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A great study of the full anti-gas outfit in this photo from an ARP exercise in London in June 1939. As Europe rapidly descended towards war, more ARP exercises were undertaken. Few would have had any idea of the horrors to come in the near future. I imagine that the location of the exercise could be determined by the street architecture. The photo details mentions Piccadilly.
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A small selection of photos of the the tat bazaar feature members of an ambulance depot, most likely drivers and attendants. The photos are good reference images for the ARP Pattern 71 tunic and slacks and the ski cap (appears one cap doesn't have any insignia, a few are using their ARP badges and the officer has the small CD cap badge). Of interest is the lady to the right with the three chevrons and star sleeve insignia. She is also carrying her white helmet with black stripe and 'D.A.O.' letters. I am assuming she is the Deputy Ambulance Officer (or possibly Depot Ambulance Officer).  Ambulance Crew with Deputy/Depot Ambulance Officer One of the rarest enamel signs (in fact, I've only ever seen this example) is the ARP Gas Detector sign. In the standard colours of red letters on a white background, it was placed close to gas detector boards outside Wardens' Posts. Some period photographs show wooden boards on poles outside ARP Wardens' Posts. The boards had a reactive yellowish-green or brown paint that would change colour to red in the presence of certain gases, specifically mustard gas, which was both an odourless and colourless chemical warfare agent.  "ARP Gas Detector Do Not Touch" Enamel Sign  Gas Detector Board I've posted this image before on the blog, but this photo is better quality. The rear of this particular photo says "Mobile Unit at Middlesex Hospital", but previously it was recorded as being taken in the London Bridge area. The photo shows Miss Rushton, a British Red Cross volunteer from Lewisham. It's one of the rare photos showing a woman wearing the men's battledress. Additionally, she has the helmet lamp and battery back. I now believe the badge on the flap of her right pocket (on the left as we view) may be similar to the St John Ambulance Brigade badge recently covered on this blog.  Female Lewisham ARP Member Wearing Battledress  Insignia worn on battledress With the Fire Guard Organisation coming into effect in August 1941, the Ministry of Information produced an exhibition (for the Ministry of Home Security) at Charing Cross Station in central London all about Fire Guards. It ran from mid-November to early December, 1941 and was titled "Fire Guard - an exhibition to help the great army of fire fighters." The exhibition was designed by Peter A. Ray. As with many similar exhibitions, it was text-heavy and included photographs of fire guards and equipment plus propaganda posters. At the front (and seen in the photograph below) were two large wooden firefighters featuring a stirrup pump and buckets, designed by Bruce Angrave.  Fire Guard exhibition poster  Fire Guard exhibition at Charing Cross Station, 1941 |
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