Description
Object description
Six reel instructional film showing in detail all the Civil Defence procedures put into action following a bombing raid, re-enacted using Northampton Civil Defence personnel, under the supervision of John Milliamson OBE, Chief Constable and Controller (who is pictured at the beginning of the film) Re-enactments of typical scenarios and some stock footage, combined with extensive captions, follow the procedure through from the start of the bombing raid through to the all clear and beyond.
Content description
Reel one: An enemy bombing raid is imminent: sirens sound the alert, and ARP wardens (male and female) spring into action. Whistle is blown. People (many in pyjamas) are evacuated from their houses and enter air raid shelters, or take cover in their own homes or in Andreson shelters. Hot water bottles are change in Civil Defence Ambulances, and they set off. A roof spotter informs ARP Control that enemy aircraft have been spotted. ARP wardens head for cover. (Stock footage of explosions represents the bombing raid.) After the raid, ARP wardens inspect a bombed building, one runs to his post to report the damage. After reporting, several wardens run back to the location and begin their reconnaissance. An incendiary device is extinguished using a stirrup pump. Meanwhile, the National Fire Service receives a call direct from the warden's post and fire tenders set off with a motorcycle escort. At the scene of the bombing, and injured man is given first aid and a cigarette; second man is also cared for.
Content description
Reel two: The Wardens' Post informs the Service Depot of the bombing incident; the depot "sends out instructions to services needed". FAP (First Aid Party) and descue leaders are detailed and then set off. The incident is plotted and recorded, with the assurance that all incidents are dealt with: scenes at the depot and the Police War Room are shown. Further necessary vehicles and services are dispatched to the scene. The Leading Fireman reports to the Head Warden at the incident, and a hose is set up at a fire hydrant. Special appliances are called for to fight the fires. Incident officer arrives by car and runs to the scene as walking wounded are led away. A checquered flag is set up. Specialist fire engines arrive, and the rescue leader reports to the incident officer. Hoses are used, and more men move in. A message is sent to ARP Control for more assistance.
Content description
Reel three: Firemen attend a burning building at the scene; people lean out of an upper floor window as smoke billows out. Ladder is set up, and firemen extract the two stranded people, who are then stretchered away. Fireman reports back to the Incident Officer. People gather, "Bombed-Out and Homeless" as "The Rescue Party Prepares for Action". The rescue party alights from a van and enters bombed-out building; immediately a girl is found alive in the rubble. A protective visor is placed over her eyes to protect from the dust as the rubble is excavated. She is carried to safety. A street census which has been taken indicates that a woman is missing and likely trapped in the bombed-out building; the rescue party tunnel through the debris and break through a few feet from the casualty. she is stretchered out to safety, and a report is made to the Incident Officer.
Content description
Reel four: The National Fire Service in action, setting up hoses and training them on a burning building (there is much smoke). Turntable is put into operation, the fireman secured by belt and safety hook before ascending the extendable ladder. An emergency water supply is pumped in from a nearby river. Pipelines and relay points shown; water is stored in special tanks. Several hoses in action, and also the fireboat "Firefly". Water is pumped into a "scaffold dam", a temporary reservoir set up inside a framework of scaffolding. Firemen use a diffuser nozzle to disperse the smoke. Casualties are led to cars and received at First Aid Post: here, nurses attend to them and "anti-tetanic serum" is injected. Tea is distributed. "An anxious mother finds her daughter safe." First Aid Party in action: they attend to a man found with glass in his cheek and his intestines hanging out, and stretcher him away.
Content description
Reel five: ARP wardens find a casualty with his arm severed; one warden presses on the victim's subclavian artery to stem the bleeding. As the stairs have collapsed and there is a bomb crater outside the window, a cable winch is set up between the upper storey (where the casualty is) and the ground. A rubber band tourniquet is applied and a doctor injects morphia to counteract the shock before the casualty is put on a stretcher and winched down the cable to the ground. Below stairs, a woman victim is found in a flooded basement; an electrical cable is made safe before she is given first aid. As she has a suspected fractured spine (as well as a wound on her forearm), she is turned face downwards with "trigglifts" and her spine is packed secure before she is stretchered out to a waiting Civil Defence Ambulance. Several ambulances transport the serious casualties to hospital, where the wounded are strechered in; medical information is written on foreheads.
Content description
Reel six: Operating theatre: nurses prepare, and a patient is wheeled into the Anaesthetic Room where gas is administered. Surgeon and sister scrub up and don gowns , masks and gloves. The patient is wheeled in, and instruments are brought from sterilisers. After surgery, the patient is wheeled out. Scenes at a Rest Centre, where people bombed out of their homes are taken and immediately given tea, first aid and clothes when necessary. Children play and babies are fed. Meanwhile, at the bomb site, the fires have been extinguished and casualties rescues. The incident is deemed closed, and the Incident Officer dismantles the flag and departs. Civil Defence personnel enjoy a cup of tea at a mobile canteen. Scenes "a few hours later": woman identifies a dead loved one in a chapel. A Help and Information Centre: here, in the aftermath of the bombing, families can get help on various topics including billeting, identty cards, pensions assistance and ration books. The Women's Voluntary Service distribute clothes. Members of the First Aid Party enjoy a cup of tea. Final shot shows King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.
Physical description
16mm
