Air Raid Precautions - World War II

World War II

During the Second World War, the ARP was responsible for the issuing of gas masks, pre-fabricated air-raid shelters (such as Anderson shelters, as well as Morrison shelters), the upkeep of local public shelters, and the maintenance of the blackout. The ARP also helped rescue people after air raids and other attacks, and some women became ARP Ambulance Attendants whose job was to help administer first aid to casualties, search for survivors, and in many grim instances, help recover bodies, sometimes those of their own colleagues.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission lists members of the ARP within its casualty reports for civilian war dead. The Hamilton Road Cemetery in Deal, Kent has the graves of two serving ARP members, one who died on duty during an air raid in 1940 at the height of the Battle of Britain, and an Ambulance Attendant who was killed by a cross-channel shelling attack in 1944.

As the war progressed, 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 nervous and mental ailments declined.

During the war the ARP was headquartered at Baylis House in Slough, Buckinghamshire. With the development of the Civil Defence Service in 1941, the main function of the ARP fell within the remit of this organisation. However, the term remained in usage and on signage throughout the war. Although disbanded in 1946, the functions of the ARP were revived as part of the Civil Defence Corps formed in 1949.