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I am indebted to a visitor of this website for allowing me to share the following marvellous photos. They include his mother, Kathie Noble, who was an ambulance driver for the Civil Defence service in Sheffield during the war. She was stationed at Corporation Street but they also used Pye Bank School Yard. On one particular evening of a blitz on Sheffield her ambulance was stopped from attending an incident as it was going to an area from where she lived. I have previously included a photo from Sheffield that included Kathie Noble. She is on the far right in that photo. A small group of Fire Guard pose with a (small) trophy. Probably the winners of a local competition there is an interesting helmet marking on the chap bottom left. I'm unsure currently what the extra letters relate to. It looks like a P and an L. The gentleman bottom right does not seem at all pleased with the proceedings...  WW2 Fire Guard Trophy Winners I've previously included this photo on the site but this is a better quality image. The Divisional/District warden here is helping a child with her Mickey Mouse style gas mask. The interesting part of his uniform is that he has the battledress jacket but is using the original red insignia on his lower sleeve (before the 'old gold' insignia was introduced in late 1941). The three bars with out star usually relate to a deputy chief warden (which clashes somewhat with the designation on his helmet). Again this is an example of the mix-and-match approach found on many period photos. He has placed his Kilburn area title above his medal ribbons and above this his ARP badge. The use of the Civil Defence armband was usually not allowed on uniform but this is probably a publicity photo and was used in this instance.  WW2 ARP Warden From Kilburn, London Aids With Gas Masks I have seen a few other photos of the County Borough Of Southport ARP Mobile First Aid Post but this particular image was new to me. This first aid post was constructed from a modified bus and was of quite an intricate design. I am assuming that the idea was that the bus could attend at major air raid incidents when the local first aid posts may have been overwhelmed.  County Borough Of Southport ARP Mobile First Aid Post A group of ladies pose in their ARP Pattern 71 tunics and slacks. The lady on the far left appears to have double chevron stripes but with a star above - a most unusual combination. At the front there is a beret with the CD beret badge.  A gas decontamination squad squad pose in front of a bus. Possibly a London Underground group going by the cap emblem on the gentleman second from the right.  WW2 Gas Decontamination Squad Group Photo 80 years ago today, on the 1 September 1939 (two days before war was declared), the British government introduced blackout restrictions. From the Lord Privy Seal's office this message was communicated: "A lighting order has been made under Defence Regulation No. 24 and comes into operation at sunset tonight as a further measure of precaution. The effect of the order is that every night from sunset to sunrise all lights inside buildings must be obscured and lights outside buildings must be extinguished, subject to certain exceptions in the case of external lighting where it is essential for the conduct of work of vital national importance. Such lights must be adequately shaded”. Every house, shop and factory was now under strict blackout rules. No light must escape from any source including from car headlamps. Preparations for the blackout had been taking place for years previously. The recruitment of ARP wardens had begun in March 1937 when the Home Office sought to recruit 300,000 volunteers (take up was initially slow but as the threat of war increased numbers grew). Trials of the blackout had started in 1938 and the crises in Europe intensified. The government also sent every household a number of information leaflets in 1939; leaflet number two covered the requirements for the blackout with details on masking windows.  Public Information Leaflet No. 2 During the previous couple of years the Air Ministry had reviewed how bombers may attack the UK. They thought that bombers would primarily attack at night. To counter this threat they advised the extinguishing all ground light sources would hamper the navigation of enemy bombers and affect the accuracy of their bombing. To ensure no light escaped every house was expected to place heavy cotton fabric or brown paper over every window to stop light creeping out (or paint windows or place cardboard or wood panels over the windows). Preparing a house each evening for the blackout soon became a chore. And with no air raids happening people quickly tired of the process and also of the ARP wardens who enforced the regulations. With fines for those breaking the blackout, wardens soon became the bane of many households. Newspapers published that day's blackout times which would be 30 minutes after sunset and 30 minutes before sunrise. For shops and pubs, the need for customers to leave their premises without light escaping led to the introduction of double curtained entrances. Somewhat cumbersome and expensive to deploy. In factories, the same blackout regulations were enforced. Many businesses permanently covered windows and skylights which led to increased use of interior lighting at all hours. The impact of this was both expensive in extra electricity consumption and also a lowering of employee morale due to the lack of natural light in the day. For car drivers the blackout became a motoring nightmare. No interior lights were to be shown and only one headlamp could be used, pointing immediately downwards, which also had to have a special housing to limit the amount of light (introduced in 1940). Indicators and rear brake and running lights also had to be dimmed and screened. The immediate impact of the blackout was a dramatic rise in car collisions and pedestrian accidents. Over a thousand people had been killed on the roads of the first month of implementation. By early 1940 handheld torches were allowed but batteries became scarce and expensive to obtain. The speed limit during the blackout was also lowered to 20 mph. White lines were painted on the roads and also on kerbs, telephone kiosks and post boxes. A number of business sold items that claimed to be luminous (badges and armbands) which would aid people in the dark, but in reality their usefulness was extremely limited.  A London road junction showing how the blackout forced the local authority to paint white road markings and also kerbs and street furniture in white. The blackout also saw a large rise in reported crime - from muggings, looting and burglary to assaults and murders. The Ministry for Home Security issued a plethora of posters and leaflets to inform the public how to better navigate in the blackout. These included how to hail a bus in the dark with their torch to taking extreme care when exiting from a train carriage. As elsewhere all train carriages were screened and accidents at railway stations rocketed. Blackout restrictions were not eased until September 1944 when the dim-out was introduced. Lighting equivalent to that on a clear full moon night was allowed but had to be extinguished if an air raid alert was sounded. It was not until April 1945 that full street lighting returned to Britain - in London this was symbolically started with the lighting of the four clock faces on Big Ben on 30 April 1945.  A poster informing the public to take care in the blackout. (IWM) A fantastic portrait of an ambulance driver or attendant - the name on the rear is Elma May Stamp (nickname Buzz). The lady also wears a medal ribbon which looks to be the Royal Red Cross (which is a blue centre with red bars either side). The award is made to a fully trained nurse of an officially recognised nursing service, military or civilian, who has shown exceptional devotion and competence in the performance of nursing duties, over a continuous and long period, or who has performed an exceptional act of bravery and devotion at her or his post of duty. There looks to be an additional badge on the shoulders of her coat but it is not possible to discern what this relates to.  From the archives of Am Baile, the website covering the culture and history in the Scottish Highlands, comes this interesting photo of a decontamination squad. They are actually painting a rock white in the harbour to assist people in the blackout.  Kyle Of Lochalsh ARP Decontamination Squad This portrait, from a series of staged photos, shows a Warden from the Westminster area of London. She's wearing the standard issue ARP Pattern 71 tunic with slacks. The tunic features the ARP embossed buttons (tunics are also known to have white metal CD and crown and from 1943 black plastic buttons featuring CD letters and crown). She's has a civilian style respirator sack slung over her shoulder and the lanyard is probably white (boroughs of London generally adopted this colour).  WW2 Westminster ARP Warden Going by the lack of bluette overalls this photo is probably a pre-war shot of a warden with the basic equipment they were issued with at that time - an unmarked black helmet, whistle, armband and respirator (with the basic respirator sack worn on his left hip). It appears he may have added his own binoculars to the kit (the case seen on his right hip).  Pre-War Warden Shows Off Items Of His ARP Kit This interesting photo shows wardens belonging to the Maidenhead area. Going by the number of war service chevrons the photo is probably a stand down photo following the dissolution of the Civil Defence services in May 1945. Of interest is a triangular badge on the left sleeves of a number of wardens. It is unknown at this time what this badge represents. At the back is a single lady warden wearing a private purchase side cap. Photo is currently available on eBay.  WW2 Maidenhead ARP Wardens Stand Down Photo With the end of hostilities in Europe in Mat 1945 the Civil Defence Services were stood down. A large number of stand down photos were taken as mementos for those that served. This photo shows a large group belonging to a Rescue Squad from Essex.  Essex County Council Rescue Squad Stand Down Photo A group of wardens photographed relaxing off duty. Given that the wardens are all wearing bluette overalls and none are wearing battledress the photo is probably pre-summer 1941. Photo from Harringay Online Community.  Mattison Road ARP Wardens, Harringay George Rodger (19 March 1908 – 24 July 1995) was a British photojournalist noted for his work wartime photos of the blizes on Coventry and London as well as other home front studies. He later entered Bergen-Belsen concentration camp with the British Army and documented what he found there. A selection of his home front photos can be found on a site dedicated to his photos. Photo copyright George Rodger  A street in Coventry following a Luftwaffe raid in 1940 An ambulance party leader (white helmet) stands to attention before the King and Queen at Buckingham Palace. I doubt the Rolls Royce behind him is his...  King & Queen Inspect Ambulance Crews at Buckingham Palace An interesting photo showing members of a food decontamination squad 'cleaning' a large joint of meat of the residue from a gas attack. The photo details say the centre, located on the outskirts of Hornsey, was Britain's first dedicated decontamination centre. Not sure I'd be too happy tucking into that... A small group of wardens pose in anti-gas jackets and trousers.  Civil Defence/ARP Wardens Wearing Anti-Gas Jackets & Trousers A group of civil defence personnel and civilians that may be from the Norfolk area. A nice portrait but I wonder what the gentleman on the far left is keeping on the chain in the bandage pocket of his battledress trousers...  Civil Defence Photo, Norfolk A group of junior rank Civil Defence personnel pose for a group photo. Alas, I cannot make out the area marking.  Junior Ranks Civil Defence Portrait Photograph Thought to be in Warwick, these photos show the local ARP/Civil Defence personnel on parade. Going by the uniforms one appears to be a summer shot and the other in the winter. I've previously blogged about a badge for the St. Paul's Watch but came across this excellent post all about the fire-watchers that volunteered at the cathedral during the war. It gives a very detailed account of the duties involved and is well worth reading. The St. Paul’s Watch at A London Inheritance Image © The Chapter of St Paul’s Cathedral  A fire watcher on a balcony at St. Paul's Cathedral, London. The gas mask made especially for babies and infants up to the age of two was developed in 1938. It covered the majority of the child and required someone to use the manual pump on the side to activate the filter. Sometimes called a 'baby helmet', the lower canvas section that tied around the child was rubberised to prevent poison gas seeping into the interior. Various bodies demonstrated the use of this gas mask to ensure parents knew exactly how to use the gas mask in an emergency. Also manufactured was a gas-proof pram. British Pathé also made a short film about the gas masks.  WW2 Baby & Infant Gas Mask  Nurses in gas-masks carry children inside the baby/toddler gas-mask A fantastic shot of Traflagar Square with a sign pointing to the air raid shelter on the north side of the square - this could hold 800 people. The boarded up building contains the equestrian statue of Charles I.  Trafalgar Square Air Raid Shelter Probably early in the war, this photo shows dignitaries being shown around the Marconi Wireless New Street factory in Chelmsford, Essex (possibly this factory). The helmet and armband markings are specific to this factory's ARP team. The gentleman on the far right has an armband that features MW and TC (combined) - Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company - and CONTROL added to it. A previous MW armband appeared at auction and can be seen on this blog post. Additional research provided by members of the WW2 Civil Defence Re-enactors FB page.  Marconi Wireless Factory ARP Parade, Chelmsford  Marconi Wireless armband |
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