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As every Wardens' Post was issued with a wooden gas rattle, vast numbers were manufactured prior to and during the war. Some are easily identifiable as they are clearly marked for ARP use. Quite a number of rattles appear online and at fairs, often marked as "Air Raid Precautions Gas Rattle", but they can be easily confused with wooden bird scarers. It's hard to be be definitive about a few designs as they closely resemble WW2-manufactured rattles. The below appeared on eBay as a WW2 rattle. It has no markings. I guess a bird scarer could be reused for a gas rattle at a push. Also, rattles with a metal soundbox were issued by the army.
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One of the rarest enamel signs (in fact, I've only ever seen this example) is the ARP Gas Detector sign. In the standard colours of red letters on a white background, it was placed close to gas detector boards outside Wardens' Posts. Some period photographs show wooden boards on poles outside ARP Wardens' Posts. The boards had a reactive yellowish-green or brown paint that would change colour to red in the presence of certain gases, specifically mustard gas, which was both an odourless and colourless chemical warfare agent.  "ARP Gas Detector Do Not Touch" Enamel Sign  Gas Detector Board What sellers ask for on eBay isn't always a good estimation of value, but original Second World War enamel signage is avidly collected these days. This double-sided 'SHELTER HERE' sign has a buy-it-now price of £1,200. Amazing to think how many were simply put into council storage or ditched in skips.  "Shelter Here" Enamel Sign - £1,200 Wanted A couple of lovely survivors from my neck of woods were these two early-war magazines issued by Wardens' Post B21 in Lewisham. The pair sold for £50 on the tat bazaar recently. The warden shown top right has some sort of emblem/letters below the 'W' on his white helmet, but alas the resolution of the image makes determining exactly what it is hard to say. The magazines contained interesting snippets of information, from letters from readers and a local District Warden, sports and social news, illustrations and a few photographs of wardens. Very rare and great to see.  Lewisham ARP Wardens on Parade  Three Lewisham ARP Wardens  "B Twenty-One" Magazine - WW2 Lewisham ARP magazines The ARP cap badge featuring the Royal Coat of Arms and motto Dieu et mon droit ("God and my right") probably hails from India or perhaps one of the dominions in south-east Asia. Most likely a locally-made example using a sand casting based on the rear and the relatively poor rendering to the front.  Overseas ARP Cap Badge |
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