{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T13:00:16Z","timestamp":1777899616278,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,5]],"date-time":"2024-11-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1730764800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Omega (Westport)"],"abstract":"<jats:p>On the eve of the Second World War, Britain prepared for the likelihood of civilian mass casualty events by directing Local Authorities to requisition property for mortuaries and to staff these facilities. In Plymouth, a lumber yard on Halwell Street served as the city\u2019s principal wartime mortuary. The scale of the German Luftwaffe\u2019s aerial assault in the spring of 1941 presented challenges. Plymouth\u2019s largest civilian mass casualty incident occurred at Portland Square on 23 April. Although Plymouth followed Ministry of Health guidance in preparing for treating civilian war dead, the intensity of the German campaign overwhelmed those plans and compelled officials to adapt. As part of its oversight, Plymouth also had to facilitate the burial of air raid victims. This paper presents a local case study concerning the treatment of civilian war dead to explore the role mortuaries played in the management of large-scale civilian fatalities on the British home front.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/00302228241293827","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,5]],"date-time":"2024-11-05T17:15:18Z","timestamp":1730826918000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Civilian Casualty Management in World War II: A Case Study of Plymouth\u2019s Halwell Street Mortuary"],"prefix":"10.1177","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-8300-2816","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michael C.","family":"McLaughlin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Independent Scholar"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,11,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_3_2_1","volume-title":"Ben Bennett, a survivor of the Portland Square air raid shelter disaster speaks in 1993, audio only","author":"Bennett B.","year":"2017","unstructured":"Bennett B. 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