John Nichol

speaker

413 appearances 1 recordings 1 series first heard Jul 2026 last heard 27 Jul

John Nichol’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

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Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 1 in all, peaking in Jul 2026 with 1.

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Dan Snow's History Hit · The Blitz Beyond London · 27 Jul 2026 podcast

So that definitely existed.

But there is no doubt that the concept of a blitz spirit was something that was encouraged by the government and was not always there.

There were looters.

There's no doubt about that.

There are clear examples of looters.

There are clear examples of people selfishly hoarding and not helping their neighbors.

One of the examples that I talk about is some of the crime.

And there was real crime.

I mean, there was real crime, never mind the non-crime incident.

So there was a massive increase in unmarried pregnancies, which was a big thing back then.

There was a massive increase in venereal diseases.

a huge increase in the occurrence of sexually transmitted diseases.

But one of the incidents that I really kind of focus in on as an indicator, there were really quite nefarious people who used the blackout for their own hideous aims.

One of the stories I tell is of the blackout ripper, who's an Air Force guy in actual fact, who used the blackout to stalk the streets

in and around London, murdering, raping, mutilating women.

He used the Blitz and the blackout as a cover for something that he already was.

He was clearly a murderer and a rapist, but he used that as a cover.

And the story, what he did, how he was discovered, his execution during an air raid in London, in actual fact, is an incredible story.

So the Blitz spirit was there.

It existed.

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