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Air raid alert britain3/27/2023 After the bombing of Guernica, Gaumont-British began distributing newsreels on air-raid safety to British cinemas. In April 1937, the Air Raid Wardens' Service was created which aimed to seek some 800,000 volunteers (some 200,000 people had joined by mid-1938, and following the Munich Crisis of September 1938 another 500,000 had enrolled). This department replaced the earlier subcommittees and took overall control of the British response to passive air defence. With the rise of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany's remilitarisation during the 1930s, a further Home Office committee, the Air Raid Precautions (ARP) Department, was created in March 1935. Together with ideas around the building of air raid shelters, evacuations of people and blackout requirements these were all termed passive air defence. Every single person would need a gas mask which meant nearly 40 million would be required. The use of gas attacks in the First World War played heavy on the decisions and protection via gas masks was a core decision taken by the committee. The new committee, known as Air Raid Precautions, was headed by the then Lord Privy Seal, Sir John Anderson.ĪRP Warden Service Efficiency Warrant issued to NH Karanjia, Bombay, June 1942 with Acknowledgement of Gratitude Cardįor the next ten years this committee looked into issues of new aerial weapons development and the possible impact on civilians. In 1924, the Committee of Imperial Defence set up a subcommittee to look at what measure could be taken to protect the civil population from aerial attack. īetween 19 many of the duties of the Civil Defence Service were resurrected through the Civil Defence Corps.ĭuring the First World War Britain was bombed by Zeppelins and Gotha bombers and it was predicted that large-scale aerial bombing of the civilian population would feature prominently in any future war. The Civil Defence Service was stood down towards the end of the war in Europe on. Over 127,000 full-time personnel were involved at the height of the Blitz but by the end of 1943 this had dropped to 70,000. In all some 1.5 million men and women served within the organisation during World War Two. During the war almost 7,000 Civil Defence workers were killed. The Auxiliary Fire Service was set up in 1938 to support existing local fire services, which were amalgamated into a National Fire Service in 1941.įrom 1941 the ARP officially changed its title to Civil Defence Service to reflect the wider range of roles it then encompassed. Women were involved in ARP services through the Women's Voluntary Service. They managed the air raid sirens and ensured people were directed to shelters. With increased enemy bombing during the Blitz, the ARP services were central in reporting and dealing with bombing incidents. Heavy curtains and shutters were required on all private residences, commercial premises, and factories to prevent light escaping and so making them a possible marker for enemy bombers to locate their targets. Every local council was responsible for organising ARP wardens, messengers, ambulance drivers, rescue parties, and liaison with police and fire brigades.įrom 1 September 1939, ARP wardens enforced the " blackout". Government consideration for air raid precautions increased in the 1920s and 30s, with the Raid Wardens' Service set up in 1937 to report on bombing incidents. Air Raid Precautions ( ARP) refers to a number of organisations and guidelines in the United Kingdom dedicated to the protection of civilians from the danger of air raids.
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