Air Raid Precautions
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Air Raid Precautions (ARP) was an organisation in the United Kingdom dedicated to the protection of civilians from the danger of air-raids. It was created in 1924 as a response to the fears about the growing threat from the development of bomber aircraft. Giulio Douhet had published his influential Command of the Air in 1921 and his main thesis had been memorably taken into English as "the bomber will always get through."
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[edit] Origins of ARP
The bombing of Britain in the First World War began on January 19, 1915 when zeppelins dropped bombs on the Yarmouth area, killing six people. German bombing operations of the First World War were surprisingly effective, especially after the Gotha bombers supplanted the zeppelins. The most devastating raids inflicted 121 casualties for each ton of bombs dropped and it was this figure that was used as a basis for predictions. The 1924 ARP Committee produced figures estimating that in London there would be 9,000 casualties in the first two days and then a continuing rate of 17,500 casualties a week. These rates were thought conservative.[citation needed]
It was believed that associated there would be "total chaos and panic" and hysterical neurosis as the people of London would try to flee the city. To control the population harsh measures were proposed—bringing London under almost military control; physically cordoning London with 120,000 troops to force people back to work. A different government department proposed setting up camps for refugees for a few days before sending them back to London. These schemes remained on paper only and while estimates of potential damage remained high, the Air Raids Commandant (Major General H. Pritchard of the Royal Engineers) favoured a more reasoned solution. He discerned that panic and flight were basically problems of morale, if the people could be organised, trained and provided with protection then they would not panic. As part of this scheme the country was divided into regions each having its own command and control structure, in potentia at least.
The 1924 estimates were, during the build up to war, regularly revised upwards. In 1938 the Air Ministry predicted 65,000 casualties a week—in the first month of war the British government was expecting a million casualties, 3 million refugees and the majority of the capital destroyed. Measures to control this devastation were largely limited to grisly discussions about body disposal and the distribution of over a million burial forms to local authorities. At the outbreak of the war the British government knew that air attacks would be a main part of the Germans war tactics so they ordered 1,000,000 coffins after war was declared.[citation needed] The 1939 Hailey Conference had decided that providing deep shelters would lead to workers staying underground rather than working. This policy was reversed in 1940 when 79 tube stations opened for use as overnight shelters and specialised deep shelter construction begun.
[edit] ARP during WWII
During the Second World War, ARP was responsible for the handing out of gas masks, pre-fabricated air-raid shelters (such as Anderson shelters, as well as Morrison shelters), the upkeep of local public shelters, the maintenance of the blackout and the rescue of people after raids.
As the war proved, the effectiveness of aerial bombardment was, beyond the destruction of property, very limited. There were less than three casualties for each ton of bombs dropped by the Luftwaffe in many British cities and the expected social consequences hardly happened— The morale of the British people remained high, 'shell-shock' was not at all common, and the rates of other mental ailments declined. The ARP was disbanded in 1946, to be reconstituted as the Civil Defence Corps in 1948.
[edit] ARP wardens
ARP wardens served on the Home Front in Britain during World War II.
Their main purpose was to patrol the streets during blackout and to ensure that no light was visible. If a light was spotted, the warden would alert the person/people responsible by shouting something like "Put that light out!" or "Cover that window!". They also patrolled the streets during air raids and doused incendiary bombs with sandbags where possible.
Other duties included helping to police areas suffering bomb damage and helping the householders. ARP wardens were trained in fire-fighting and first aid, and could keep an emergency situation under control until official help arrived.
There were around 1.4 million ARP wardens in Britain during the war, almost all unpaid part-time volunteers who also held day-time jobs. They had a basic uniform consisting of a cheap set of overalls and an armlet, along with a steel helmet. The steel helmet had ARP in bold white writing across it.
