Figure 1.--Here British nurses are practicing with a boy wearing their gas masks. The photograph seems to have been taken during the War a the nurses seem tobe in the military.

Reichmarshal Herman Göring announced the existence of the Luftwaffe in flagrant violation of the Versailles Treaty ending World War I (1935). This was the great fear of the time. German aerial attacks using poison gas. Soon after the German announcement, the British and French began intensifying preparations for possible poison gas attacks. Press reports describing people being trained in the use of gas masks and drills with gas masks. One magazine article reported, "This year, the nations of the world are feverishly preparing for an expected gas assault not only on armies, but on civilians miles behind the lines as well. .... For months, Englishmen have been hardened to gas drills. Trucks loaded with tear gas were sent throughout the kingdom. Civilians practiced donning the masks, then stepped into gas-chambers to see how they worked." ['Gas masks for all'] No one was better trained than the school children. We note drills with school children trainng them to efficently put on gas masks correctly and quickly. Parents wre susposed to train the children at home, but ghey got much more practice at school and became bery profitient at it. This dovetailed with air raid drills teaching the children how to behave in case of Lufwaffe raids using conventional bombs. Many but not all children were evacuated from the cities. Many schools continued to operate and of course so did the schools in the countryside. And when the expected bombing did not occur wih the outbreak of war (September 1939), many city children returnd home by Christmas. The children were well tained and got a lot more practive once the Blitz began (September 1940). The RAF succes, however, forced the Luftwaffe to begin bombing primarily at night which meant that many schools were hit when the children were at home. We note an impressive demonstration at a Glasgow school. This was going on all over Britain in every school. We even see British children at play outside of school wearing gas maks. That seems more like staged publicity images. We note a range of drills for adults. We are unsure to waht extent whole cities are communities drilled, but there were drills at the work place. including hospital personnel, both doctors and nurses. They practed basic activities conducted with their gas masks on. These prepations intensified after Munich (September 1938).

Public Fears

Reichmarshal Herman Göring announced the existence of the Luftwaffe in flagrant violation of the Versailles Treaty ending World War I (1935). This was the great fear of the time. German aerial attacks using poison gas. Soon after the German announcement, the British and French began intensifying preparations for possible poison gas attacks. Press reports describing people being trained in the use of gas masks and drills with gas masks.

Early Civilian Training

One 1936 magazine article reported, "This year, the nations of the world are feverishly preparing for an expected gas assault not only on armies, but on civilians miles behind the lines as well. .... For months, Englishmen have been hardened to gas drills. Trucks loaded with tear gas were sent throughout the kingdom. Civilians practiced donning the masks, then stepped into gas-chambers to see how they worked." ['Gas masks for all'] We are not sure how extensive these early drills were. This was before gas masks were issied to the public. Presumably they used masks available at the drill sites and not ones permanently issued to them.

Distribution of Gas Masks

We are not sure precisely when the British public got their masks. Some were issued during the Munich crisis (Seprember 1938). The bulk were, however, issued about the time Hitler launched the War (September 1, 1939). One reader tells us that his family got their masks after theoutbreakm of the War, but gthere must have been very substantial distributiin before the actual outbreak. Virtually all the children evacuated when war broke out already had their gas masls which are prominently displayed in the many available images of the 1939 evacuarions.

School Children

No one was better trained than the school children. We note drills with school children trainng them to efficently put on gas masks correctly and quickly. Parents wre susposed to train the children at home, but ghey got much more practice at school and became bery profitient at it. This dovetailed with air raid drills teaching the children how to behave in case of Luftwaffe raids using conventional bombs. Many but not all children were evacuated from the cities. Many schools continued to operate and of course so did the schools in the countryside. And when the expected bombing did not occur wih the outbreak of war (September 1939), many city children returnd home by Christmas. The children were well tained and got a lot more practive once the Blitz began (September 1940). The RAF succes, however, forced the Luftwaffe to begin bombing primarily at night which meant that many schools were hit when the children were at home. We note an impressive demonstration at a Glasgow school. This was going on all over Britain in every school. Normally the air raid drills were conducted with the children carrying rather than wearing the masks. But because of classroom drills they were able to quickly put on the masks when instructed to do so. We even see British children at play outside of school wearing gas maks. That seems, however, more like staged publicity images.

Work Place Drills

We note a range of drills for adults. We are unsure to waht extent whole cities are communities drilled, but there were drills at the work place. including hospital personnel, both doctors and nurses. They practed basic activities conducted with their gas masks on. These prepations intensified after Munich (September 1938).

Sources

"Gas masks for all in the next war: Europe's civilians being equipped for air raids on great cities," Literary Digest (July 25, 1936), p. 10. The article did not focus on the Luftwaffe, but did describe preparation in Bitain, France, and Germany.

Created: 5:46 AM 2/4/2013
Last updated: 5:46 AM 2/4/2013