Abstract
THE life of an A.R.P. warden is in general a strenuous one. Night after night he may be called from his bed for alarms real and false. Many nights also are spent at a post on stand-by duty, which, but for the present call-up system, could have been passed in the comfort of his home. In the Electrician of September 6, it is recalled that some years before the War many local authorities installed special control systems for street lighting which at the time, it was anticipated, would be permitted to be used in the event of the outbreak of hostilities. These systems were described in the Electrician and each one incorporated a signalling arrangement for calling fire and ambulance services, police, wardens and other A.R.P. workers. Unfortunately, the complete black-out of our streets ordered last September rendered the control system of little immediate use, though we learn that the wardens' call unit which forms a component of the system is being used in at least one provincial town. This unit consists of a plug-in device for insertion in a lamp-holder and is carried by the warden as part of his equipment. Whether he is at home, or at the house of a friend, plugging the unit in the supply network puts him within calling range of the A.R.P. authorities, whenever wanted, by its response to a D.c. impulse transmitted over the mains from the local control point.
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A.R.P. Wardens' Warning System. Nature 146, 427 (1940). https://doi.org/10.1038/146427a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/146427a0