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Treasures In The Basement Of A Library In Putney

4/17/2021

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Jon Mills, author of many Home Front books, shared the following personal anecdote with me recently.

In the early 1970s I was a trainee librarian working in my local library in Putney, south west London. Knowing my interest in WW2 one of my colleagues suggested I have a look in the library's basement which had "something to do with the war". What I discovered was a small ,abandoned ARP sub-control centre now used as a store. Over the next few weeks I spent many lunch hours down there exploring the debris and rubbish, In one room the anti-gas ventilation/filtering system was still complete, in another was a pile of wartime fund raising flags and collecting tins of the Their Day campaign, in a third a pile of paperwork and ledgers, one of them a record of ARP equipment issued to local wardens which contained the signature of my grandfather a local warden, for receiving a steel helmet. 

The best find in the largest pile of rubbish was a German MG 15 aircraft machine gun, complete with ball mount and a piece of the fuselage surrounding the mount. The barrel was complete but bent at a right angle about half way down, evidence of some great impact on landing. I decided that much as I would have liked it , eyes might have been raised amongst my fellow staff and I reburied it in the pile of dirt whence it came. As far as I knew no German aircraft crashed in the Borough of Wandsworth but I'd be happy to be proved wrong.The basement disappeared in a subsequent rebuilding.

I did however rescue the stores ledger which still resides in my collection some 50 years later. 
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  • Uniforms
    • Bluette Overalls
    • ARP Wrapover Overalls
    • Tunic, Slacks & Skirt
    • ARP Wardens' Coat
    • Battledress & Trousers
    • Greatcoats
    • Ambulance Uniforms
    • Nursing Uniforms
    • Women’s Voluntary Services Uniforms
    • Hats, Berets & Caps
    • Footwear & Gaiters
    • ARP & CD Buttons
  • Insignia
    • Rank Badges
    • Breast Badges
    • Beret / Cap Badges
    • Area Markings
    • Shoulder Titles / Flashes
    • War Service Chevrons
    • Armbands
    • ARP Instructors' Badges
    • Incident Officer
    • Bomb Reconnaissance
    • Wound Stripes
    • ARP Whistle & Lanyards
    • Lapel Badges
    • Medals & Ribbons
    • Civil Defence Reserve
    • Miscellaneous ARP
  • Equipment
    • Documentation
    • First Aid
    • Gas Air Raid Warning
    • Hand-Cranked Air Raid Sirens
    • Fire Tackling
    • Anti-Gas Equipment
    • Rescue Equipment
    • Goggles
    • Lamps & Torches
    • Respirators (Gas masks)
    • ARP Penknife
    • ARP Water Bottle
  • Helmets
    • Helmets of the Home Front
  • Fire Guard
    • Fire Guard History
  • Resources
    • Books
    • Re-enacting
    • Buyers' Guide
    • ARP Memo 17
    • Civil Defence ARP Pattern Numbers
    • Uniform Sizes
    • Original WW2 Photographs
    • Re-enacting Photos
    • Fake & Reproduction ARP Badges
    • Civil Defence Corps Insignia
    • Links
    • About
  • Contact
    • Support
  • Blog