Lot 18

Air Raid Precautions

3 Second World War Posters

£275

Rare Books, Manuscripts, Maps & Photographs

Auction: 17 June 2020 at 11:00 BST

Description

Kauffer, Edward McKnight ARP / Calling You / Air Raid Precautions / Get in Touch / With your Local Councillor. London: HMSO, 1938. 76 x 51cm; Bannister A.R.P. The Badge of Public Service / Get in Touch with your Local Council. London: HMSO, [c.1938-1940]. 76 x 51cm, two copies (3)

Footnote

Note: The Air Raid Precautions department was created in the UK as early as 1935, as Britain's response to air defence during the rise to power of Hitler and the Nazi party in Germany in the 1930s. Air defence had been considered an important topic since the Zeppelin and Gotha bombings of the First World War. These posters date from the late 1930s into the early 1940s, calling for people to work towards the air defence efforts and, from 1937, join the Air Raid Wardens' Service. ARP [Air Raid Precautions] were the responsibility of local councils, and as war broke out in 1939, thousands of leaflets were issued advising the public on defence against air strikes.