Caring on the Home Front - Volunteer memories from World War Two
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Civil defence and the JWO
Civil defence and the JWO
- Before the war, the government set up a Civil Defence service to cope with the effects of enemy bombing. 90,000 St. John Ambulance and British Red Cross members joined, and the JWO helped in a number of ways.
- The original term for Civil Defence was ARP (Air Raid Precautions). It changed in September 1941.
An ARP cloth Badge
- It was important that the rescue, care and treatment of people was organised at a local level, so it was Local Authorities that took on the task. They organised a system where, when a bomb dropped, it was reported to a local centre, casualties were searched for, ambulance transport arranged, and injured people were taken to a first aid post.
- Civil Defence covered lots of other types of work. There were Wardens, firemen, rescuers (who searched through rubble for survivors), telephone operators, messengers, and policemen.
Ben Inman, Air Raid Warden, at a Field Telephone
- JWO members drove ambulances, were stretcher-bearers, ran mobile units, and made up first aid parties. They manned casualty stations and First Aid Posts, such as those in London Underground stations being used as air raid shelters.
A mobile unit clearing casualties after an air raid
- The JWO also sent medical supplies, blankets and pillows to shelters, and set up rest houses for people who had been bombed out of their homes. The Central Hospital Supplies Service sent things like pyjamas and bandages to civilian hospitals. Members who joined the Civil Nursing Reserve also dealt mainly with the victims of air raids.
JWO emergency sleeping accomodation for victims of air raids
- The JWO also ran Emergency Flying Columns throughout the Blitz. These were air raid emergency services that had a first aid car, one or two ambulances, a mobile canteen, a supply van, a staff car and a motorcycle.
- By the time the Blitz ended there were about 1,500,000 members of the Civil Defence services. The work of these men and women was essential in helping the public cope with air raids, keeping up morale and protecting essential services as far as was possible.
 Emergency Flying Column |
 'Casualty Reception', by D. Zinkeisen, 1942 |