Small pocket mirrors were an inexpensive trinket that were popular choices as charity and souvenir articles. They consisted merely of a piece of glass with a silvered back and a paper or leather cloth covering that could be decorated to celebrate a national event such as the Coronation or to show support for a charity. These little mirrors could be sold for a few pennies but were so cheap to make that they could still bring in a small profit for a charity or other organisation.
Obviously during the Second World War, a popular theme to decorate the mirrors in was the war itself and tonight we have a delightful little example to consider:
The design features the three allied war leaders, left to right we have US President Franklin D Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin. The three respective nations’ flags are also included in the design as is the phrase “Souvenir of the World’s War”.
The paper backing wraps round the edges of the mirror to protect the owner from any sharp edges from the glass:
The backing to the mirror has degraded now, leading to the unsightly black spots, however these items were entirely ephemeral in nature and it is doubtful anyone expected them to be used for more than a few years, never mind still being in existence seventy five years later. Sadly this mirror has no information on which if any charity it was originally sold to raise money for, but it is a delightful and probably rare survivor.
A woven cotton tape carrying strap was seen to the bag. This was bundles up and stitched into sections that could be unpicked one by one to lengthen the strap, allowing a cheap way of the haversack strap being adjustable without the need for brass slider buckles:
The neck of this haversack closes with a drawstring:
A loop of woven cotton tape is sewn inside the haversack in one corner:
With this pulled out, it is possible to fit the anti-dimming kit into the loop:
Which then sits safely in the bottom corner of the haversack when it is turned back the correct way round:
Whilst this haversack is clearly far superior to the cardboard boxes issued to civilians, it remains a cheap and simple haversack that allows mass production and widespread issue without costing the local authorities large amounts of money.
We will take a closer look at the haversack next week, tonight we are concentrating on the respirator itself:
Returning to the ARP Handbook No1, the following description was provided for the mask:
and has a protuberance on the left cheek to which a microphone can be attached for those regularly employed of telephone work.
The facepiece is held in position on the face by elastic bands passing round the back of the head. These can be adjusted for fit and comfort by means of buckles.
The rubber of the facepiece fits tightly round the end of the container and is secured by means of a metal band, or, in earlier examples, by cord.
There were three different patterns of canister on these masks, the MK I was made of waterproofed cardboard with metal ends. The MK II was identical but made entirely from metal. The third pattern is the one one this mask:
C.D. Mark III: an improved and slightly larger container, which is in fact identical with the container of the civilian respirator except that the charcoal in it has a higher degree of activation. The main effect of this difference is that the container can absorb more gas before becoming saturated- i.e. That it’s effective life in use is longer. In this container the inlet valve is at the inner end, and can itself be disinfected, so that no absorbent pad is required as in the case of the Mark I and II patterns.
The Mark III container is distinguished from the civilian respirator container by having a red band round the black lacquered body.
This design of respirator continued in service with the Civil Defence into the post war period and was used throughout the 1950s and into the 60s. Of the three main designs of early war respirator (Civilian, Civilian Duty and Service), it is probably the least recognised, but served for decades, thankfully never for real.
The British government issued a myriad of different identity documents to British civilians, military personnel and civil defence workers. Further documents were provided for those from allied countries and exiled military personnel. Many of these documents have survived to the present day and this book provides a comprehensive guide to them. The book covers both the common and mundane as well as the more obscure pieces that are highly unlikely to come into a collector’s hands. As well as covering the documents themselves, the author explains much of the internal administrative process of recording the details of an entire nation and simple information such as what the letter codes on civilian identity cards mean is covered- something highly interesting and not to be found in many other publications.
Unlike the other books in this series, this volume is mainly illustrated with copies of the identity documents themselves. These are reproduced in clear colour images and are all easily readable, this is part of the strength of the volume as it allows the reader to closely examine documents that are usually at best a blurry part of a larger photograph. Many of these documents were very short lived and it is remarkable how many examples have been brought together to illustrate this book. Many have the word ‘sample’ stamped across them, so I suspect they came from official archives and might be the only examples of these documents known to exist today.
It is fair to say that identity cards and permits are a niche collecting area, however even if you are not a collector of these documents I do not hesitate to recommend this volume. For those with an interest in the home front this books provides a unique insight into a crucial but often overlooked aspect of the government’s increasing encroachment into people’s lives during the war and for the living historian this book is invaluable in ensuring you have the correct paperwork for your impression. 
Copies of the book are still available directly from the author and it is well worth picking up one for your reference library.
The earlier examples were half brown and half white, but by the post war period were completely white. The front of the jar has ‘Ointment Anti-Gas’ stamped on under the glazing:
The lid has a rubber seal, now perished, and is secured with a twisting metal clip, unfortunately rather rusted on this example:
The carry handle is a simple ‘U’ shaped piece of flat steel, secured to the neck of the jar with wire:
This jar was made by Doulton and Company of Lambeth in London in November 1956:
A number of different types of anti gas ointment were produced during the war, and the official history of gas warfare explains their development:
Ruth Dunstan worked for an architect’s firm during the war:
The most obvious difference between this and the earlier example, is this pump still has the hose with it. This hose is made of rubber, wrapped in reinforcing tape and painted black:
It measures thirty feet long and when not in use is coiled up and fastened to the pump. The nozzle on the end does not match the pictures in the Firewatcher’s handbook and may be a later replacement, it is secured in place with a jubilee clip:
The hose, when coiled up, is secured with a webbing tab, secured with a metal pin and with a plastic quick release tab. This is nicely marked with a crown and the letters GR:
The Royal cypher is repeated on the brass collar part of the pump, albeit faintly:
A massive move was made to produce enough pumps before the war, but 1940 there were only 86,000 distributed which was viewed by the authorities as woefully inadequate. Here women welder’s work to make the handles for stirrup pumps:
Stirrup pumps appear regularly in press photos showing the work of the Civil Defence services:
Despite its simplicity, the stirrup pump could be invaluable and St Paul’s Cathedral was saved from destruction using the simple stirrup pump: