Hardly exciting: If the invader comes

On the theme of fear and the Second World War that I explored in my last post, I would like to share this government produced public information leaflet that I was given recently. It gave the householder advice as to what they should do if the Nazi forces actually arrived in our towns and villages. The very fact of receiving such as sheet would have raised the stress levels in even the most rational citizen. It does not make comfortable reading:

The advice to 'stay put' in the face of Nazi soldiers advancing is especially interesting and optimistic. Read from the standpoint of 2012 this advice seems hopelessly inadequate, yet it gives a sense of the desperate situation faced by this country with German forces poised to invade across the English Channel, before  Pearl Harbour and Operation Barbarossa.

The other side of this document:

This makes fascinating reading. It may well have been an exciting time for some, but I wager that for most reading this type of official publication would prove harrowing. I will ensure that these documents are placed in the local records office once I have read them again carefully.