A photograph that it is believed shows the Chief Warden of Croydon, Alderman Anson Boddington J.P. He would later become the mayor of Croydon in 1943. His peaked cap and especially the ARP badge are quite rare to see.
Image courtesy of Roger Miles at Home Front Collection.
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A couple of photographs showing wardens from the Trafford Road area in Norwich. We can get a rough date from the uniforms and armbands shown. I would say the photo was taken after July 1940 (there's a chap wearing the rainbow armband far right) but pre-summer 1941 (no evidence of battledress being worn just bluette overalls).
Photos courtesy of Jonathan Emery. Jonathan's maternal grandfather, Sidney Weston (shoe and boot maker/repairer) is sat second right on the floor; sadly, he passed away in April 1942, aged 48. An interesting group portrait of, I assume, wardens outside their post in 1943. Of interest is the chap far left; he is wearing a peaked cap to which he has applied his ARP badge on the front - a most unusual combination and rarely seen. Although one of the gents at the front has an area title on his battledress the resolution of the original photo isn't quite good enough to discern the location. The gentleman top row, fourth from right, is, I believe, attached to the fire services.
Coming up at auction at South Dorset Auctions is a fabulous group of medals and ephemera belonging to Dr Horatio Sparling MBE. Dr Horatio Sparling was the local Divisional Surgeon for the St. John Ambulance before volunteering as a Medical Officer (MO) with the Civil Defence organisation at the beginning of the second world war. Based in East Croydon, the decorated veteran of the first world war received an MBE for his work saving casualties following a V1 rocket attack. His MBE was gazetted in December 1944. Amongst the lots are several photos showing Sparling in his CD uniform. His two-diamond, white helmet with M.O. and A.R.P. is most unusual. Also present is a photo of him wearing a peaked cap, but the cap badge is hard to discern.
Dr Sparling died in 1965 at the age of 77. Nicely done colourisation of a well-known photo of a couple of early-war ARP Wardens. Nothing on the helmets and one has the silver ARP badge and the other the Civil Defence 'rainbow' armband introduced in mid-1940.
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