Air Raid Blackout police warning notice 1939

Object/Artifact

Old Police Cells Museum Brighton

Air Raid 'Black Out' Warning Notice

Police Notice. Air Raid Danger. Conceal your Lights. All windows, skylights, glass doors, etc., in private houses, shops, factories, and other premises must, as from to-day, be completely screened after dusk, so that no light is visible from the outside. Dark coverings, must be used so that the presence of a light within the building cannot be detected from outside. All illuminated advertisements, signs and external lights of all kinds must be extinguished, excepting any specially authorised traffic or railway signal lights or other specially exempted lights. Lights on all vehicles on roads must be dimmed and screened. The Police will issue leaflets describing the restrictions to be observed. These measures are necessary for your protection in case of air attack.

Name/Title

Air Raid "Blackout" police warning notice 1939

Entry/Object ID

742

Description

Poster approx 44cm x 57cm on thin white/cream coloured paper with black lettering printed "Police Notice Air Raid Danger Conceal Your Lights", followed by more detailed instructions.

Use

To advise the public of their responsibilities to prevent the showing of lights during the hours of darkness

Context

In the late 1930s, Britain began preparing for the possibility of war with Germany and began to put in place civil defence preparations. The greatest fear was that of the danger of aerial bombing and gas attacks. Air raid shelters were built, Air Raid Precaution or ARP services were established and everyone was issued with a gas mask. The police had a major role in this process as they were often responsible for the overall management and organisation of ARP services on a local level. A major concern was the threat of night-time bombing raids and the danger that artificial lights on the ground would alert the enemy to the presence of towns and illuminate targets. From July 1939 the public were warned about the dangers of showing lights at night and preparations were begun to establish a "Blackout" should war be declared. On the 1st September 1939 "Blackout" regulations were imposed as soon as Germany invaded Poland, even though Britain did not declare war until 3rd September. Breaches of these regulations could result in fines or imprisonment. The use of the wording "as of today" suggests that this poster dates from 1st September 1939 when the Blackout regulations came into force, though it would have been printed sometime before as part of the general civil defence preparations. Apart from other places, posters such as this would have been displayed on police station notice boards.