A remembrance service at St Paul's Cathedral on 7 September has marked the 'official' 70th anniversary of the start of the Blitz, and remembered the thousands of people of all ages who were killed or injured in the series of bombing raids on UK cities by Adolf Hitler's forces in 1940 and 1941.

Blitz, the German word for ‘lightning’, was applied by the British press to the tempest of heavy and frequent bombing raids carried out over industrial targets and civilian centres, particularly London, Liverpool, Coventry and Clydebank.

In their efforts to "soften up" the British population and to destroy morale before the planned invasion, German planes bombed major coastal ports and centres of production and supply.

The commemoration event was organised jointly by the Lord Mayor of the City of London and the RAF Association. It is intended to recognise the effort of everyone directly involved in the Battle of Britain and the Blitz.

The main air offensive against British cities diminished after May 1941, with the change of direction of the German war machine towards Russia. However, sporadic and lethal raids, using increasingly large bombs, continued for some time.

Source: BBC News