With the launch of the V1 flying bomb campaign in June 1944, London and the south east once again came under regular air attack. Within the London Region, the Civil Defence Services employed handlers with dogs to search bomb sites for casualties. The photos below, courtesy of Jon Mills' collection, show the King and Queen inspecting some dog handlers. The insignia on their upper sleeves was a triangle (thought to be light blue by some) with an Alsatian dog's head in profile. It is thought the handlers also wore a special beret cap badge, again in the shape of a dog's head. If you have seen these badges or other photos of them please get in touch.
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From January 1942, following a considerable amount of requests from local authorities, the Ministry of Home Security signed off on several badges for newly-qualified instructors. Three of these badges were the ARPS, LARP and LAGC - photos of these badges are on this page. Also mentioned is a CAGS for Civilian Anti-Gas School, though I have never seen a badge with these letters on it. A cloth version of badges was also looked into and samples created. However they were never issued.
This remarkable half-hour film was recently shared on the WW2 Civil Defence Re-enactors Facebook page. It's a fantastic film with emphasis on the Messenger Service but it's great for spotting all sorts of insignia and uniform items. Look out for the various ways the 'W' on helmets is painted, look out for Fire Guard armband and sleeve insignia, check out the helmet on the Home Guard, and look at the background posters. Well worth watching.
Watch "The Message Must Get through" I manged to purchase a job lot of Civil Defence insignia on eBay and among the various items were two pairs of shoulder titles for a Fire Guard Sector Captain. I have previously seen the printed version of this rank but had not managed to get hold of the embroidered ones until now. The Sector Captain was the lowest uniformed rank within the Fire Guard service and wore a helmet with two half-inch black bands on it. In all photographs I have seen it has always been a Mk II helmet rather than a Zuckerman.
This unusual ARP badge with additional "Queens Canteen" popped up on eBay recently. I cannot seem to find any information about a 'Queens Canteen" (or Queen's Canteen) on the internet. A design of badge I've not come across this design before.
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