Mapping the Blitz

As a long-time World War II buff …Actually, that a strange phrase; makes me feel a bit too much like Phil Hartman’s character in Small Soldiers. Let’s start again…

As a long-time student of WWII, I expect to spend the next few years of my life at Bombsight.org, which describes itself thusly:

The Bomb Sight project is mapping the London WW2 bomb census between 7/10/1940 and 06/06/1941. Previously available only by viewing in the Reading Room at The National Archives, Bomb Sight is making the maps available to citizen researchers, academics and students. They will be able to explore where the bombs fell and to discover memories and photographs from the period.

The ability to “dig down” into individual neighborhoods is amazing, as is the “Memories” portion of each section that allows you to read stories and first-hand account of the area under investigation. You can even take a peek  at some of the data used to construct the site. I have absolutely no idea what to do with that, of course; I’m just glad it exists. (I’ll be Leah could think of something, though.)

The site itself seems to have been slashdotted a bit, but don’t let a few 404 errors get you down. Keep hitting refresh; it’s worth it.