Fort Bailey - ARP Warden's post

Date Photo Taken	31st January 1940
Area	Mitcham
Picture Reference	Mit_War_9-2
Original Format	Photo
Notes / History	In 1938 local authorities were compelled by the government to appoint ARP (Air Raid Precautions) wardens whose duties were to hand out gas masks and pre-fabricated air raid shelters such as Anderson shelters. Other duties included attending incidents and reporting on them to the relevant services. During air-raids ARP wardens patrolled their areas and as soon as an incident occurred they would report details to their ARP post, from which the information would be passed to the control centre at the Town Hall. The ARP reports or Warden Message forms gave the location and details of an incident, an estimate of the casualities, the extent of the damage and the services required. Where fire was involved the wardens would call the fire brigade directly. Most wardens were part-time volunteers who carried out their ARP duties as well as full-time jobs. The controller of the ARP was normally the Town Clerk. This ARP post called Fort Bailey was situated at 56 Mitcham Park and was used by the ARP Wardens when they were on duty.