Searching For WW2 ARP, Civil Defence & Air Raid Warden Records, Photos & Documents

9/20/2019

I've been receiving a number of emails requesting how someone may go about researching a member of their family who was an air raid warden or in other ARP and Civil Defence services. The key starting point is their local archive usually at the library (or sometimes called a local history centre, local studies centre or archives centre). The online starting point would be the 'Search local archives' website.

However, I have searched through a number of these in the London area and details about an individual who may have served are generally absent. Unless they were a senior member (along the lines of an Incident Officer) then it's unfortunately highly unlikely the archive will have much more detail than their name appearing on a list of wardens (but even that is difficult to come across).

Finding details about an individual at these archives is therefore generally not going to happen. The archives do hold minutes of council meetings and some have letters from individuals but overall finding out about one person will not be possible. A few archives may have lists of wardens and the post they occupied but I have only seen one such list so far and it was for just a period in the summer of 1941.

Some areas do have active local history groups that can assist research but again the likelihood of finding any detailed information on one person is unlikely.

There is also the National Archives but their search engine often directs a user to the local archive. They hold numerous ARP and Civil Defence records but these are generally related to governmental business.

4 Comments

Alan Bright

9/10/2020 17:31:59

Hi,

Can you help me please?
I'm trying to find info/photos of the ARP HQ in Bessingby Playing Fields, Ruislip in 1940/1941.

I'm trying to help a friend find who his actual father was (his mother, now deceased would never tell him). His birth (Dec 1941) was the result of an affair, and both his mother and the father were in the ARP at the time (she was an Ambulance attendant).

His mother was renting lodgings in Linden road, Ruislip, and the putative father was living in Bessingby Road - just minutes away from each other and therefore they probably were both stationed at Bessingby playing fields.

It would enormously helpful to find a photo of them both in the same shot (almost a miracle), but any info or guidance you can give me on the ARP based there would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Alan

Website owner

9/10/2020 17:47:06

First port of call is the local archives for Ruislip at https://archive.hillingdon.gov.uk/history you will need to visit them and look at all their ARP & CD records. I'm afraid getting information on individuals will prove next to impossible though but you may strike lucky. Next try the local history groups (search on Google for these). They may be able to assist. If you get a name you can look at the 1939 Register which will give the address and occupation of individuals. After that you can cross reference family trees on some of the genealogy websites. I doubt you're going to get the photo you seek.

Norman King

2/23/2021 19:46:29

I don't think your comments help very much, but at my age(81) having never seen my father, only on a photograph
It makes things practically impossible, but I have to try.
I know he was in the ARP, I think in the Nottinghamshire
Area, when a bomb exploded while he was trying to get his
People into the shelter. He was injured was hospitalised and subsequently died of his wounds
That's about all I know. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thankyou.

2/23/2021 20:33:10

You'll need some more detailed information if you want any chance of finding information. Without knowing the exact area your father worked it's going to prove immensely difficult to find any information.

You could try searching for his name on Google and adding ARP, e.g. "John Smith" "ARP" - the inverted commas make the search engine search for those exact keywords. You may get a lucky result. If you have an approximate area, add that in inverted commas as well. e.g. "Nottingham". You should know the year and possibly month/day of your father's death so you may be able to further narrow the search, e.g. "John Smith "ARP" "Nottingham" "1942". Alter Nottingham to other localities to widen the scope.

Some casualties are recorded in local papers but not many have been digitised and scanned for searching alas.

Best of luck

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Searching For WW2 ARP, Civil Defence & Air Raid Warden Records, Photos & Documents

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