North-East Diary 1939-1945 Roy Ripley & Brian Pears © Copyright Brian Pears 1994-2011

[12] .. BRITISH RESTAURANTS

The story of British Restaurants is an interesting one. They were introduced as Communal Feeding Centres and much of the early work was done by Mrs Flora Solomon - Marks and Spencer's 'Lady of the Ladle.' She was in charge of Marks and Spencer's staff canteens at the beginning of the war, and Simon Marks gave her permission to extend her activities to include the public.

A start was made in Kensington, and, practically commandeering empty premises and borrowing Marks and Spencer's personnel she set it up. When established she persuaded the local populace to run it, others followed.

In November 1940 Coventry was heavily bombed, Flora went up there and found a dead city, she set up a mobile canteen using staff from the wrecked Marks and Spencer's branch and got to work. It must be said that another one belonged to the intrepid ladies of the Women's Voluntary Service. A number of Marks and Spencer's stores in provincial cities went up in smoke in the next few weeks, and others were badly damaged, so whenever the shopgirls were left without a store, they were put to work in a communal feeding centre.

Mrs Solomons, who knew the Minister of Food, Lord Woolton, put the idea to him, thus began the Communal Feeding Centre - Mr Churchill, the Prime Minister objected to that particular name, saying that it was suggestive of Communism and the workhouse, he suggested British Restaurants instead, adding that "everybody associates the word restaurant with a good meal, and they might as well have the name, if they cannot get anything else". British Restaurants remained with us throughout the war, and for a few years afterwards.

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[13] .. CAMOUFLETS

These are formed when a bomb explodes under the surface of the earth but the explosion does not disperse soil above the surface. The camouflet is the subterranean cavity left and is filled with carbon monoxide. Official respirators for use in poison gas give no protection. Crust or surface may stand for weeks or months and stand the weight of a man or it my give way at first touch. They are to be reported to a control centre and the police, who should rope off the camouflet and use UXB notices. Householders had to be warned but no evacuation was necessary. Bomb Disposal Units would render camouflets safe. Other agencies filled in the craters or otherwise restored the site.

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[14] .. CHURCH BELLS

Although banned, except to warn of an enemy invasion, the ringing of church bells was allowed on Christmas Day 1940 and on subsequent years at Christmas, also to celebrate victories at El Alemain and Tunis. In early summer 1943 the ban was at first partially, then totally lifted.

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[15] .. CIVILIAN CASUALTIES

By the end of the war, the enemy had dropped 70,995 tons of bombs on Great Britain. There had been 297,610 casualties, 60,595 of them fatal.

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[16] .. CIVIL DEFENCE (formerly ARP)

These were groups of men and women whose combined skills and occupations would be of value during the trials that were to come in the war against the civil population.

Air Raid Wardens - Men and women who were responsible for the co-ordination of the services needed at each incident, they were trained in first-aid, often helped in rescuing people trapped in debris, maintained communications with the control centres. It was part of their duty to know where the people in their sector slept, even the room they slept in, if they had disabilities and where they would shelter during an air raid. They had to know the whereabouts of every fire hydrant, stirrup pump and fire hazard in the streets of their locality. They were authorised to give to those entitled to it, information and/or the identity of the people killed and injured in air raids.

Messengers - Usually boys between the ages of 15 and 17 years whom using their own cycles or motor cycles, carried urgent messages to and from control points as and when required.

First Aid or Stretcher Parties - Gave first aid to casualties at the places where they were injured before sending them to first aid post or hospital. A party consisted of four men and a driver.

Mobile Units - Vans fitted with medical stores and equipment and manned by a doctor, nurse and volunteer personnel.

Rescue Parties - Eight to eleven men (including driver) who were trained to extricate casualties from damaged buildings. All were skilled in rescue and demolition work and some in first aid. The parties, fully equipped with jacks, timber etc are conveyed on lorries.

Demolition Parties - Civil Defence and Royal Engineers trained to take care when demolishing buildings, especially with explosives, near to post offices and telephone exchanges etc., because of the danger of accidentally damaging vital communications apparatus or cables.

Decontamination Squads - The duty of these squads was to decontaminate streets and buildings if gas was used. They also assisted Rescue Parties when required.

Fire Guards - Civilians who were given very basic training in dealing with incendiary bombs and the resultant fires, especially in the early stages, if the fires got out of hand, the fire brigade took over. Night workers were exempt. This duty operated in business premises initially, later it was extended to residential streets. Nuns were not exempt but were only to be used for fire-guard duties in the convent where they reside or in the school in which they teach. The fire-guards or firewatchers as the were popularly called wore steel helmets of a different pattern to the Services and Civil Defence.

ARP FACILITIES, NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE ..... The majority of Newcastle's ARP provision was based on a unique "75-Point Plan". The organisation was as follows:

(This may seem to give 79 locations, but ARP Headquarters was co-sited with Depot A4 and the 3 divisional controls were co-sited with Depots A1,B1 & C1).

Both Depots and Sub-Depots served as combined Warden Posts, First-Aid Party Depots*, Ambulance Stations, Special Constabulary Bases and AFS Fire Stations, while the Rescue and Demolition Service was based at the Depots only.

After September, 1941, the National Fire Service (NFS) replaced the Auxiliary Fire Service. The NFS had its own organisation and communications which were entirely separate from those of the local authority ARP services; but, in Newcastle, they appear to have made use of the 15 ARP Depots (Not the Sub-Depots).

The First Aid Posts* and Decontamination Service were not part of the 75-Point Plan, (See below) and there were around 150 "Action Posts" scattered around the City in which a variety of equipment for Wardens was stored.

*(First-Aid Party Depots served as bases for First-Aiders. They were dispatched to incidents to treat casualties on the spot. The casualties could then be dispatched by ambulance to First-Aid Posts for treatment by doctors or nurses. Anyone requiring further treatment would then be dispatched to hospital).

[The "CIVIL DEFENCE - ARP FACILITIES, NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE" Section continues on the next page]

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© Copyright Brian Pears 1994-2011