The years between the Blitz of 1940/41 and the V1 and V2 rockets of 1944/45 were commonly known as the lull. Consisting mainly of nuisance and reprisal raids, this period saw very little enemy bombardment in comparison. However, on 3 March 1943, Britain
Shelter wardens and civilians immediately tried to free people from the entanglement, but with little success. The lack of light due to the blackout along with the adverse weather conditions made the task even more difficult. The first ambulance arrived at 8:50 and by 11.30 all of the casualties had been removed from the stairway and taken to various hospitals and churches throughout Bethnal Green and the East End . In total 173 people were killed, 60 were treated for serious injuries and 10 were released with only bumps and bruises.
The Home Office War Room received a message on 4 March at 0840 stating that a panic had occurred at the Bethnal Green tube shelter the previous night and 178 people were killed and 60 more seriously injured.[1] Sir Ernest Gower, London Regional Commissioner, also submitted a report on behalf of the Emergency Committee of Bethnal Green to the Home Office on March 4th, stating that the deaths at the tube shelter had been caused by a panic. He also stated that the panic had been caused by the anti-aircraft guns that were fired in Victoria Park.
There were a number of matters the Home Secretary, Mr. Herbert Morrison, needed to address immediately in regards to the disaster, starting with whether there should be an independent inquiry and who would conduct it. The Home Secretary argued that; in the absence of any ‘reason to the contrary’, any enquiry should be held in public.[2] A public enquiry would have a ‘reassuring’ effect and do more to address public opinion; while a private enquiry might suggest the Government had something to hide. Lastly, and most importantly, there was a huge demand for a public enquiry by the relatives of the victims and the rest of the residents of Bethnal Green.
Arguments presented by the Home Office for a private enquiry emphasized the issue of home security. Another argument for a private enquiry was the effect on morale and how the public would react to hearing an account of the events that might include fear and panic. The third argument for a private enquiry was to eliminate the possibility of ‘irresponsible or disaffected local interest and personages’ being given the opportunity to use the unfortunate event as ‘propaganda’, i.e. Oswald Mosley and the British Union of Fascists. To this point there were three arguments for a public enquiry and three arguments for a private enquiry. However, the fourth and prevailing argument in favor of a private enquiry, and the most important in the eyes of the Home Office, simply stated ‘We are at war.’[3]
In a statement in The Times on 6th March, Mr. Morrison claimed that the ‘Government will probe this matter to the utmost.’ He expressed his personal sympathies to ‘all of those who have suffered the loss of relatives and friends in this tragic accident’, but was quick to point out that Londoners were ‘tested and hardened’ and were able to ‘bear suffering and loss bravely as any people in the world.’[4] He also warned the public of pursuing negligence through blame by stating ‘no good Londoner will want to indulge in any scope goat hunting.’ With that said, he tried to reassure the public that the Government had every intention to bring to justice anyone found of negligence, including officials from the Ministry of Home Security.
On the 8 March, the Home secretary met with Deputy Prime Minister, Clement Atlee, Secretary of State, Anthony Eden and other members of the War Cabinet. After a brief overview the previous week’s activities, he referred to the tragedy in Bethnal Green. The minutes state that the disaster had not been started by panic, but rather by one or two people that had fallen due to blackout conditions, which prompted others to fall, creating a mass pile-up. Mr. Morrison informed the other members of the War Cabinet that a meeting had been held by the newly formed Victims’ Relatives Committee and they demanded a public enquiry.[5] The committee proposed to circulate a ‘monster petition’ to put the necessary pressure on the government to hold an enquiry, preferably under the chairmanship of a judge, to eliminate any possibility of the incident form being ‘hushed up.’
According to the minutes, Morrison also favored an enquiry, but felt that it should not be held in public. The Home Secretary suggested that Mr. Laurence Dunne, a Metropolitan Magistrate, handle the proceedings of the enquiry and after a short discussion, the War Cabinet endorsed his proposal. Mr. Morrison and the War Cabinet initially favored the conclusion of the enquiry being made public, but only after strict security considerations. The War Cabinet also agreed that a statement should be made, by the Home Secretary in the House of Commons on the 10th of March.[6]
The following day the Home Office released a statement to the press stating that Mr. Laurence Dunne would be conducting the inquest on the behalf of His Majesty’s Government, and although the enquiry was to be held in public, any sensitive material that could be valuable to the enemy may be held in private. Furthermore, the press report stated that ‘the results of the enquiry will be published’.[7]
The Home Secretary addressed Parliament on March 10th and after a brief account of the events of the disaster, he stated
The Government are determined to do whatever is possible to throw light upon the circumstances attending this sad event. Without in any was assuming that there was negligence in any quarter, the Government wish to be assured, and wish the public to be assured, that any avoidable defect either in the structure and equipment of the shelter, or in the arrangements for its staffing, or for the supervision of those within the shelter, is brought to light so that steps can be taken both in this shelter and elsewhere to minimize the risk of any.
Morrison continued his address by reminding Members of Parliament that:
As many aspects of the incident concern Civil Defense arrangements related to acts of war, on which it is undesirable that information should be given to the enemy, the Government have decided in the national interest that the inquiry shorn be held in private; but the conclusion will, subject to security considerations, be published.[8]
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