Flashback - London August Bank Holiday
In a London still visibly recovering from the effects of World War Two, an intrepid BBC news team set off from Alexandra Palace to spend the day visiting the capital's main attractions and speaking to the people they find there. There is an eerie lack of traffic and the devastation around St Paul's Cathedral is quite shocking. It is only when the team reach Hampstead Heath fair in the evening that there is a sense of people really letting their hair down.
The Blitz in London lasted from September 1940 to May 1941. In all, about 20,000 people died and one third of the housing stock was damaged or destroyed. St Paul's was saved by the diligent efforts of volunteer firewatchers who dealt with each incendiary device as it landed.
