WW2 ARP Leaded Lights Prevents Flying Glass

A rare ARP-related item popped up on eBay recently (sold for £75). One of the common sights of the war years was the use of three-inch wide gummed paper tape (sometimes called scrim) applied in an X fashion on windows (it was a voluntary measure by a householder). The idea being that if the windows were shattered by a bomb blast the tape would hold some of the glass together reducing the amount of flying glass. As with quite a few items produced pre-war, manufacturers would quick to update their products with the angle of them being useful for ARP.

It's hard to find out when and where this first started but it appears people living in Spanish towns and cities during the civil war in the 1930s taped their windows. How useful the measure was I have not been able to find out but I suspect if the bomb landed close enough, no amount of tape would help.

WW2 ARP Leaded Lights Prevents Flying Glass