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This letter is dated 30 September 1938, the same day that the Munich Agreement (or as it should really be called the Munich Betrayal) was signed. Throughout 1938 the ominous signs of German expansionism grew and British and French diplomats finally betrayed Czechoslovakia to maintain their own thinly-held grip on peace. With the dark clouds growing many local authorities saw the writing on the wall, or as this mayor said, "...the grave possibilities of an emergency in which our Country may become involved". How very prescient... This letter encourages the people of Hornsey to volunteer for ARP and other civil defence duties. The council estimates they are a thousand people short at this time.  A Pre-War Call For ARP Volunteers, September 1938
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The fantastic photo shows workmen finishing off a display of ARP recruitment posters in Whitehall, London. It is dated 28 September, 1938 and the dark clouds are a looming war were getting thicker with each passing month. I've added a slideshow below of the recruitment posters seen here.  This sign has been up on eBay for a few weeks now. The general consensus amongst a number of collectors is that is is probably a post-war sign made for re-enactment or possibly a historical TV programme. The sign looks well made but probably uses too heavy a wood for wartime. The lettering on the front looks well made and the font appears to be similar to those used during the war. These WVS Incident Inquiry Points were very much pop-up affairs and it's unlikely that a sign like this would be lugged around. The mirror plates have post war screws but could obviously have been added much later. Some people thought the spelling of "Inquiry" was incorrect. However, the IWM has a sign using this spelling and also the official records of the WVS note that Incident Inquiry Points (or IIP) was the preferred spelling.  Details on WVS Incident Inquiry Points (IIP) The local authority in Chelsea had issued several hundred brown ARP boiler suits to their ARP wardens and staff prior to the outbreak of war (it appears other services received blue overalls). This great photo shows the style of brown overall worn. It would appear from later photo that the brown overalls were worn into 1941 but sometimes the dates on photos cannot always be verified/trusted. The blurb for this photo reads: "Disappointment has been caused in Chelsea by the decision of the Home Office not to allow the borough's Air Raid Precautions volunteers to wear their smart brown and blue uniforms with yellow braided cuffs when the King's review of ARP services takes place in Hyde Park on Sunday. The reason is that Sir John Anderson wants all volunteers to be dressed alike at the review. 500 Chelsea ARP wardens have been issued with brown uniforms and 200 uniforms in blue have been issued to other sections. The uniforms are of the overall type and yellow braided rings on the cuffs are worn according to rank. Photo shows Mr P. J. Fox (left), the Chief Enrolment Officer at Chelsea in his warden's uniform including a belt holding rattle, pouch for writing pad and other accessories, torch and incendiary goggles. With him is Major Harding Newman, Staff Officer to the Town Clerk. He has chain epaulettes which save the collar bones from being broken by falling masonry. 30 June 1939".  Pre-WW2 Brown ARP Overalls Chelsea The is a very well known photo showing wardens from Hackney parading with dummy rifles. I only recently came across this hi-resolution image on the Getty website with the description as "7th August 1940: Hackney air raid wardens on the march during training. The rifles they are carrying are dummy ones, used to give a smart effect ! ".  Hackney Air Raid Wardens Parade With Dummy Rifles, 1940 |
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