I was recently in a charity shop and picked up "The Royal Family in Wartime". There were of a number of photos of the family visiting bomb damaged areas and the below is one such. It shows the King's wife (later Queen Mother) in Plymouth. The interesting part is the way the warden has attached his whistle to the chin strap of his helmet. A novel way of wearing it but you would think that it swaying about when not in use (most of the time) would be a right pain.
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The Fire Guard service developed from the Fire Watchers that were volunteers (often forced volunteers if truth be told...) who spent long nights watching over industrial and commercial properties. They would deal with incendiary devices and call out the fire brigade if necessary. By 1944 the Fire Guards were well organised and had a variety of ranks. The below table for ARP Memorandum No. 17 dated 1944 shows the various markings that then existed within the service.
Here's an interesting ARP lapel badge that has been modified with an extra section. As the ARP lapel badges were generic it would seem that this Deputy Head Warden wanted to make sure people knew of his position when in mufti... This may be a unique item.
One of the commonest incendiary devices dropped by the Luftwaffe on Britain was the 1 kg incendiary bombs. These cylinders of magnesium alloy measured just over 13.5 inches (of which 4.75 inches was the tail section riveted to the body). It was 2 inches in diameter and filled with thermite. Incendiaries did not explode but upon impact a small percussion charge would ignite the thermite. The Civil Defence code-name was IB (Incendiary Bomb with alloy nose) and SNIB (Steel Nose Incendiary Bomb). Three varieties of this bomb were dropped - B1E, B1EZA and B1EZB - and dropped from a variety of containers. Te later variations had explosive charges to aid in spreading the burning thermite. Incendiary devices could be dealt with by both the public and the Civil Defence services using a stirrup pump or a variety of devices that could 'scoop' up the device and allow its removal.
This is Jean Findlay, the only District Warden in London at this time early in the second war. Her area was Ilford in Essex and she was responsible for over 800 other wardens. This is early in the war going by the bar and diamond insignia on her ARP drivers' coat.
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