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Photo of an unidentified ARP Warden in bluette overalls. Of interest is the beret insignia which appears to be a homemade letter 'W'. He also has shoulder titles on his overalls.  Unique 'W' ARP Warden Beret Badge Insignia  Unique 'W' ARP Warden Beret Badge Insignia Detail
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A question recently cropped up regarding area markings. A re-enactor was asking questions about an area marking for a specific county and found a battledress online with two different area markings. The claim being made by the seller that the warden had been sent from Somerset to assist with civil defence duties in Beckenham, south-east London during the summer of 1944 as the V-weapons targeted the capital. The claim being made is that the volunteer sent to London added the Beckenham area title to show he had also served in that location. There was one period photo I saw many moons ago (which I cannot now find) with a senior ranking chap wearing two area titles. This might explain that particular photo but I've not come across any documentation or sources to confirm this happening. As an aside, the number of area titles that cover counties is interesting. A lot of area markings appear to be for towns and London boroughs. However, there are a few examples of counties - Notts and Norfolk being two examples. It does appear that the south west of England had quite a few county badges - Somerset, Gloucestershire, Devon and Cornwall certainly existed and perhaps others I haven't yet seen.  Battledress with two area markings - Somerset and Beckenham The photo below, of a large group of Civil Defence volunteers, was recently sold on eBay. Unfortunately, there is no further information on the location. Of great interest are the badges worn on the lower left sleeves by three gentlemen in the photo (I have focussed on two at the front). The badge looks to be an embroidered version of an instructor's badge. Samples of these can be seen in this previous blog post but it was thought these were never issued.   Of all the uniforms issued to Civil Defence volunteers, the least seen these days are items issued to the ambulance drivers and attendants (plus the warden's coat). Here we have four drivers or attendants wearing the ARP Pattern 42 driver's coat somewhere in Manchester. The coats have small badges on each collar tip consisting of red embroidered ARP letters. The four ladies are all wearing the ski cap with the ARP badge attached.  Four Civil Defence drivers or attendants wearing ski caps and the ARP Pattern 43 coat. A fine study of a teenage ARP messenger and their bicycle in Manchester. Odd placement of the area title on the flap of the pocket.  ARP Cycle Messenger in Manchester © Manchester City Council |
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