AIR RAID WARDENS' CLAIMS
Sin,—Lady Violet Bonham Carter's article drawing attention to the claims of Air Raid Wardens in London prompts me to write to you concerning their colleagues in rural areas. Although wardens in country areas have had little opportunity to emulate the praiseworthy exploits of London's wardens they are nevertheless on duty night after night in conditions that call for urgent redress. Their sectors generally cover a wider area. In allocating the number of wardens to a given area the authorities seem to have been governed by a consideration of the number of buildings in that area, and, as the number of buildings in the country is far less than in the cities, the wardens are given larger " beats " to patrol. The number of wardens thus officially allocated to rural areas is consequently inadequate and it has been necessary to augment their numbers by appointing deputy wardens. But since equipment is governed by the number of wardens officially allocated to each district, and since it has been possible to equip only a proportion of these, it follows that some of these officially 'allocated wardens and all the " deputy " wardens are not equipped at all.
Further, there seems to be no adequate provision of wardens' posts and in many districts the wardens have had to use the village green or some other vantage point in the open air, which with the approach of the more severe weather will impose considerable hardship on a body of men and women who are at present serving their country in
difficult conditions.—Yours faithfully, F. DODD. The Cottage, London Road, Liphook, Hams.
Previous page
