Editing Portsmouth (section)

=== First and Second World Wars ===

[[File:George VI inspecting the crew of HNoMS Draug.jpg|thumb|[[George VI]] inspecting the crew of the [[HNoMS Draug (1908)|HNoMS ''Draug'']] in Portsmouth during the Second World War|alt=In this photograph, King George VI is inspecting the crew of the Norwegian ship HNoMS Draug, which was docked in Portsmouth sometime during the war.]]
On 1 October 1916, Portsmouth was bombed by a [[Zeppelin]] airship.<ref name="nazi1">{{cite web |url=http://www.richthofen.com/dark_autumn/ |title=Portsmouth Zeppelin air raid |publisher=Richthofen.com |access-date=8 March 2011 |archive-date=9 October 1999 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19991009205758/http://www.richthofen.com/dark_autumn/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> Although the [[Oberste Heeresleitung]] (German Supreme Army Command) said that the town was "lavishly bombarded with good results", there were no reports of bombs dropped in the area.<ref>{{cite web |title=Portsmouth Dockyard, Hampshire: Mystery Zeppelin Attack |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p022ycdl |publisher=BBC |access-date=29 September 2016 |date=30 July 2014}}</ref> According to another source, the bombs were mistakenly dropped into the harbour rather than the dockyard.<ref name="nazi1"/> About 1,200 ships were refitted in the dockyard during the war, making it one of the empire's most strategic ports at the time.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=91}}

Portsmouth's boundaries were extended onto the mainland of [[Great Britain]] between 1920 and 1932 by incorporating [[Paulsgrove]], [[Wymering]], [[Cosham]], [[Drayton, Hampshire|Drayton]] and [[Farlington, Hampshire|Farlington]] into Portsmouth.<ref name="portsenc">{{cite web |title=The Portsmouth Encyclopaedia: A History of Places and People in Portsmouth, with an Index to Streets |url=https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/lib-portsmouth-encyclopaedia-2011.pdf |publisher=Portsmouth City Libraries |date=2011 |access-date=26 July 2021 }}</ref> Portsmouth was granted [[city status in the United Kingdom|city status]] in 1926 after a long campaign by the borough council.<ref name="portsenc"/> The application was made on the grounds that it was the "first naval port of the kingdom".<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=33154|pages=2776–2777|date=23 April 1926}}</ref> In 1929, the city council added the [[motto]] "Heaven's Light Our Guide" to the medieval coat of arms. Except for the celestial objects in the arms, the motto was that of the [[Order of the Star of India|Star of India]] and referred to the troopships bound for [[British India]] which left from the port.<ref name="blu">{{cite web |title=Portsmouth's Coat of Arms history |date=27 November 2013 |url=https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ext/the-council/lord-mayor/portsmouths-coat-of-arms.aspx |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=23 July 2016 |archive-date=20 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820123211/https://www.portsmouth.gov.uk/ext/the-council/lord-mayor/portsmouths-coat-of-arms.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> The crest and [[supporter]]s are based on those of the [[royal arms of the United Kingdom|royal arms]], but altered to show the city's maritime connections: the lions and unicorn have fish tails, and a [[naval crown]] and a representation of the Tudor defensive boom which stretched across Portsmouth Harbour are around the unicorn.<ref name="boom"/><ref name="blu"/>

During the [[Second World War]], the city (particularly the port) was bombed extensively by the [[Luftwaffe]] in the Portsmouth Blitz.<ref name="history3"/> Portsmouth experienced 67 air raids between July 1940 and May 1944, which destroyed 6,625 houses and severely damaged 6,549.<ref name="history2"/> The air raids caused 930 deaths and wounded almost 3,000 people,<ref name="guild"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.portsmouthnowandthen.com/galleries-and-articles-01/gallery-guildall-area.html |title=Portsmouth Guildhall bombed during WWII |publisher=Portsmouthnowandthen.com |access-date=8 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120720222101/http://www.portsmouthnowandthen.com/galleries-and-articles-01/gallery-guildall-area.html |archive-date=20 July 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> many in the dockyard and military establishments.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.welcometoportsmouth.co.uk/the%20blitz.html |title=The Blitz, Portsmouth |publisher=Welcometoportsmouth.co.uk |access-date=10 August 2010}}</ref> On the night of the city's heaviest raid (10 January 1941), the Luftwaffe dropped 140 tonnes of high-explosive bombs which killed 171 people and left 3,000 homeless.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=151}} Many of the city's houses were damaged, and areas of [[Landport]] and Old Portsmouth destroyed; the future site of [[Gunwharf Quays]] was razed to the ground.{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=186}} The [[Portsmouth Guildhall|Guildhall]] was hit by an incendiary bomb which burnt out the interior and destroyed its inner walls,{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=147}} although the civic plate was retrieved unharmed from the vault under the front steps.<ref name="guild">{{cite web |title=Guildhall History – Portsmouth Guildhall |url=http://www.portsmouthguildhall.org.uk/about-us/guildhall-history |website=www.portsmouthguildhall.org.uk |publisher=Portsmouth City Council |access-date=25 July 2016}}</ref> After the raid, Portsmouth mayor Denis Daley wrote for the ''Evening News'':

{{blockquote|We are bruised but we are not daunted, and we are still as determined as ever to stand side by side with other cities who have felt the blast of the enemy, and we shall, with them, persevere with an unflagging spirit towards a conclusive and decisive victory.|Sir Denis Daley, January 1941{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|p=146}}}}

Portsmouth Harbour was a vital military embarkation point for the 6 June 1944 D-Day landings. [[Southwick House]], just north of the city, was the headquarters of Supreme Allied Commander [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]].{{sfn|Hewitt|2013|pp=155, 156}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historyarticles.com/southwick.htm |title=Southwick House |publisher=Historyarticles.com |access-date=8 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060427021314/http://www.historyarticles.com/southwick.htm |archive-date=27 April 2006 |last1=O'Connor |first1=Jerome |url-status=dead}}</ref> A [[V-1 flying bomb]] hit Newcomen Road on 15 July 1944, killing 15 people.<ref name="history2"/>