Many measures were taken in Bexley to protect people from the effects of air attack. Firstly, Britain introduced the post of ARP (air raid precautions) wardens to all places where people lived

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Erith Coursework Assignment

A piece of History Coursework by Arash Behrooz, Y11

Candidate number: 0602

Centre number: 17132

The Kings School, Harpenden

19h March 2006

1)

      Many measures were taken in Bexley to protect people from the effects of air attack. Firstly, Britain introduced the post of ARP (air raid precautions) wardens to all places where people lived. The wardens would have to know exactly where different people in their neighbourhood lived so that in the event of air attack the emergency services could be directed quickly. The wardens were volunteers (they weren’t paid for their time) and most of them held regular day jobs, but after dark would take on the responsibilities of an ARP warden. These included distributing air raid shelters to the people in their neighbourhood, going to check if people were complying with black out rules and acting as first aiders or amateur fire personnel until the proper emergency services arrived.

     Even before the war had begun in 1939, many people knew that it was inevitable. The government began to prepare for war and thought that as in World War I the Germans would try dropping poison gas bombs. To combat this, the government ordered that every person living in the UK would have to have a gas mask and to carry it with them at all times when they were out and about. Special ones were made for babies where their entire body was put into a tank like object and air would be pumped in by their parents. Schools and workplaces were ordered t have regular drills and practices of putting masks on, so that students and workers would be able to get the masks on as quick as possible in a real emergency.

      Air raid shelters were also made by the government. The most popular one was the Anderson Shelter which was a big sheet of corrugated, galvanized steel, which was dug into the back garden and soil piled on top of it. The Anderson shelter could withstand everything apart from a direct hit. The moment people in their homes heard the air raid siren they would go into their shelters until the all clear was given. There shelters in the workplace as well in case you were working. These were obviously much larger as more people needed to fit into them. Public shelters were also built incase a person was out on the streets shopping, for example. People were encouraged however to make as much use of private home shelters. ARP wardens would ensure people were in their shelters. Private home shelters were free if you earned less than £250 a year. If you earned more they cost £7.

     The blackout was also an important defence against air attack. After sundown people would have to cover their house windows with black drapes. Vehicles also had their headlamps hooded and shaded. All of this was so that German bombers wouldn’t be able to tell from lighting where towns and houses were. ARP wardens would patrol the streets, making sure that no chinks of light were visible. Failure to comply withy blackout rules could lead to fines.

     After war was declared in 1939, the government ordered that children be evacuated from built up areas and sent to the country. Their mothers and sometimes teachers would sometimes be allowed to accompany them. On the first weekend of war, millions of children from the cities were sent into the country, and stayed with foster families. For many this was their first time in the country.

     When many towns and cities were bombed, emergency services such as the ambulance and fire service would find themselves overwhelmed with calls and casualties. To help, many local people donated old trailers, caravans and cars to act as makeshift ambulances, to help the real emergency services with the large number of casualties they would encounter. This meant that the less injured could be taken away quickly by volunteers and extra space given so the real ambulance service could help the seriously injured.

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     The ARP wardens would also have special posts to enable quick communication. The post would have a telephone, radio and first aid kit as well as local phone numbers, etc. In an emergency, the ARP warden would give details of the incident via telephone to a central office. The central office would process the seriousness of the problem, and then make an appropriate decision. This system would stop the emergency services being overwhelmed with less serious problems, while the real incidents would have to wait, until the less serious ones were dealt with.

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