The Blitz - Birmingham

Part of a series of programmes telling stories of the Blitz from around the UK. Jasper Carrott finds out what happened in Birmingham during the worst of the bombing. Birmingham was a crucial centre for the manufacture of armaments during the Second World War - everything from anti-aircraft shells to Spitfire planes was made there. Workers - many of them young women - were brought from across Britain to keep the factories of England's manufacturing powerhouse going. Birmingham was justifiably known as the 'city of a thousand trades'. By 1944, four hundred thousand people people were involved in war work there - a greater percentage of the population than anywhere else in the country. Jasper meets some of those who undertook this gruelling work. They recall how they worked round the clock to keep the nation's armed forces supplied and they remember the dangerous nights of the Blitz when they city's factories were often the bombers' targets and workers would sometimes carry on through the air raid sirens in order not to lose production. Jasper also hears about one of the darkest episodes of the Birmingham Blitz - the bombing of the Birmingham Small Arms Company's factory at Small Heath on the night of the 19th of November, 1940. Many of the workers were trapped inside the burning building, and tremendous heroism was shown by the rescuers, with two George Medals being won that night. Nonetheless, more than fifty workers were killed in a vivid demonstration of the bravery shown and risks taken by those who worked on the home front through the Blitz. Producer: Louise Adamson A Juniper production for BBC Radio 4.