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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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The book called "The War Over Walthamstow: the Story of Civil Defence 1939-1945" (first published in 1945) includes the below image of Civil Defence insignia. Creeping in on the bottom left is a small badge with '1939'. A few other years are thought to exist and the 1941 example is thought to be one. How many individual years were issued, and where they were worn has yet to be found out. If you happen to have any other badges with years or information about this particular badge, please drop me line. The image also includes a very rare badge, the 'WALTHAMSTOW INCIDENT OFFICER' badge. I've not seen an original in any collection. Image courtesy of Jon Mills.
A lovely item for the collector and re-enactor is this tie with the ARP emblem. Not seen one in real life myself but a few images crop up on the internet. Prices for WLA (Woman's Land Army) ties have risen markedly in the last few years, so it would be interesting to see what an example of this ARP tie might make.  ARP Emblem on Black Tie A memo issued in October 1940 by the Leeds Corps of Air Raid Wardens regarding badges of rank. The use of epaulettes for rank insignia during WW2 is quite rare on either the bluette overalls or battledress/tunics. A few county emblems are known, for example Hampshire and Warwickshire. The below memo covers the use of light blue, red, yellow and green bands on the epaulette to designate rank. Quite a complicated set of insignia and obviously some folk weren't happy with other lesser mortals having the same helmet marking as themselves and so needed additional insignia to smooth their egos... I've not seen any photographic evidence (yet) of these epaulette ranks in use. Document courtesy of Jon Mills.  Leeds Wardens' Service Badges of Rank on Epaulettes A very rare badge issued to Civil Defence personnel in Derbyshire. The shield incorporates the County of Derby scroll with the standard ARP emblem plus a rather poorly rendered coat of arms, which is actually a rose with three stag heads (see below). This is the only example I have seen. Image courtesy of Jon Mills.  County of Derby Civil Defence Breast Badge  Derbyshire coat of arms |
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