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At 11 am on 3 September 1939, Neville Chamberlain announced in a radio broadcast that the country was at war with Germany. It is alleged that Frank Buckley, a warden on duty at a Bristol fire station (a converted garage) sounded the first mainland air raid warning of the second world war at 11.15 am. Shortly after receiving the false red warning of raiders approaching, the all-clear white warning (raiders passed) came through. Sirens were also set off in London that afternoon.  A post-war photo of Frank Buckley whilst in the Civil Defence Corps
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I am indebted to Roger Shore, archivist of the Moordown Local History Society for the image below. Moordown is a suburb to the north of Bournemouth (then in Hampshire, now Dorset). The photo is undated but with the plethora of Zuckerman helmets on display it is probably mid-1941 or later. There is a smattering of Warden 'W' helmets and an F.A.P. member at the front. Off to the right is a member of the fire service. Given the date, it's somewhat peculiar the wardens are not in bluette (the serge battledress and trousers came in from mid-1941 but are also not in evidence). The photo is of the members of a local Street/Supplementary Fire Party (SFP) group. I'm not quite sure of the implement on the far right but I assume some sort of apparatus to deal with incendiary devices.  Moordown Civil Defence Group © Moordown Local History Society The below ARP Malta badge was recently sent to me and the owner was pretty sure it was a fake. My gut reaction was to agree with them going by the look of the front casting and the rear. The spate of reproduction/fake ARP badges we saw a few years ago use a specific type of modern pin and catch but the one here does use a more original-looking pin (the catch is missing). I contacted a re-enactor in Malta with an interest in the island's wartime Civil Defence. She told me that silver-hallmarked badges were available, some island-made examples were also made, possibly in the dockyards. These were simple sand cast examples. An original badge would be pressed into the sand and cast with available metals. The rear would be quite plain and smoothed off. Whether this would also create the striations seen below is currently unknown. An original silver Maltese ARP badge was previously posted on this blog.  ARP Malta Badge  Original Malta ARP badge made on the island A pre-war leaflet issued by the Metropolitan Borough of Fulham looking for volunteers to join the various ARP services (wardens, first aid, drivers, decontamination and rescue etc).  Fulham 1938 ARP Recruitment Leaflet Cover  Fulham 1938 ARP Recruitment Leaflet Details  Fulham 1938 ARP Recruitment Leaflet Rear Cover This interesting plaque appeared on eBay. The 7" x 8" wooden plaque features the warden's lamp, helmet, rattle and whistle. The sector designation is for "T Post" and I have seen a few styles of these plaques over the years (almost all include a variety of the warden's daily tools of trade). It has the look of an original item and the paint appears to have the aged look for an item that is now 80+ years old. Without provenance though, it's impossible to tell if it is a genuine article. Wardens' Posts were generally numbered within a Sector but I have seen original photos with lettered posts.  Post T ARP Wardens' Post Plaque |
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