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Air Raid Wardens And Police

Colin B said:
I have a book Heroes of the Birmingham Air Raids by Michael Minton which lists the names of men of the fire service and other organisations who received awards for service during the blitz.I'm sorry there's no mention of either of the names you mention.

If anyone wants a name checking let me know

Colin
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hi, I realise this thread is quite old but we are trying to find some information about William Frederick Booton (my grandfather) who was killed 19 November 1941. He was an air raid warden and we understand he was checking a primary school when it got hit. He is listed on the beautiful "tree of life" memorial.
 
Hi, would appreciate any information about air raid warden William F Booton killed in the Blitz November 1941 – he was my grandad
 
Hi BBoots,

Welcome to the Forum, but I'm very sad to inform you that Colin B passed away some time ago. Sorry I can't help you about your granddad, but maybe some other member can.

Maurice
 
An ARP warden's whistle, used in Walsall by my late father-in-law but there IS a Birmingham connection!

It was made by J. Hudson & Co., Barr Street, Hockley, Birmingham.

Chris

132717
 
ChrisM said:
An ARP warden's whistle, used in Walsall by my late father-in-law but there IS a Birmingham connection!

It was made by J. Hudson & Co., Barr Street, Hockley, Birmingham.

Chris

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I have a particular interest in Hudson’s and have a decent size collection of their whistles. This is one of the first Metropolitan Police whistles they turned out Spring 1884?
 

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Colin B said:
I have a book Heroes of the Birmingham Air Raids by Michael Minton which lists the names of men of the fire service and other organisations who received awards for service during the blitz.I'm sorry there's no mention of either of the names you mention.

If anyone wants a name checking let me know

Colin
Click to expand...
 
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My grandad was an LMS ARP, probably Curzon Goods Station.
I'm doing a family story and wondered if anyone has any images of an ARP in action.
 
ChrisM said:
rupertbri,

I'm not sure whether ColinB still follows this forum and so as I also have the book, I'll answer. Unfortunately there appears to be no mention of Frederick Pierson Hill.

"Heroes of the Birmingham Air Raids" describes specific incidents where the contribution of individuals of many services, and also civilians, was recognised with a bravery award. AFS men are listed, as well as those in the ARP, Home Guard, R.E Bomb Disposal units, Police, the railway companies, factories and so on. There is also an AFS Roll of Honour listing those AFS men who lost their lives.

I imagine that the book mentions only a tiny fraction of all the men and women who were involved in one way or another with the Birmingham Blitz. Many of the countless others would also have performed acts of bravery in the line of duty but have gone unrecognised and are therefore forgotten outside the circle of family and friends. This forum is a way of remembering them and what they did.

Chris
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Hello Chris. My grandfather Horace Robert (Bob) Hibell was, according to my mother, head air raid warden presumably for the Erdington area. I'd be grateful if you could check for his name in this book. Thanks, David, South Australia
 
Very sorry, dwjones - have looked it up but no mention there of a Hibell. There may of course be descriptions of incidents in which he would have been involved, but we can't really know.

Is there any further information about your grandfather's work in the ARP? I'm sure other members would like to hear it, if there is.

Chris
 
Thanks for trying Chris. Unfortunately my mother doesn't have any other information. In 1940 he was listed as being a coal merchant and they lived at 141 Moor End Lane, Erdington, and by 1945 they were at 470 College Rd, Erdington. Not very helpful!
Regards
David
 
My grandfather was an ARP Warden in Aston, Brimingham. His name was Francis William Robbins, aka Frank Robbins. There is a note in the 1939 England and Wales Census which confirms him as an ARW Superintendent at Lichfield Road. He lived at 94 Prestbury Road at the time.

I have attached two photographs of him and his ARP companions which I believe was taken in the playground at Albert Road School, Aston. My grandfather, Francis W. Robbins, is seated in the middle row, wearing a civilian suit and a hat. I am posting it in the hope that someone else's grandfather is also shown here and that they could maybe give me some more details about their activities. I'm sure this snippet of history is important to someone out there and I look forward to reading your responses.
 

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My Dad "God Bles him" was an Air raid warden and I still have his whistle and a model of a Stuka bomber that they used for id exercises.
 
In the 1939 census my uncle, Herbert James Mills (Jim) has a note on the return; Air Raid Precautions - Decontamination. Age 50, he had served as a Lewis Gunner in the Coldstream Guards, during the Great War, becoming an instructor at the Hythe School of Musketry until 1920. What did surprise me was that he lived in very rural Warwickshire, at Northend. I think that the decontamination squads had helmets, gas masks, rubber suits and gloves with Wellington boots. In the early days gas and biological weapons were expected. Does anyone know if the decontamination squads existed in rural areas with a sparse population, or basically everywhere? Or could this be something preparing for the defence of Central Ammunition Depot, Kineton - which did not open until 1941, but would need time to construct. Any information about the decontamination squads is welcome.
 
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A decontamination squad demonstrating their role in Harborne. This appeared in the Evening Despatch on 8/9/1939, There was understandably anxiety about possible gas attacks at the start of war. Viv.

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Source: British Newspaper Archive
 
This account of the role and background to the squads appeared in the Birmingham Gazette in 1938 - preparations and training exercises for decontamination squads were already in hand. Viv.



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Thank you Vivienne! I can see that Jim's peace time job making and repairing roads would make him ideal too. He kept his Coldstream memorabilia all his life, but there was nothing about ARP decontamination.
 
A few more from a demonstration at Lucas’s, Great King Street. A nice display of equipment used too. Viv. 9095DF26-A234-4717-836A-E764F57FFD0B.jpeg2F312C51-4811-4255-9F5A-CE3D0DAC7659.jpegC43843A1-B851-4A5F-B771-2329B2CDFB98.jpegSource: British Newspaper Archive
 
Not WW2, as OKF registrations were not issued until 1953. Probably Civil Defence during the Cold War period.
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