that they blended in with their surroundings. Camouflage nets were used to drape over guns, tanks and planes, when they needed to be hidden from the enemy.
Casualties People killed or injured in a war or an accident.
Civil Defence The organisation and training of civilians to protect lives and property during wartime.
Civil Defence Commissioner A senior official responsible for coordinating civil defence over a large area. There was a Civil Defence Commissioner for Scotland, usually known as the Regional Commissioner.
Civilian In wartime, someone who is not in the armed forces or the police force.
Commandos Soldiers trained to be used for special attacks.
Communique An official announcement.
Control centre The communications centre for Air Raid Precautions. This was a telephone exchange which took messages from those involved in air raid incidents and passed them on to the appropriate service.
Coupon A token or voucher used in rationing.
Curfew A time of day when there is some restriction on people's movements.
D
D.A. bombs D[elayed] A[ction] Bombs
E
Evacuable areas The areas of the country from which the government had decided to move people if there was war.
Evacuation Removing people from a place of danger to stay elsewhere until it was safe to return.
Evacuee A person removed from a place of danger.
F
Fascist The name given to people or political parties with extreme right-wing views. Britain's European enemies in the War, Germany and Italy, were described as Fascist nations.
Fire watching Watching for incendiary bombs (see below. These devices were not really bombs and could silently drop and set fire to buildings very quickly.
G
George Medal A gallantry medal which can be awarded to civilians.
Gerries/Gerry The wartime nickname for Germans.
Goebbels Hitler's Minister of Propaganda.
Goering Hitler's Air Minister.
H
H.E.[B.] H[eavy] E[xplosive] [Bomb]
Heinkel III A type of German bomber plane.
I
Identity card A card that proved that a person was a British citizen. In the Second World War, all British citizens had to carry an identity card with them at all times. The Home Guard could stop people to check their identity cards. They did this to search for enemy spies.
I.B. I[ncendiary] B[omb] These were not real 'bombs' because they did not explode. They were bundles of highly inflammable chemicals which were dropped onto targets to cause fire.
Internee In wartime Britain, people from other countries that were at war with Britain were rounded up and put in prison or special camps - this was called internment and an internee was someone who was interned in this way. This action was taken in case such people acted as spies or took other action against the British war effort. Some internees were sent abroad, to countries like Canada, so that they were out of the way. Among the internees were people who had fled from Germany before the war because of persecution, and some of them were released later and helped Britain in the war. Other countries also interned foreigners when the war broke out.
Iron Cross The highest award for bravery given by the German Army.
L
Local authority The local form of government in Britain - County Councils and Borough or Burgh Councils and City Councils. They were responsible for making civil defence and evacuation plans work.
Luftwaffe The German Air Force from the German words 'Luft' meaning "air" and 'Waffe' meaning "weapon".
M
Manpower The number of people available for work.
Ministry of Information The department of the government responsible for controlling information given to the public during the war. It issued propaganda which was information the government wanted widely distributed, and it censored the media for information the government did not want to be distributed.
Morale The mood of the people. Government tried to increase people's confidence and boldness during the war to keep morale high.
Morrison Shelter A steel cage-like shelter invented for use inside people's houses during the War.
Munitions Weapons or parts for weapons.
N
National Service War work. In 1941 women in Britain had to participate in some aspect of war work in the same way that men had to join the armed forces.
O
Observer corps Volunteers who systematically watched for enemy aircraft.
P
Parachute mine A large explosive device that was dropped from a plane by parachute to float down onto a target. Some were designed to explode on contact. Others had timing devices set to delay the explosion. The mines were very powerful, containing more explosive than most bombs, and did much damage. As the parachutes drifted with the wind, these mines could land anywhere.
P.O.W. P[risoner] O[f] W[ar]
Propaganda Information designed to make you accept one point of view.
Public shelter A large air raid shelter that was stronger than the small shelters people used in their houses or gardens. Public shelters were made available in a number of places - some were converted from existing places like basements, railway arches and Tube stations; others were specially built. In heavy bombing during the Blitz, many people moved to public shelters for long periods of time.
R
R.A.F. R[oyal] A[ir] F[orce]
Ration book A book of coupons which set out how much food and clothing you were allowed to buy.
Rations; rationing Government fixed the amount of food and clothing that each person was allowed to have. In the war rationing was necessary because it was difficult to bring in enough food and clothes by ships when there were enemy submarines at sea. Rationing went on after the war because there were still shortages.
Receiving/reception areas Those parts of the country to which evacuated children and adults were sent to live.
Reconnaissance Collecting information about an enemy.
Recruit Someone who has just joined an organisation such as the army, and is not fully trained.
Regional Commissioner see Civil Defence Commissioner
Receiving areas Areas of the country which the government were safe and could receive evacuees.
Recruitment Persuading people to join an organisation like the Women's Land Army - perhaps by putting up lots of attractive posters.
Rest centres/Rescue centres Large public buildings like schools or church halls which were equipped to help people who had been bombed out of their homes.
Royal Ordnance a state-owned munitions factory
S
Safe areas see Receiving areas
Salvage Property of any kind saved from areas which had been bombed.
Salvo Firing lots of guns or rockets together.
Sand bag Bags of sand used to protect windows from blast damage.
Sea mine Floating explosive devices designed to detonate on contact with a ship.
Search lights These were trained on enemy bombers to guide the anti-aircraft guns to their targets.
Shrapnel The shattered metal pieces of bullets and shells.
Siren A special device for making a very loud and long signal or warning sound.
Special constables Volunteers who helped the regular police force.
Stirrup pumps Hand pumps that were widely distributed to civilians so that they could quickly tackle fire.
Strutting Wooden beams used to reinforce the closes (entrances) of tenement buildings so that they could be used as air raid shelters.
T
Tracers Bullets which lit up in the dark and were used to guide gunners to their targets.
U
U.X.B. U[neXploded] B[omb]
U.X.P.M. U[neXploded] P[arachute] M[ine]. See Parachute mine
W
W.V.S. W[omen's] V[oluntary] S[ervice] (today known as the WRVS - W[omen's] R[oyal] V[oluntary] S[ervice])
Warden See Air raid warden
War Office The government department responsible for running the war.
War production Making equipment for the armed forces and keeping the civilian population fed and housed. Britain, facing Germany alone for much of 1940 and all of 1941, had to struggle to survive because of the bombing, and the sinking of many of its ships carrying supplies from other parts of the world. America, although not in the War at this time, helped Britain by agreeing to supply lots of military equipment and ships. Despite the bombing, production in British increased during the war.
War Savings Campaign A method used by the government to raise the money needed to fight the war. People were encouraged to save by opening special accounts and buying bonds and saving certificates. They were lending the government their money.
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