Children's Essays of WW1 Zeppelin Attacks on Britain

The British Library have made newly digitised material from World War I available online, including some of the collection’s eye-opening essays written by children about Zeppelin attacks in 1915. 

The boys of Princeton Street Elementary School, London, were aged between 5 and 14 when the Zeppelin attacks took place. Some of the boys recorded their recollections of the airship raids.

Their accounts reveal how unexpected the raids were and how unprepared Britain was to deal with the new threat. Most of the boys were getting ready for bed or playing out on the street when the Zeppelins arrived - Londoners had no prior warning of either of the attacks on 8 September or 13 October 1915.
These boys express both excitement and fear during the airship raids, and satisfied their curiosity by going out to inspect the damage once the raids were over.
Read the transcripts from this unique collection of essays, revealing the terror of a German Zeppelin attack through a child’s eyes.