Name/Title
Mark VI Gas Mask 1958 - 1964Entry/Object ID
56Description
Black rubber Mark VI gas mask in khaki cloth bag, the mask marked "OD MK6 26-4-58 PR559", and "GD 11/64", and filter marked "GD 11-11-54 L MK8'. The bag is marked "Light 11 H&S 3/43 I.W."Use
For use as a respirator during a gas, nuclear or biological attackContext
The Mark 6 respirator came into UK military service in 1951. They were subsequently issued to the emergency services, including the police, during the Cold War as part of CivIl Defence Preparations in case of a nuclear attack. The markings suggest that the mask was made in 1958, refurbished in 1964 and at some time fitted with a filter from 1954.
Respirators such as this are thought to have been in use by Sussex Police in the late 1970s and would have been used in the pre amalgamation forces in the units known as Mobile Columns, teams of officers designed to act as independent units in case of a nuclear strike. As late as the 1970s some Sussex Police officers were still trained to use protective equipment in case of a nuclear strike and contingency plans in place to try and deal with the aftermath of such an attack.
In more recent years specialist officers receive CBRN or chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear training, with protective equipment but the emphasis is more to dealing with terrorist or accidental incidents, rather than a nuclear attack.