A Single Night's Duty For Warden Barbara Nixon

From the Wardens' Post report book for the night of 24 June 1941 with Warden Barbara Nixon on duty for the night shift:

22.00 On Duty Barbara Nixon
01-8 ARW Purple
01.20 Message from Control
With reference to your message regarding recovery of property from Holford Sq. site, the instructions in our message of 10.55 hours on 23/6/41 must still be observed. Any departure from such instructions should be reported to Control where the matter will be passed to the appropriate person or department concerned. Time 01.15
02.50 ARW White
08.00 Off Duty B. Nixon

The Purple warning related to all external factory lights being turned off and the glare from furnaces being masked.

The White warning was "All Clear" sent to wardens' posts with the public informed via the 'All Clear' siren.

Holford Square (to the east of King's Cross in London) was severely damaged by bombing and was  condemned in 1946. In 1948, Finsbury Borough Council compulsorily purchased the entire area, levelled it and built blocks of flats on the site known as Bevin Court.

As an aside, Vladimir Lenin and his wife lived at 30 Holford Square in 1902-03. In 1942, a memorial featuring a bust of Lenin (donated by the Soviet Embassy) was installed opposite number 30. Read more about the bust.

Barbara Nixon also wrote Raiders Overhead: The Record Of A London Warden - a must read for anyone with the slightest interest in civil defence during the Second World War.

I would like to thank Jon Mills for the page from the wardens' post report book.

A Single Night's Duty For Warden Barbara Nixon

A rarely seen photo of Barbara Nixon