Bombs and Gas
From the outbreak of war in 1939, the Government was convinced that the Germans would launch bombing raids on British cities. They began to introduce 'Civil Defence'. They supplied bomb shelters to the civilian population and – because they feared the Germans might launch a poison gas attack – issued gas masks to every man, woman and child. May Young, who was 8 when the war broke out, tells us what the blackout was, how a bomb shelter worked and what happened during an air raid. She shows 11 year old Billie what it was like to wear a gas mask and shows her how to put one on.
From the outbreak of war in 1939, the Government was convinced that the Germans would launch bombing raids on British cities. They began to introduce 'Civil Defence'. They supplied bomb shelters to the civilian population and – because they feared the Germans might launch a poison gas attack – issued gas masks to every man, woman and child. May Young, who was 8 when the war broke out, tells us what the blackout was, how a bomb shelter worked and what happened during an air raid. She shows 11 year old Billie what it was like to wear a gas mask and shows her how to put one on.
