Air Raid Defence Practically every problem connected with A.R.P. is
dealt with in the Civil Defence Bill, which received its third reading in the House of Commons on Wednesday. The ques- tion of deep shelters or slighter blast-proof shelters, and whose should be the responsibility for constructing them, loom large in the public imagination ; but there is a host of other provisions of equal urgency. A bulletin just issued by the Air Raid Defence League insists that what we have to be prepared for is a series of formidable lightning blows delivered in the first days of the war. Germany has built up her offensive strategy on the theory of a demoralising knock-out blow caused by heavy raiding on a scale which she could only maintain for a few weeks. The essence of civil defence therefore is readiness at the start. Swift evacuation is of supreme importance. The preparedness in advance of all the organisation for dealing with raids and maintaining confidence cannot be too strongly emphasised. So far as shelters are concerned, it is essential that, whatever form they should take, their provision should be speedy.
Previous page
