To Hang Out The Washing

Moving through the southern suburbs of Birmingham on the morning of June 3, 1940, a bus bound for the city was making slow progress, its overworked conductor repeatedly having to advise there was no more room upstairs and standing room only inside! There were signs of a little uneasiness among some passengers, after having heard a warning that air raids on England were likely to begin soon after the fall of Dunkirk. News agencies were indirectly advising that, as soon as Luftwaffe pilots ran out of targets on the Continent, their attention was expected to switch quickly to Britain's industrial cities, with Birmingham and Coventry almost certainly to be in the forefront.