War is declared
Headline: Britain is at war with Germany. The Government's ultimatum to Herr Hitler, ran out this morning. The King broadcast to the nation earlier this evening and called upon everyone to be 'calm, firm and united'.
At 9.00am Britain sent an ultimatum to Germany saying that unless German troops were withdrawn immediately from Poland the two countries would be at war. No reply came before the ultimatum expired at 11.00am, and so Britain is now at war with Germany.
France sent a similar ultimatum, which expired at 5.00pm this evening. A quarter of an hour after Britain's ultimatum had expired, the Prime minister broadcast to the nation.
'... the first air raid warning sounded across London.'
Among the Commonwealth nations who heard his speech, Australia and New Zealand both followed Britain into war against Germany, while Canada promised full co-operation and called her parliament to discuss the situation. Among other members of the British Commonwealth, South Africa's position was unclear, while Eire decided to remain neutral.
The declaration of war comes after a couple of days of intense activity in London and Paris. Yesterday, apparently, the two governments had decided that they would fulfil their obligations towards Poland at the earliest possible moment. However they then had to liaise with each other to find out when that might be.
In both capitals there were many cabinet meetings throughout the day. The final one in London began at midnight. This was soon after the Prime Minister's stormy reception in the House of Commons, when members had demanded to know why the Government were delaying in going to Poland's help, as they'd promised to under the Anglo-Polish Alliance.
The delay, it transpires, was caused by the French who needed an extra day in which to complete their defences.
First air-raid warning.
Only minutes after the Prime Minister had broadcast to the nation this morning informing us that we were at war, the first air raid warning sounded across London.
[For audio clips of the speeches made by Neville Chamberlain and by George VI on the day war was declared, see the last page of this article.]
[*Reports taken from BBC news bulletins, and a range of daily newspapers]
Published: 2001-09-01
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