AIR RAID DEFENCE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 27 February 1940, Page 5

AIR RAID DEFENCE

GREAT TEST IN SOUTH OF ENGLAND THOROUGH INSPECTION MADE BY EXPERTS. CALL ON REINFORCEMENTS., (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, February 25. The biggest, civil defence exercise ever held in Britain was staged in the south of England today. Twelve thousand Air Raid -Precautions and Auxiliary Fire Service personnel took part in exercises in two towns -which were presumed to have been raided by enemy bombers. Sir John Anderson, Minister of Home Security, and the Regional Commissioner for Civil Defence, together with many technical experts, carried out a thorough inspection, which lasted for the whole day. For the first time in such exercises,, the practice of bringing in reinforcements from outside areas to assist areas badly damaged in raids was carried out. Fire brigades, ambulances, firstaid parties, and demolition squads hurried into Southampton from places as far west as Poole and as far north as Andover to co-operate with the local services.

Commenting on this side of the exercise, Sir John Anderson said it was an essential part of the A.R.P. organisation, and the quickness and thoroughness with which the outside areas had responded showed the value of the scheme.

Sir John saw several incidents arranged to test the various services. One was the rescue of casualties from a burning building on to which an aeroplane had fallen. A dummy plane with swastika markings was used, and soldiers and civilians acted as casualties. Ambulance units took part in tho exercises to move several hundred casualties to another town where they were put on to a hospital train.