Until very recently I thought there was but one style of ARP whistle made by Hudson's of Birmingham. The chaps on Facebook's Whistle and Call Collecting group have put me straight.
Hudson's, it appears, made four variations. Two are quite commonly seen (see the photo of the pair below) and differ in size, mainly around the mouthpiece. A third variation uses the body of a Metropolitan whistle without the stepped ring at the end but marked ARP. Lastly, and this one is apparently extremely rare, is an ARP-marked whistle that uses the body of a Scout whistle with pillar top.
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This rare tin of white enamel paint recently sold on eBay for £113 (incl. shipping). Made by Halford Cycle Co. Ltd. the label states it is the regulation colour for mudguards on bicycles and bumpers on vehicles. More than likely simply standard white enamel paint rebadged for sale in light of the blackout restrictions that came into force at the start of the second world war.
A similar design of helmet carrier has previously appeared on this blog but this one is in much better condition. This has additional loops for a shoulder strap to the rear but also maintains the leather cross strap for attaching the carrier to a respirator haversack. A Zuckerman helmet appears to fit in the carrier exactly.
Following an air raid, casualties in bombed buildings could be trapped beneath the rubble. If they were able to make a tapping sound then the Rescue Squads could endeavour to find and extricate them. Heavy Rescue Squads would look to ensure the buildings had been rendered safe to enter (by shoring walls etc) and the Light Rescue would tunnel through to the casualties, carry them out and pass them onto the first aid posts or to a hospital.
To assist in locating buried casualties, a Sound Locating Apparatus was devised in early 1942 to assist the Rescue Squads. This consisted of a truck with a crew of three which would be called from its base located at Metropolitan Electric Supply Company in Uxbridge. Called out by a Borough’s ARP Controller, the truck would arrive at the incident and set up various listening devices at a bombed building. The operator would require all other rescue work to cease for at least 10 minutes as they listened for any noise. From records, it appears not every rescue team was happy to stop their work to allow this. The success of the Sound Locating Apparatus appears to have been quite limited. In some incidents, the locating apparatus could not be deployed for several reasons. In some cases, the Civil Defence rescue dogs had already suggested where a casualty had been buried (in one particular case, this turned out to be a buried cat). In quite a number of cases the results were negative, as no casualties were present. A Ministry of Home Security report in January 1945, commented that the Sound Locating Apparatus “…cannot be regarded as a valuable aid to rescue work.” Thanks go to Chris Ransted for the information. The Services Watch Company was a budget-priced watch supplier based in Leicester which supplied watches bearing a number of brand names. The watches contained no jewels or were part-jewelled pin-lever watches which precluded them from being offered to the armed services.
All the watches sold by Services were assembled on the continent, mainly it seems at German and Swiss factories. The watches retailed for 12 shillings and 6 pence (12/6). The dials feature “Foreign Made” as a result. The “Transport” models were made for Services from the mid-1930s, and initially marketed at truck drivers. The watches featured a larger than normal case, a strong luminous dial for visibility and were robust enough to be somewhat shockproof. Watches were supplied with two straps, one for wearing on the wrist and a longer one for wear over a glove or sleeve (see advert). The “Transport” watch faces incorporated various terms like “A.R.P.”, “Despatch Rider” and aeronautical terms as a marketing gimmick to drive sales. |
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