Civil defense or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state from human-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, mitigation, preparation, response, or emergency evacuation and recovery. Programs of this sort were initially discussed at least as early as the 1920s and were implemented in some countries during the 1930s as the threat of war and aerial bombardment grew. Civil-defense structures became widespread after authorities recognised the threats posed by nuclear weapons.
Air Raid Precautions (ARP) refers to a number of organisations and guidelines in the United Kingdom dedicated to the protection of civilians from the danger of air raids. Government consideration for air raid precautions increased in the 1920s and 30s, with the Raid Wardens' Service set up in 1937 to report on bombing incidents. Every local council was responsible for organising ARP wardens, messengers, ambulance drivers, rescue parties, and liaison with police and fire brigades.
Air raid shelters are structures for the protection of non-combatants as well as combatants against enemy attacks from the air. They are similar to bunkers in many regards, although they are not designed to defend against ground attack.
A blackout during war, or in preparation for an expected war, is the practice of collectively minimizing outdoor light, including upwardly directed light. This was done in the 20th century to prevent crews of enemy aircraft from being able to identify their targets by sight, such as during the London Blitz of 1940. In coastal regions, a shoreside blackout of city lights also helped protect ships from being seen silhouetted against the artificial light by enemy submarines farther out at sea.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) is a uniformed organisation in Singapore under the Ministry of Home Affairs that provides emergency services such as firefighting, technical rescue, and emergency medical services, and coordinates national civil defence programme.
Thomas Hopper Alderson GC was a British Air Raid Precautions (ARP) warden in Bridlington, and the first person to be directly awarded the George Cross (GC) shortly after its creation in 1940.
Political decorations of the Nazi Party were medals and awards issued by the National Socialist German Workers Party (NSDAP) between 1920 and 1945. Political awards were authorised for wear on any paramilitary uniform of Nazi Germany, as well as civilian attire, but were generally discouraged on Wehrmacht military uniforms. The Waffen-SS freely wore both political awards and military decorations on their uniforms.
The Royal Voluntary Service is a voluntary organisation concerned with helping people in need throughout England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1938 by Stella Isaacs, Marchioness of Reading, as a British women's organisation to recruit women into the Air Raid Precautions (ARP) services to help in the event of War.
The Ministry of Home Security was a British government department established in 1939 to direct national civil defence, primarily tasked with organising air raid precautions, during the Second World War. The Ministry for Home Security was headed by Sir John Anderson, the Home Secretary and Minister of Home Security. The Ministry's responsibilities covered all central and regional civil defence organisations, such as air raid wardens, rescue squads, fire services, and the Women’s Voluntary Service. It was also responsible for giving approval to local ARP schemes and providing public shelters.
Civil Defence Ireland is the national civil defence organisation of Ireland. It is a statutory agency of the Irish Department of Defence and is administered by local authorities. It was established in 1951 in response to the threat of nuclear disaster posed by the atomic bomb following World War II. Today it is an emergency response and rescue agency whose purpose is to provide aid, assistance and relief in times of emergency or natural disaster. It may also support primary emergency response agencies namely the Garda Síochána, HSE National Ambulance Service, and local authority fire services when requested. Civil Defence Ireland consists almost entirely of volunteers, numbering 2500 as of May 2023.
The Civil Defence Corps (CDC) was a civilian volunteer organisation established in Great Britain in 1949 to mobilise and take local control of the affected area in the aftermath of a major national emergency, principally envisaged as being a Cold War nuclear attack. By March 1956, the Civil Defence Corps had 330,000 personnel. It was stood down in Great Britain in 1968, although two Civil Defence Corps still operate within the British Isles, namely the Isle of Man Civil Defence Corps and the unrelated Civil Defence Ireland in the Republic of Ireland. Many other countries maintain a national Civil Defence Corps, usually having a wide brief for assisting in large scale civil emergencies such as flood, earthquake, invasion, or civil disorder.
Leonard James Miles GC was an Air Raid Precautions warden who was posthumously awarded a George Cross for the gallantry he showed in leaving his air raid shelter to warn others of a nearby unexploded bomb in Hainault in Essex on 21 September 1940. He was by trade a building contractor.
The Swansea Blitz was the heavy and sustained bombing of Swansea by the German Luftwaffe from 19 to 21 February 1941. A total of 230 people were killed and 397 were injured. Swansea was selected by the Germans as a legitimate strategic target due to its importance as a port and docks and the oil refinery just beyond, and its destruction was key to Nazi German war efforts as part of their strategic bombing campaign aimed at crippling coal export and demoralizing civilians and emergency services.
The Zuckerman helmet, officially designated the Civilian Protective Helmet, was a British helmet designed for use by civil defence organisations and the general public during World War II. It was researched and designed by Solly Zuckerman, Derman Christopherson and Hugh Cairns.
Charity Anne Bick was a British civilian dispatch rider during the Second World War, and the youngest ever recipient of the George Medal, the United Kingdom's second-highest award for civilian bravery. She later served in the Women's Royal Air Force.
The Gas attacks at Wulverghem were German cloud gas releases during the First World War on British troops at Wulverghem in the municipality of Heuvelland, near Ypres in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The gas attacks were part of the sporadic fighting between battles in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front. The British Second Army held the ground from Messines Ridge northwards to Steenstraat and the divisions opposite the German XXIII Reserve Corps had received warnings of a gas attack. From 21 to 23 April, British artillery-fire exploded several gas cylinders in the German lines around Spanbroekmolen, which released greenish-yellow clouds. A gas alert was given on 25 April when the wind began to blow from the north-east and routine work was suspended; on 29 April, two German soldiers deserted and warned that an attack was imminent. Just after midnight on 30 April, the German attack began and over no man's land, a gas cloud drifted on the wind into the British defences, then south-west towards Bailleul.
Cairns Control Room is a heritage-listed military building at Grafton Street, Cairns City, Cairns, Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia. It was built in 1942 by the Queensland Department of Public Works. It is also known as World War II Volunteer Defence Corps, Cairns Scout Hut, and Cairns Scout Shop. It was added to the Queensland Heritage Register on 16 April 2010.
Police Auxiliary Messengers (PAMS) were operational in the UK during World War 2. Young lads under the age of eighteen with their own bikes were employed by local police forces with the primary role of taking messages during and after air raids if telephone communication was not practicable.
Luftschutzpolizei (LSP)(Air Raid Protection Police) was the local civil defense organization in Nazi Germany.
Ita Ekpenyon (1899–1951) was a Nigerian teacher and actor who was also the only known black Air Raid Precautions (ARP) warden in the United Kingdom. Ekpenyon was a teacher in Nigeria but came to London to study law. A speaker of the Efik language, he contributed to a textbook that was used by colonial authorities in Nigeria. Ekpenyon later taught the language to American actor Paul Robeson, with whom he acted in the 1930s films Sanders of the River and King Solomon's Mines. When the Second World War broke out, being too old to serve in the military, he joined the ARP service as a warden. He recounted that some London residents regarded him as lucky because of the colour of his skin, but he also encountered casual racism. Ekpenyon witnessed foreign nationals being barred from one air raid shelter and intervened to persuade the occupants to admit the newcomers; the incident was made into an animated film in 2010. Ekpenyon wrote a memoir on his ARP service and also featured in wartime broadcasts to demonstrate the commitment of West Africans to the war effort. In 2021, a Lucy Worsley docudrama featured Ekpenyon's life. After the war, Ekpenyon gave up on his ambitions for a career in law and became a postman.
