VE-Day Special - WW2 Air Raid Sirens Saving Lives 2020

75 years after the end of WW2 in Europe, air raid sirens continue to help save lives in Britain. They are the last part of the civil defence network that used to protect civilians from the Luftwaffe - find out how these old machines are used today.
Special thanks to the following KZbin creators for generously providing footage for this video - please follow the links below for more great videos on this topic and much more:
mrmattandmrchay - / mrmattandmrchay
Minty's GT - / mintysgt
BonkersGames - / @rob-tt9zz
Visit my audio book channel 'War Stories with Mark Felton': • One Thousand Miles to ...
Help support my channel:
www.paypal.me/markfeltonprodu...
/ markfeltonproductions
Disclaimer: All opinions and comments expressed in the 'Comments' section do not reflect the opinions of Mark Felton Productions. All opinions and comments should contribute to the dialogue. Mark Felton Productions does not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism, violence or otherwise questionable comments or material in the 'Comments' section, and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.
Photo Credit: David Curran

[@MarkFeltonProductions]

I'm releasing this a little early in the UK as its already VE-Day in Australia, New Zealand, India and many parts east. Enjoy.

[@Mr_Fancypants]

Can you cover the German sirence for fires to?

[@wehavehugeproblems4857]

Mark Felton Productions love all your work especially the war stories . Please keep this great work up ✌🏻🇬🇧

[@Vapir87]

Thanks Mr. Felton.

[@albertjackinson]

And it's still May 7th in the US. But it was a very interesting video nevertheless.

[@Simmo_NZL]

My local fire station here in New Zealand uses one of these to call the volunteers to the station for a call out. It is tested every Saturday at 12pm on the dot.

[@nullnull9478]

I see no reason to remove emergency sirens, and it’s sad to see even these lesser details of history fade away

[@MarkFeltonProductions]

I agree - damned bean counting pencil pushers!

[@PalmettoNDN]

Disabling sirens for Twitter. Right. As someone who's been a first responder for over 20 years, I have to say that's outright negligence. I am not vapid or self absorbed enough to have ever been on Twitter.

[@hanlan4763]

@@PalmettoNDN Yea, social sites are troubling, but doing or making rules by people there is insane.

[@stalkinghorse883]

How much does it cost to maintain these sirens?

[@MrCarGuy]

@@PalmettoNDN Exactly! Twitter users are an outright biased sample of the population.

[@TheAkiew]

Germany's sirens look completely different, but they are also still active. They are regularly tested in every town. I hope we never replace them with text messages.

[@borninthewoods4482]

They look like flying saucers!!!

[@reldies5364]

Yeah we have the same ones in Austria and we test them weekly.

[@GrafRucola]

How do you differentiate a test from a real danger ?

[@sharkquark6252]

Bonedurty a Test will be announced and at a Test all types of siren signals will be heared and not just one. We have different signals for different regions and they will all be in a short time.

[@SuperACU1]

@@GrafRucola often these tests are between 12 AM and 1PM on saturday.

[@petercavellini3232]

This siren type was still in use in the 1970’s in my Town, it was very effective, it was used by the local Fire Brigade.

[@remyfarson6559]

In New Zealand?

[@tinnedhaggis932]

Cool but scary

[@outdoorintheaussie9807]

It is still used in my fire brigade

[@forrestry]

My town also. Went off for fires and at 2100 hrs saying to kids time to go home. Lol

[@Seti-ms9bs]

Still used till 2010 in a oil refinery next to my grandparents house to notify workers 12pm everyday lol

[@Mistjeager]

When I was a kid back in 2000 visiting my Grandmother. There was a 60th anniversary of the blitz documentary being advertised on the TV while we were having dinner. There was one part where the sirens were going off and she immediately shuddered and put her hands on her face. I didnt really understand it at the time but now. God only knows what she remembered when she heard that siren again.

[@gageoverbo8086]

Wow.i bet shes been through a lot.

[@davisalexander1484]

i hope that your grandmother didn’t have to remember those roughy times and i wish her well

[@BuzzLightyear66]

Poor her. Look after her well mate

[@1badhaircut]

Yes also a little noise at noon - and again at 5. Of course to alert volunteer fire-fighters to suit-up for action. In the Mt. Rainer area also flooding and 🤔 what else ? Oh yeah …. VOLCANO EVACUATION ! Wars end but emergency needs do not.

[@ariannamae6114]

Why would they include that??

[@davewilson4058]

The sounds that have stayed in my memory for my whole life. The sirens wailing, the anti- aircraft guns firing, the drone of the enemy aircraft flying overhead, the powerful engines of the Hurricane and Spitfire roaring in the sky, the bombs dropping, sometimes too damn close and sometimes in the distance, the distinctive rattling sound of the doodlebugs approaching and thankfully passing me and Vera Lynn singing the old wartime songs on the wireless. Now at 85, they have become nostalgic, with an occasional shiver at a reawakened memory

[@simon4781]

@Iyash Same for my gramdpa. He always feels very uneasy when he hears these sirens (which is every Saturday at 12:00 in Italy).

[@davewilson4058]

@@simon4781 I know how he feels. For me it's the doodlebugs, a very chilling and distinctive sound.

[@5peciesunkn0wn]

Damn, 10 years old and living through that? I can't imagine it and I hope to God I never have to.

[@Digilobop]

This is really cool that this guy is 85 and is commenting on a KZbin video

[@swapmeetlus4096]

That was beautifully written. Thanks for that.

[@Whitpusmc]

Ah, representative government in action. People: “We want them kept! They are inexpensive and reach everyone!” Gov: “Nope....”

[@szymongorczynski7621]

Local councils: egoistic twats who think that they are always right.

[@benmallett4070]

Beat me to it. Typical behaviour from the very institutions that so ingratiated themselves over the past few decades. Lord help us if we are to be beset by turmoil, with our lords and masters in local government at the helm.

[@benmallett4070]

Regardless, happy VE Day to you!

[@Whitpusmc]

Ben Mallett And to you. Churchill was right, this was England’s finest hour, yet! May she live another thousand years. All respect from across the pond. (Where our own “representative government has similar issues....)

[@1701spacecadet]

They conveniently forget that not everyone has a mobile, or that in an emergency one of the first things to go down are mobile networks!

[@securityguard8641]

Imagine being a veteran living happily and then hearing this again.

[@srenkoch6127]

Or being a child hearing that and knowing that a ballistic missile is incoming from the east or north... I weep for the people of Ukraine Ukraine having to live through this hell again.

[@j.robertsergertson4513]

Or a War bride like my mom.

[@O-cDxA]

Very good point. But then there are so many things that we don't think of as terrifying for vets, but are - like NewYear celebrations with fireworks. ( But thankfully that is just once a year and not random )

[@Aaron19987]

If you’re a veteran you probably spent most of your time in mainland Europe and the warning sirens aren’t the main part of your war memory, moreover the bombs and gore.

[@samanthasmythe6243]

In the US they’re still used for tornadoes

[@ralphpasquale8848]

As a Midwesterner from the US, we call these “tornado sirens” and the first Tuesday of every month around 11am I hear them test the sirens to ensure they still work. Nothing can replace the good old siren to ensure people know when to get to cover.

[@madtrucker0983]

Yep, Alabama here. First Wednesday of every month at 1000 here.

[@livethefuture2492]

these remind me of those old nuclear tests, i believe they used the same type of siren.

[@honeysucklecat]

Dogs love them. Kind of like howling at the moon

[@wifelikecow]

@@livethefuture2492 Honestly surprised Knoxville doesn't have regular tests of any siren, considering how close we are to a) the Tennessee river b) the Kingston steam plant c) Watts Bar Nuclear facility d) Oakridge National Laboratory e) I'm sure there's more.

[@stevevernon1978]

in Indiana, they are tested at 11am every Friday.

[@lj3605]

I remember as a child in the early 90s learning about the blitz in school, and then a few days later the council decided to test the flood siren. Needless to say I was absolutely terrified

[@ilyanwevers7093]

Cool

[@lj3605]

@G E T R E K T 905 i said i was a child. Probably 4 or 5

[@TheAtlantaRailfan]

hahahahaha

[@TheDeadass]

I can relate

[@amerikansky4522]

ngl that's quite bad timing lol

[@VengineerGER]

Yeah in my town in Germany we still use our old air-raid siren as a fire warning for fire fighters.

[@user-hc7qb6zy5x]

Yo my town also uses the old air raid sirens for fire warnings!

[@ColoursCapello]

Same here in Königswinter.

[@Dragon.7722]

@@ColoursCapello Grüße aus Erpel. :>

[@shotgunsniper1530]

😎 Tell me the Model, I tell you from which side of the curtain you are! Glick auf, Bleib Gesund 😉

[@ohlingerjagdkommando3557]

Selbes bei uns!

[@brookebailey2200]

I was about 9 or 10 when I first heard the world war siren sound. I was in a tank museum, and honestly, goosebumps appeared on my arms and shivers ran down my spine in a matter of seconds. I still wonder to this day how that sound made me feel so chilled when I knew so little about the war. I didn’t even know what a siren was, and yet I was still filled with dread when it played.

[@GiDD504]

Knowing what people went through when those sirens were sounded back then sends chills down my spine.

[@Ericbryanmr]

The small New Zealand town still used that siren for firestation when there was a call out. Our German Shepherd used to howl at night when it sounded. I wounder where his loyalties lay...

[@darwinawardcommittee]

Lol. Yeah my suburban Chicago town used to use a siren for volunteer firefighters call out. Don’t know if they still do

[@USN1985dos]

@@darwinawardcommittee Down here throughout South Carolina we use them for tornado warnings.

[@longdonglarry]

call him Blondie and see how he reacts

[@Fe7Ace]

So apparently these things, or rather reproductions of them, are used all across the world. In my hometown Australia they are for fires. I'd rather have text alerts AND the siren, even if you can justify that 'enough' people have mobile phones, it's not like everyone who has one keeps it right there all the time, or always has signal and battery.

[@jase6709]

He supports the luftwoofe

[@hello.mynameisconnor9225]

This absolute madlad that just carries around a bomb is awesome

[@greenpoop261]

28 STAB WOUNDS

[@amalayperson7208]

HE WAS BLEEDING BEGGING YOU FOR MERCY

[@knighthunter1791]

Where the hell did you guys come from? 😂

[@leonel9683]

313 248 317-51

[@tobi2157]

I'm the Android sent by CyberLife

[@markuswagner8863]

Here in in Germany a lot this sirens were dismanteled After the end of the Cold war. We call the sirens "Luftschutzsirene". Which means Air protection siren. Here in Bavaria you can find such sirens in areas near nuclear plants and in the villages. Often they are placed at firestations, or at the roof of schloss and townhalls. They usually are used to alarm the voluntary firefighters, so that they come to the firestation. Also in some areas, like in my hometown Ingolstadt, the sirens are running every saturday at 12 o' clock for a test. We call it "Feierabendblasen", which means end of working day toot. This is from that times, when the people worked at saturdays to.

[@d.dementedengineerc99isurf26]

The air-raid sirens of years ago are simply "warning sirens," now. Southern USA has them mainly for tornados, Hawaii and California have them for tsunamis, and so on.

[@jsmoo1206]

They kept the sirens on German bases though, you hear them every first saturday of every month

[@mr.orange5549]

these sirens give me the goose bumps. They are one of the most eerie and scariest sounds ever. 7:38

[@oldtruthteller2512]

" You can hear those sirens humming, grab a lawn chair and a six pack there's a tornado coming" 😅

[@chriseagle6501]

😂😂😂 'Murica

[@gregboyington4896]

I was wondering if we use our old ones for tornado warnings.

[@Adriatic1290]

LOL

[@oscartheamazing6745]

@@gregboyington4896 i don't think most of the continental us would have air-raid sirens

[@crazylazybros2473]

Now that's a Wednesday if I've ever heard it

[@AntonsAstronomy]

imagine the veterans whenever a flood warning happens

[@robsche5130]

"Everyone into the bunkers, the Germans are coming"

[@somerandombloke4101]

Crickey mate

[@anhduc0913]

@xI5ucida1g4m3rI x Pull out bofors from garage.

[@varun_tech7]

get to the chopper !!!!!

[@JM3RC4D0]

@@varun_tech7 get to the spitfire!!!

[@LF-ni3iv]

Emergency sirens: Weewoo Siren Head: *”write that down, write that down”*

[@2_Awesome4u]

More like Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[@triclamite]

stop

[@robloxsirens2286]

@@triclamite yea I agree but also u always saying stop to some jokes like wtf bro chill

[@lightningfun6486]

Stop

[@professionalretard4647]

How to survive anything. Even a Karen. Step one: be a camera man Step two: immortality achieved

[@patricksedler9697]

Yeah, cameramen survived hiroshima and nagasaki. (it's a joke)

[@johnthomas-we5tt]

No be the camera

[@ChrisMathers3501]

The "found footage" genre would like a word with you.

[@GAIS414]

We still have our sirens in Sweden. They are still being tested nationally every three months. Our system is a bit different though. To eliminate power failure as a factor, our sirens are driven by compressed air, stored in huge tanks. For that reason they are called typhoons instead of sirens. But the everyday name of the system is "Hesa Fredrik" (Hoarse Fredrik) named after a reporter Oscar Fredrik Rydqvist, who when the system was first tested in 1931 commented that the typhoons sounded as hoarse as he was. Nowadays we have the Hesa Fredrik working in tandem with mass text messages to mobile phones.

[@maxmuller8633]

@Jedi Knight You think Swedish people that time could survive such a conflict?

[@maxmuller8633]

@Jedi Knight You British and American are island states, which gave you a huge advantage over everyone else

[@alexandermenzies9954]

The one in Malmo must be almost worn out.

[@guerillarice1129]

Thundering typhoons

[@benm752]

@@maxmuller8633 Since when was America an island state ? 😅 Perhaps you'll benefit from a glance at a world map.

[@Wally-H]

In the small town I grew up in, Paddock Wood in Kent, the siren on top of an old ARP building close to the middle of the village, was used to muster the local part-time fire brigade right up until the 1980's. I well remember hearing it go off many times. Eventually, the building was demolished to make way for housing. It was an old warehouse, and still had the words 'ARP Post' painted on the front right up until its sad demise.

[@paulc2689]

I remember this noise, growing up in Portsmouth in the 60's and 70's and later when I served in the RAF in the 80's then later as a police officer. I still find it very emotive. Very effective, they should be retained.

[@Angad_Panesar]

Wait ur that old also of u acctually can u tell me stories from ww2

[@paulc2689]

@@Angad_Panesar ......... is old bad ? That says something about you then doesn't it ? Sirens were used up to and through the 1980 / 90's .......

[@jezcolborne6329]

Totally agree

[@DormitionOrDominion]

I'm in Portsmouth too. And given the potential Russian threat, and the strategic importance of the location, maybe there's a chance they'll go off again. Unlikely though.

[@nistorlaurentiu7533]

flooding alarm: goes off me a history enthusiast: GET IN THE BUNKER

[@T0ghar]

At least you don't think it is a flood warning and take in strangers from the street to give them shelter when a lunatic just escaped.

[@PotatoSauce743]

You'll love the Netherlands then. Every first Monday of the month at 12pm the air raid sirens get tested all throughout the country. I've had times where I'd hear the air raid sirens and thought "oh i guess its 12pm now".

[@ronniewatson5879]

My granny was in a raid once when she was little and the sirens went off and everyone was going to go in the bunker but her granny didn’t want to as it was raining so they all stayed in the house and only their cat went in minutes later a bomb blew up the shelter completely and only the cat died quite ironic really

[@OneLostTexan]

Ronnie Watson, Indeed very ironic

[@turmfalcke]

@@PotatoSauce743 in Germany they test them every 1. Saturday, an the give 3 tone for a fire emergency

[@venari13]

Siren: *wails* Subtitles: [Applause], [Laughter]

[@ricekrispyy]

🤣🤣🤣

[@ricekrispyy]

Luke Sellon 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Bizzo.official]

It said music for me

[@malsmals]

👏👏👏👏👏🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@houseofgrey1690]

It said unknown force

[@joeritchie7286]

All those yrs after the war and those sirens are still there. Its amazin that they're still workin

[@PaulHussey01]

“Escaped lunatics” 😂 (Edit): It’s just after 7:48 if anyone missed Mark’s classic delivery.

[@wintersbattleofbands1144]

Really un PC these days, but gets the point across. Used to be in medical usage, but has fallen out of favor due to negative connotations of being applied to all the mentally ill, not just the dangerous or violent ones.

[@garrymartin6474]

Replaced by twitter ? The most ridiculous thing i've heard in a long time !

[@ZedsDeadOK]

It's to keep the lefty sjw's safe ;)

[@THE-HammerMan]

I agree. Many don't do Twitter. I have never even gone to Twitter. Or Facebook. Or Instagram. Or any others- I've got better things to do.

[@williamkeith8944]

Not Twitter, but there is a USA nationwide emergency text capability. There was a test about 2 years ago. Similar to the emergency Amber Alerts that are texted for child abductions. When there might be a war started, an enemy will cause an EMP disruption. That's an Electromagnetic Pulse by neutron weapons that will destroy electronic signals; cell phones, computer grids, unshielded electronics such as in cars, appliances etc won't work.

[@warhawkjah]

What if the warning service gets banned?

[@swimfeared]

have they ever thought that a portion of the population don't use twitter?

[@randyvegas6638]

A siren like this saved my life in 1979 in Texas, a day known as "Terrible Tuesday"when an massive mile wide tornado flattened a good chunk of my hometown, Wichita Falls...I believe, especially in "Tornado Alley", that most US cities still maintain their systems...lots of folks miss text alerts...no one misses that siren.

[@owenoliver1561]

Randy Vegas66 I live on the California coast where it’s a tsunami siren, and when we got those earthquakes last July we woke up to siren at like 4am, the sound is naturally unsettling

[@redskinjim]

that is a scary ass sound

[@TankRank5344]

North Dartmouth Massachusetts used one to summon the volunteer fire department until at least 2009 when I was in college. Whenever some asshat pulled the fire alarm at 2AM, we would hear it going off about three miles away at the station, then stood outside for the FD to gather, and show up. It took forever. God help the dude we found out pulled it.

[@kelvincollyer5738]

and they are powered by V8 engines......

[@jeffasbestos7813]

Unfortunately, our government is made up of potatoes

[@fletcherdowling2630]

These sirens are still in use in New Zealand for all volunteer Fire Brigades and have been standardized all across the country, so you'd hear them pretty much all the time, mainly in rural areas.

[@LeeAirVideos]

We have one at our local airfield Fairoaks. It only sounds if there is an aircraft emergency. Although during Remembrance Day on November 11th it sounds and everyone stops work and stands for the two minute silence.

[@lackedpuppet9022]

This is like our tornado sirens in the U.S. We have many different types in many different areas of the country.

[@krisfrederick5001]

They were always eerie to me, we used to have the old yellow ones here in Michigan. What I didn't know as a child was what they were originally for.

[@xcalibertrekker6693]

They are intended to be used for more then just tornado's though. But yes I hear them once a month when there is no other noise around. They are to weak for current times unless you live right next to one.

[@2.7petabytes]

In addition to the sirens we hear, we also have announcements that occur afterward. It’s rather eerie when you can hear the voice echo all over the city! It reminds me of some scene from Half-life or something along those lines.

[@BaronvonMoorland]

San Francisco for earthquake alarm

[@InternetDarkLord]

I was in an ice cream parlor in Pittsburg, Kansas when the tornado alarms went off. We all ran into the ice cream fridge to survive, very cold but safe with plenty to eat. We were lucky, the tornado moved east and hit Jefferson City, Missouri.

[@keithrose6931]

That noise used to make my mother feel sick whenever she heard it . Just a school girl at the start of the war but making munitions by the end of it . And at almost 91 years old still hates that sound .

[@themudthedirtandthesand9079]

Good Story. The thoughts and emotions of the millions of civilians, and the half of the population who are women, as well as those of children, who were affected by WWII is sometimes lost in history.

[@JohnGeorgeBauerBuis]

Keith Rose, to be fair, in Illinois, outside of testing, if I hear I siren like that, it means a tornado is coming!

[@keithrose6931]

@@JohnGeorgeBauerBuis That thankfully is something I've never had to encounter. My best wishes for you and yours whenever that situation arises.

[@anthonyfmoss]

My mother died a few years ago. She likewise hated that sound. She was 15 at outbreak of war, later called up and became Auxiliary nurse

[@keithrose6931]

@@anthonyfmoss They really were a special generation. And after the war they strived to rebuild this country so we could have a better life . God bless em !

[@datonegamer218]

Something about the sirens gives me chills all over my body

[@snowflakemelter1172]

Those same sirens were still there in the 1980's, and they still tested them, I can remember one near our school when I was a kid. They made us watch " protect and survive" which I still think is the most frightening thing I've ever seem.

[@DustyGamma]

Phone dead? You're dead. Genius. Also, gotta say, while staying home is annoying, I'm glad it's not raining steel.

[@jaybee9269]

DustyGamma >> And explosives and incendiaries. “Firestorm” was a word coined well before nukes. Scary. You made an excellent point!

[@thecaynuck4694]

And not everyone has a phone. Or uses it 24/7. As for the proposal to remove the sirens outside the mental hospital, that's a horrible idea as the sirens were put in place after a patient escaped and killed a little girl. Kids don't have phones, how can they expect them to be warned?

[@kevinberkhof5104]

2:17 aint nobody gonna talk about the guy just casually walking of with a bomb like yeah this is mine now

[@CJDJgamer]

It did not detonate. It was disarmed and taken off to Rainham marshes to be destroyed. Even those that didn't go off caused a lot of damage. The house next me ex wife is three storeys and a cellar.. In the war a bomb fell and took out all the floors. Her garden is still full of glass shards to this day.

[@j_rivera2007]

Yeah because it’s his now why should we question it

[@ChillGamerLad]

@@CJDJgamer Yea the grammar here makes me think otherwise

[@benerval7]

When stationed in Korea we used them for alerts. When in Kuwait and Iraq we used similar devices to warn of incoming rockets. Even today in the tornado alley area of America we have active sirens that are tested regularly

[@danhealy3261]

this air raid siren is still in use for gathering the local firemen in the event of hill gorse fires and other emergencies in my local town ,Macroom, County Cork, Ireland. Thank you Mark for all your excellent videos.

[@cesarm6131]

The sound of this siren makes your blood freeze in your veins, I remember it as a kid in Baghdad during the war we used to sit in the dark around a candle light and under the sound of this siren

[@jamesstewartwilliams]

That’s actually very scary. I’m glad you made it mate, what was it like to live through something terrible like that?

[@Anzac1]

How dark...

[@alexs5744]

The war in Syria is still going on and kids there rehearse in case of a barrage or attack.

[@Pabeloz]

@G E T R E K T 905 pft couple rockets is nothin

[@petermavrakis8953]

@@Pabeloz ... i dont think u know how its like when rockets strike..

[@kevint3845]

As “made in Britain” what was made usually lasted as these sirens still work proves, not quite the same quality these days and that’s with everything

[@CHIL2903]

They'd be made in China these days Kev!

[@kevint3845]

Mike H certainly agree with that and the quality of the stuff from China is terrible but we still buy it by the ship load, I just don’t get it, the electrics catch fire, the cars are rip offs from other countries, their bridges and buildings fall down and we are going ahead with 5G with them 🤔 as they say “ money talks” quality has gone out of the window, Back handers to hide crap equipment will always be done via a back door.

[@audreydempsey247]

No eu,un No problems

[@popuptoaster]

@@kevint3845 It's price that's all, some British built stuff was terrible quality (BL I'm looking at you!) but the good gear was expensive, the Gardner engine in my boat has lasted years and will last years more but they were expensive and almost no one cares if something lasts 100 years if they plan on replacing it after 2 or 3 so why pay the extra cost?

[@GodKing804]

their children, (Boomers) destroyed quality which eventually killed the British car industry as well

[@TheGramophoneGirl]

A haunting sound today, even if you never lived through the war.

[@danielvalentin6852]

Always look for my grandma in these videos and also think of how tuff she was as this must of been a terrifying sound in person. Man I miss her stories

[@cascadeflims7261]

Air siren: is scary The subtitles: [music]

[@abifrench7596]

I find them scary 😓

[@hdbsnhdh8209]

xD

[@cameronwhite4442]

I personally like the sounds of war sirens, no its not be cause I'm artillery I genuinely like the sound

[@abifrench7596]

@@cameronwhite4442 it's gas masks as well they scare me

[@justjeremy441]

Its not scary

[@touch_of_cobalt]

I haven't anyone say it, so I will: Happy VE DAY everyone! As a child we used to have a large public party at the village primary school on VE day, food, games, bunting and pennants everywhere. I never made the link then that many people were directly affected as children by the way and running the party. Well this year I'm celebrating, on my front lawn, responsibly socially distancing, but celebrating not the less. Again, happy VE Day all - Lest we forget.

[@Mike91337]

Happy VE day from America. We will always have your back.

[@Mike91337]

@书中自有黄金屋 strong words from someone with a call of duty degree in KZbin edgelording

[@masterofthedeathwing2839]

If the troops who fought for the Allies in WW2, knew the future they were fighting for, they would have joined with the Germans.

[@motorTranz]

Cheers from across the pond 🇬🇧🇺🇸

[@comradewyvern1150]

Cheers from America

[@hayate5644]

My great grandmother was a child during the Hull bonbings, and she was evacuated. Even today, if she hears the sirens through any medium, you can see the blood just drain from her face in terror. She was only 5 when she had to experience the bombings first-hand.

[@Magnetron692]

Thanks a lot! In Germany the standard siren device after WWII is the Motorsirene Typ E57, also an electrically powered device. Many of them can still be seen on rooftops of high buildings such as municipal buildings as town halls. I remember when I was a small boy at nursery school we had a siren on top of the Kindergarden building (it is still there and fully functional) and I pressed my hands to my ears when it went off. The wailing was ear-piercing a few meters away.

[@ludo9234]

I have that sound as a ringtone. We went up to Sheffield for a drinking session and ended up in an old pub full of oaps. needless to say it went off the pub went silent with apprehension. I turned it off after that episode .

[@thefinalroman]

phone set for a stuka dive bomber siren with explosion...

[@trossk]

I have that ringtone set for one of my friends. Its amazing the looks you get when it goes off while you are in the bank. Ive since learned to mute ad he seems to call everytime im in a bank or other place where wailing alarms freak people out

[@danielmattera4298]

@@trossk my mom had one that was the sound of guns cocking because I worked at a gun store... She scared herself to death when It went off while she was shopping at night....

[@Abc78633]

@@thefinalroman hey me too

[@Abc78633]

I have a stuka siren for alarm. Can never atat asleep with it

[@jacktar4146]

Because, like yeah, everyone uses Twitter. What a dumb decision.

[@chemputer]

I _think_ you can still subscribe to Twitter via SMS and follow accounts, but you definitely can't tweet via SMS anymore. I mean, Twitter is used for a lot of things (like school closings, for instance), and it works great for that, but an urgent notice of an escaped mentally ill criminal that needs to be in a high-security facility, that's just not a good choice. Twitter has gone down on occasion. As does internet access. Though I bet nearly every person in the admin of those primary schools are subscribed to their Twitter account and have to check every notification on their phone just in case. I feel like they didn't really think this through, just looked at the cost of maintenance and said "yep, twitter sounds great." A unified emergency service alert protocol (with a downloadable app) would be nice, but there would be so many competing options that unless Apple or Google put one out, and both agreed on it, it really wouldn't work. The reason you'd want a protocol and not a platform is so that it doesn't depend on your service, or app, and can be integrated into operating systems easily.

[@Mrsoldier847]

@@chemputer A lot of workplaces now require you to silence your phone, especially if you work in any customer service environment, and with most people just keeping their phones on silent because it's more convenient, any mass text system have a good chance of going unnoticed. A lot of Amber alerts in the US have the same issue, by the time you notice you received one, it's already been hours. Twitter is even worse, as several studies have shown only 2% of the UK population actively uses twitter, with an additional 24% that actively browse the site daily, nearly three quarters of the general population wouldn't get a twitter alert, and that is being overtly generous. You still have to be following the city or area's twitter account, something I am positive the majority of that 26% of the population is not doing. I am not advocating to remove the message or twitter system, but keeping the sirens ensures everybody gets the message, not just a select few who likely won't disseminate it to the rest of the population in a timely manner.

[@SheenT-xz2ng]

Shut up some people don’t have it

[@maruftim]

@@SheenT-xz2ng ?

[@Romin.777]

Twitter, fun a decade ago.. too censored nowadays..

[@Sorarse]

I remember back in the '70s in the village I lived in, they used one of these old sirens at the fire station to summon the volunteer crews whenever there was a fire. Fortunately it didn't go off often, but it was tested every Thursday evening at the same time.

[@darkphoenix3433]

Is it me or does anyone else get goose bumps when hearing this?

[@johndean4998]

My school is located in one of the highest areas of Leicester, and during the 70's the air raid siren on top of one of the buildings was regularly tested - the sound was unnerving.

[@truthseeker7242]

John Dean - I lived in Bristol in the 1960s-70s, and especially during the 'Cuban Missile Crisis' period the local sirens would get a testing once a month on a Sunday afternoon for a minute or so. I found it quite reassuring that if things kicked off, and Bristol, being in the middle of a target rich hot spot, that very few would survive to face the more aweful nuclear nightmare afterwards.

[@borninthewoods4482]

@john dean ...I'm from that area as well! I think it's for the quarry near by when they set the detonations to warn the workers

[@Cardboardtruck-vc2qw]

Is that in Germany 🇩🇪 or Britain 🇬🇧

[@Cedrikkkk]

I live in a small village in Germany and every Tuesday at 6pm they test the, now used for the fire department, sirens. It’s super unnerving even though we’re used to it

[@highriskgunman4181]

funny i grew up in a small town in the 70's and every Sunday at noon the towns fire department would test the air raid siren then in the early 80's they got rid of it then one weekend i hear this goddamned thing going off loud as all hell seems my friend who lived next door whose father was was a volunteer fireman took it home and they where in the garage with the damn thing hooked to car batteries i remember this very vividly because my friend had a really hot sister.

[@edwardreilly3500]

All of the people who died in WW2 we remember them while marking the VE 75

[@gabber88ful]

In holland we remebered the brave soldiers 4 days ago the as pakt and the allies

[@nameuser6740]

My great uncle was killed in action, he was from Ireland.

[@BringMeThatHorizon2000]

I actually love the sound of these air raid sirens and wish I had a small version of one.

[@mikoschannel6413]

Noticed one of these still installed on a tall pole in Handorf SA Australia today. Pretty cool to see one still standing after all these years

[@kvk8406]

When i was a small boy i visited my granny and grandpa in germany. A fire-siren went off in the night. And my grandpa told me about ww2 air-raids many years ago that sounded exactly the same. He told me which houses were hit in his village and where anti-aircraft guns were in position. Will never forget that moment...

[@alessandrotorboli3782]

The sound of fear, the sound of terror, the sound of war...

[@neko4309]

Alarm clock...

[@JohnDoe-ox5ni]

I used to brick myself as a kid on the farm when heard these things going off (probably testing )I thought it was the three minute warning before Armageddon.probably been watching threads and day after tomorrow on vhs. Fun times

[@gromm225]

Tornado. That is what I think when I hear that sound.

[@peterward2275]

My mother couldn't even watch the end credits of Dad's Army with the sound up because the sound of the siren made her feel sick with fear.

[@sincotrodium7385]

Yes... Go on

[@petergilbert72]

Even though I’m too young to have lived during WW2 the sound of a siren is hauntingly terrifying.

[@johnjephcote7636]

We had one on a wooden pole very near to our house. It was used regularly in CD exercises. We moved location in 1959 and then I did not hear them . However Civil Defence was still very active in the mid-sixties.

[@andrewphillips8341]

You have to love how the councils and politicians listen to the constituents.

[@mariosantisoferreiros2238]

2:17 a guy casually walking with a FREAKIN BOMB

[@thetheythen2144]

Liz! Just popping off to the shops!

[@panzerkampfwagenviiimaus5948]

I also love how other people near him dont even care as well 😂Imagine he accidentaly drops it

[@fillo7218]

lmao

[@problem5697]

@@panzerkampfwagenviiimaus5948 whoops were did the bomb go i dropped it. Better question were did the whole city go after i dropped it

[@InvidiousIgnoramus]

@@panzerkampfwagenviiimaus5948 Realistically, that wouldn't be enough of an impact to set it off, if that's what you're insinuating.

[@daveshegedin2576]

To this day we have one of these here in Opunake, New Zealand. It is tested at 12 midday EVERY day of the year and people stop work for lunch when it goes up. Primarily it is still used for Fire and Ambulance callouts..as these are volunteer services and not everyone walks around with their pager on it remains a useful backup. Dad was ex RNZN and RN WW2 and also ex-Army Korean War. He did not enjoy hearing the siren go up every day as he had been in London and other parts of the UK when air raids were on ...some bad memories of things he wouldn't even talk about. I believe there are quite a few of these still in service around NZ. Best wishes. Dave.

[@lontroll]

In my country it's not only testing.

[@daveshegedin2576]

Sadly lontroll that would be right. God bless and keep you all. Dave. @@lontroll

[@lontroll]

@@daveshegedin2576 thank you! Ukraine will stand and win, anyway.

[@smolwavingsnail9028]

Imagine the fear creeping up inside of you as heard this noise, slowly building as you hear the distant drone of engines and eventually the chaos as the bombs pounded the world above you. Must have been absolutely terrifying

[@TheGramophoneGirl]

I believe it did. And it wasn't just London that got bombed. Hull, Birmingham, Liverpool, Coventry, Sheffield, Southampton and many many others were too, though London did get the brunt of it.

[@persefone5214]

does anyone else get chills when hearing the sound?

[@AaronIsCool450]

nah

[@c4715]

I reckon that's partially the point, artificial and noticeable.

[@cascadeum]

Yes I do It would be scary if a siren popped out of nowhere near my place and it happened for actual reasons (meaning not testing) But I am completely against sms system. I mean like, I may totally ignore the message, and at night we may not even hear the message! If anything happens at night, that sound is enough to scare the life out of us and make us turn on the tv for whatever is happening. If we are at the seashore, it's so easy to warn people with that scary sound.

[@user-go3is1on6k]

Yes

[@screamingchicken9377]

I used to think sirens like these were only for tornadoes until I found out about the World Wars and nuclear bombs and also I didn’t realize that was the sound of the sirens until the wrong button indecent happened in Hawaii I was young at the time so ya

[@Akren905]

When the all cleared call sounded i just broke down in tears, ive not cried in a while or for a sound in that matter but that really hit me.. wow.

[@AK-ky3ou]

I can only imagine.

[@cf6282]

My parents told me about the signals. Listening intently on the all clear signal to leave the shelter.

[@sukhoisu-24fencer3]

My eyes always tear up when I hear an air raid siren. It's like I know death is near and it's the end.

[@haydnvonmed6624]

Lived in plymouth 5 years, Moved to portsmouth Now moving back to plymouth, Never could get away from hearing the sirens every monday

[@WarbonnetProductions]

This is a very interesting video. I thought that these legendary sirens were retired long ago, but now I know that’s not the case. This video also had some great information that I never knew. Well done Mark.

[@jonny7491]

It’s nice to known at least two councils listened to their constituents the very people who pay the councillors wags, and they still removed the sirens. I think the word I’m searching for is “arrogant” I’m in charge attitude.

[@kevinmothers904]

Jonny M, I live in Lincolnshire and we are told that the sea defences are constantly under threat, yet the daft buggers in Lincoln removed the one device that would have alerted the whole of the county should a breach occure. Did they think everyone with a mobile phone would look at a text straight away?

[@petehall889]

We still have them here in Dorset. I'd hate to see them replaced by text messages, especially if your mobile reception is flaky. You can't ignore a siren! Sad that the authorities in some areas ignore local wishes and ride roughshod over them - that's petty beurocrats for you!

[@TankRank5344]

Unless they have the unintended function of triggering and sending all the old people down into the basement during a flood warning. That might be bad.

[@petehall889]

@@TankRank5344 Good point, I hadn't thought of that! :o)

[@mokeenoch7900]

Imagine waking in the morning to see text messages about an escaped lunatic released at 3am. Who thinks that text messages are reliable for such emergencies? Smh.

[@rhodokartilleryakaafrika3794]

@@TankRank5344 Then, apart from the flood warning siren, just have some guy shout in a speakers "This is a flood warning, get to high ground as fast as possible"

[@phantomaviator1318]

A lot of people dont have phones either.

[@_MiShkii_]

I hear this every Wednesday while they test the sirens here in Okinawa. Great times.

[@CRUZER1800]

Back in the 60's when I was in high school in the small town of Selah, Washington they would blast the fire station siren every day at Noon. Sometimes I could hear it at our orchard 3 miles away. Thanks for the memories.... Russ

[@nathanhodges4376]

No.. the worst and scariest sound in all of war history is..........silence.

[@matthewprice2118]

Hell is hell, war is war. there are no innocents sent to hell, but war doesn't care who you are

[@karinamolina2326]

True it's never too quiet

[@Qcstoned]

Gunshots?

[@cameronwhite4442]

If there's silence on the battlefield, your already dead

[@xxwolfxxcodex6191]

uhhh in ww1 it wasn’t scary in the war because their was a time when all of the shooting and gun shots all of a sudden stopped and they were acctuley glad not scared at all

[@andersvassli2349]

0:01 when you turn on your pc in the middle of the night

[@enas5441]

YO SO TRUE AND ITS LIKE 1am AND EVERYONE WAKES UP

[@columnedfox5508]

@@enas5441 back in the early 2000s i had a computer that said its alive from frankenstein

[@VascoCC95]

Or a laptop in a library

[@AbamSinaga]

my macbook lol 🤣🤣🤣

[@Howard25]

@@AbamSinaga true lol, a few minutes of safari and it sounds like a jet

[@edwardtonks206]

I love your channel. I grew up in the 80s in Hillmorton, Rugby, Warwickshire and they would regularly test them… haunting and eerie.

[@tintin9573]

That WW2 air raid siren is just such a classic and still the scariest one

[@TheUphillracer]

Continuous single tone is the all clear. I’m a Coventry kid whose grandfather died after sustaining injuries in the November 14th 1940 raid.

[@kennysherrill6542]

God bless your Grandfather and all the brave British people.

[@spdfatomicstructure]

Never again

[@MitzvosGolem1]

Good bless you and sorry for your loss.... My uncle died on D day...

[@Imnotsmg4bob]

Sirens: **warn people and save lives** Siren Head: *You weren't supposed to do that.*

[@danielsteger8456]

its a cringepasta

[@jamessparrow5338]

Sirenhead: no that’s not how you’re supposed to play the game

[@j-c4997]

Shade Blackfield “no! This is not how you’re supposed to play the game.”

[@W_Avor]

Mhm

[@Imnotsmg4bob]

@@j-c4997 "haha, siren warnings go brrr"

[@billyboyjones5746]

I can remember the siren at the fire station being used to summon firefighters when there was an emergency. We used to race off on our bikes to watch the action.

[@mrnatty122]

A company called gent used to make the sirens, they also used to make bells for use in schools and factories which are still in use in the school I work in.

[@lightningfun6486]

Gents of Leicester!

[@alebart2493]

My grandpa has a ptsd crisis every year here in Switzerland when they test the sirens because Americans accidentally bombed Geneva during WW2

[@AlmightyyCres]

i absolutely hate these sirens, im fascinated by the history but something inside me is triggered when i hear these go off the hairs on my arms were standing up through the whole video. i feel my fight or flight actions kick in its so surreal. i cant imagine what hes going through. buy him some noise-canceling headphones and play him a movie or some soothing music if you can.

[@midgetman4206]

@@AlmightyyCres so, they work?

[@MrHappy-hx3go]

The American army really like to bomb everything they see. We literally killed hundreds of thousands cambodian civilians during the Vietnam conflict. I am aware there are no good guys in war. But even as an American myself... yea. Sorry about your grandfather.

[@tostie3110]

@@midgetman4206 It was bombed because the americans werent allowed to fly over neutral swiss airspace, and got shot at

[@smtx2117]

"Accidentally"

[@davidthefirst6195]

What a brilliant idea to scrap the sirens which almost everyone can hear to then announce an escape on Twitter which almost nobody will see

[@doncarpenter1040]

KZbin suggested this out of the blue today and I'm glad it did. Thank you for another interesting video, Mark. I know civil defense sirens have saved many lives during tornado seasons here in Iowa.

[@J.Cameron.Stuart.Adams.]

I still cry everytime I hear the sirens. Its impossible for me not to think of the death and destruction which following their sounding off. Outside of testing that is. Cheers!

[@davids9520]

I live in S.E. Michigan U.S.A. Every first Saturday of the month at, 1:00 PM, the local siren are tested, as an early warning in case of dangerous weather conditions. They still work effectively, as far as I am concerned.

[@CDeanhartman]

Outside of Chicago they are tested the first Tuesday of the month. Super interesting.

[@lexington476]

They've been doing that since I was little.

[@krisfrederick5001]

Yep, St. Clair Shores here, grew up in Lake Orion, remember the old yellow ones?

[@ethanfranklin5258]

Same here in N.C. right outside of my school, sounds like the Blitz at 2pm in history class!

[@krisfrederick5001]

@Thomas Quick Nice, I was on Baldwin and I-75 basically the border (before and during Great Lakes Crossing), but spent plenty of time "downtown" if you could call it that. Seros and Sagebrush were frequent spots

[@bradleyjames1340]

We have those here in the US, they're used as tornado warnings. Had one in an electric motor shop I worked at for repair and we had no choice but to run it up inside the building to test it after the repair. Unflupping believable how loud they are up close. The maintenance on these can't be much, there's literally one moving part, a couple bearings, and the electric coils which should last a very long time and aren't prohibitively expensive to replace. Shame to let good old machines die to save maybe a couple thousand bucks at most. Especially historic ones like these.

[@nondescripthandle212]

Pounds not bucks just cause your stupid country uses dollars doesnt mean everywhere else does too

[@OneLostTexan]

I’d put the price of those parts at a couple hundred each so maybe 1000 at most for a siren

[@bradleyjames1340]

Nah, youd be surprised how fast labor adds up on a repair like a stator rewind. Doesn't matter if it's small, there's still a hundred steps involved to get it right and proper. Every one is basically a custom job because youve likely never worked on that exact same model before. It's interesting and very satisfying work. Doesn't pay too well though unless it's a union shop. Replacement motors made overseas are generally cheaper than most major repairs on the existing unit.

[@danielzimmerman4501]

@@nondescripthandle212 chill out, just because some people use a different currency than you don't mean you have to be a jerk

[@nondescripthandle212]

@@danielzimmerman4501 it's a british video about ve day talking about british sirens

[@miauwgabriel3547]

In Australia, we still had air raid sirens standing for in the past for in case if a bomb really did drop in Australia. We still use Nuclear attack warning sirens in Australia. But for some air raid sirens in Australia, were moved to a fire station for callouts but then replacing new electronic air raid sirens. For now, up to 100 years old air raid sirens in Australia are still functional.

[@imamango9279]

i can just imagine a old veteran of WW2 hearing that and getting major flashbacks

[@dlarge6502]

That would be one of the reasons why they would be so effective.

[@AdlerTX]

When the sirens started playing, the auto captions would mark it as [Laughter] [Applause] Pretty entertaining

[@samuelfellows6923]

Jarren Carroll - that is because the bot responsible for the captions has not been programmed with a siren tone and thus incorrectly deciphering it.

[@Waddle_Dee_With_Internet]

😐

[@jconlPY-m]

Fun fact: *Most crying kid can make an air siren noises*

[@FBI-UIU]

The noise is more louder than these air raid sirens😂

[@jconlPY-m]

lol 😂

[@OniiRem]

True lol

[@_EllieLOL_]

Siren: [wail] Kid: are you challenging me?

[@FBI-UIU]

@@_EllieLOL_ kid: I'm going to end those sirens' whole career.

[@ivancho5854]

In the 1980s I worked in Edgeware (North London) and on one fine summer day I heard one. They did not routinely test them. An older woman in our office went white as a sheet as she lived through the London Blitz. I however grew up under the mushroom cloud and knew it as the 3 Minute Warning - Russian nukes inbound. Everyone else in the place were just puzzled or ignored it. Thankfully it ended quickly and we spotted the siren on an adjacent roof being serviced. The two of us sure could have done with a stiff drink afterwards. It's a haunting sound. Great video Mark. All the best everyone.

[@dragonbrownies517]

I grew up in here in Kansas. This is the same sound as our Tornado sirens. One in particular is in the town I live in. Monday through Saturday at Noon, the siren goes off to signal to local farmers and citizens that it is in fact Noon. The other time they go off is for the volunteer firefighters here to go out on call, or severe weather like a tornado.

[@Q3hero]

They are still used in Sweden and tested the first monday of each month at 15:00. It's nicknamed Hesa Fredrik (hoarse-fredrick)

[@Taistelukalkkuna]

In Finland, at least the test day was wednesday mid-day. Now I haven´t heard them tested in ages.

[@juhokuusisto9339]

@@Taistelukalkkuna They're tested on the first monday of every month at 12:00. You really can't hear them if you are indoors. I guess if it was a real emergency, you would see or hear it from the TV or radio if you were indoors.

[@RenegadeSound]

Swedes are sensible

[@sukhoisu-24fencer3]

I had no clue that you were interested in air raid sirens.

[@Q3hero]

@@sukhoisu-24fencer3 a hidden hobby of mine

[@FreeManFreeThought]

Up until the early 2000's when cellphones became more common, the local Volunteer Fire Brigade in my town used an old Air Raid siren if there was a fire.

[@davidhonour7336]

Pat Meyer I have the same memory as a child in the late 60s when the siren went off, we would run up the road to a vantage point to watch the fire engine go out

[@PotatoMan09]

what a lovely sound these historical bits of technology make

[@shauntemplar.26]

I hear one every Tuesday 10 am without fail... ICI cem works in Teesside North Yorkshire ..Everyday Tuesday since child hood for as long as I can remember Mark .. I love it .. just apart of our history , apart of our past and present and i truly hope Mark. Our future

[@korbell1089]

I live in Louisville Ky, and when I hear the siren go off I immediately look at my wife and ask, "is this Tuesday?" and if the response is "no" we immediately seek shelter! The siren alerts people in the area of tornadoes and are tested on the first Tuesday of each month. For places to discontinue them in favor of instant messages is not only reckless but also potentially deadly because those sirens will hit your hindbrain a lot quicker than any tweet would!

[@cgaccount3669]

Just pray there isn't a tornado on the first tuesday of the month.

[@mpk6664]

You guys do it on a Tuesday in Louisville? We do it on a Wednesday here around Lexington.

[@samuelfellows6923]

CG Account - well, all they have to is to look for a severely convective thunderstorm/supercell cloud approaching, turn on the radio/tv, smartphone ping for weather warnings/tornado watch. 🇬🇧

[@chemputer]

@@mpk6664 Yeah it's on a Wednesday in most of Kentucky. Louisville is weird.

[@JohnHill-qo3hb]

When growing up in my home town of Stouffville, Ontario, Canada an similar siren was used to call out the volunteer firefighters, my parents were from the UK and I often wondered if that sound brought back memories, they never said anything, but I bet it did.

[@jdg3275]

I recall the same thing just down the road in Markham.

[@williamm374]

I loved the hand-cranked sirens as seen in the TV series Baa Baa Black Sheep. The big pole-mounted sirens were used in the USA to summon volunteer firefighters. I used to hear them frequently in the 70s, but in the 80s no longer.

[@oasis4life014]

My great grandad died last year 101 he fought in ww2 even during covid he said “at least you can stay home and be safe” We have life so easy now even with the cost of living crisis!!! Just imagine these days and just remember our fight on resilience 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧