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A late war (possibly even a stand down photo) of an ambulance driver/attendant. Five war service chevrons to the right sleeve cuff and a St John Ambulance Association badge to the breast pocket. Of interest in the peculiar ski cap badge being worn - a large 'A'; I've not seen that before.  Large Letter 'A' on Ambulance Ski Cap
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A nice studio portrait of a WVS volunteer taken in 1943. She is wearing the green WVS beret with WVS Civil Defence embroidered badge, a WVS scarf and the overcoat with insignia on the sleeve - the county of Surrey below the WVS Civil Defence badge.  1943 Portrait of a WVS 'Lady in Green' Blighty Militaria have a very rare ARP Emergency Suit for sale. Thought to be a private purchase item it is made in 100% brown wool with elasticated cuffs and zip front with a single patch pocket. The label says "A.R.P. Emergency Suit - All Wool Womens' Standard Size - Made by the ARP Equipment Co Manor Park London". The label is very similar to that found in Civil Defence uniforms but there is no official pattern number and the manufacturer is not one I was aware of (there is nothing in Grace's Guide). If you have any further information, please let me know. The ARP Emergency Suit is for sale and there are further images on the Blighty Militaria website. Images used with permission.  ARP Emergency Suit © Blighty Militaria  ARP Emergency Suit maker's label © Blighty Militaria This ambulance driver or attendant ski cap recently sold at auction for £260 (plus usual auction house fees on top). Examples in good condition are getting scarce and this no doubt was a driver (no pun intended) of the price achieved. It was sold with an accompanying L.A.A.S. (London Auxiliary Ambulance Service) badge but whether they were originally together is unknown but the LAAS certainly wore this type of cap. The auction described the cap as "WW2 Female Ambulance Drivers Cap, fine blue wool female pattern cap as worn by female ambulance drivers during WW2. Interior with black cloth lining. Cap is accompanied by an embroidered cap insignia for the London Auxiliary Ambulance Service (L.A.A.S)."
A small piece about the introduction of new Civil Defence badges in the September 30th, 1941 edition of The War Illustrated magazine (Vol. 5, No. 107). It also details the name change from Air Raid Precautions (A.R.P.) to Civil Defence Services. Interesting is the colour of the private purchase shirt and tie to be worn if the battledress jacket was to be worn open for senior supervisory ranks - "...a light blue or grey shirt and collar and a plain dark blue tie."  New Civil Defence Badges - War Illustrated, September 1941  Better photo of the image shown in the clipping |
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