The Leicester Black-out In view of the obvious importance of
the black-out as a precautionary measure against air attack it is well that one at last has been fully staged. We have waited for practical experience far longer than Germany or France, in spite of Mr. Geoffrey Lloyd's affirmation in his recent speech in Birmingham that the Government "attach considerable importance to the black-out as a measure of protection." Leicester was chosen for this experiment partly because of its suitable size and partly because it possesses one of the most fully developed air-raid precaution schemes in the country—many cities are far less well prepared. On the whole the black-out appears to have been successful in so far as it rendered Leicester invisible to the bombing machines above, and at the same time Mr. Lloyd was "satisfied that some combination of devices designed by the Air Raid Precautions Department will enable essential traffic to proceed in conditions of complete black-out." One experience learnt was the importance of public co-operation. But public co-operation requires public education, and it is essential that as local anti-air raid schemes are evolved the responsible authorities shall see to it that every individual understands clearly what part he has to play.
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