The Blackout

Everyone pulled together for the war effort. There was a great fear of air raids and people had to ensure that no light escaped from windows or doors. Blackout curtains were fitted to doors and windows. The door curtains had to be closed when an outside door was opened and even then a pencil beam of light would sure enough attract the attention of an Air Raid Patrol (ARP) Warden!

One of the main jobs ARP Wardens did was to patrol the streets during blackout to ensure that no light was visible. If a light was spotted, the warden would alert the person/people responsible by shouting something like "Put that light out!" or "Cover that window!"

There were no illuminated street lights so lamp posts (and roadside trees) were painted with a band of white to reduce the risk to pedestrians. Kerbs were painted white. Rear mudguards on bikes had a section painted white to minimize the risk of being knocked into. Car headlights were fitted with beam deflectors to cast the beam downwards close to the vehicle. 

 

A torch became an essential piece of kit but batteries (usually ‘Number 8’ batteries) were scarce. Number 8 batteries were about half as big again as the modern AA size, were 3 volts, and were used in most small torches. However, they didn't last long.

Using a wartime photo of an ARP warden adjusting a blackout clock, we constructed our own to be used as a feature in the 1940s garden.

 

Questions and Answers

When did The Blackout begin?

Britain was blacked out on 1st September 1939; two days before the outbreak of war.

What was The Blackout?

During the war, everyone had to cover their windows and doors at night (before sunset) with heavy blackout curtains, cardboard or paint.

Why did people have to cover their windows and doors?

They needed to prevent any glimmer of light from escaping and aiding enemy aircraft during the bombing raids.

What about other sources of light during the blackout. Were they covered too?

Street lights were switched off or dimmed and shielded to deflect the light downward. Traffic lights and vehicle headlights were fitted with slotted covers to deflect the beam down to the floor.

What effect did the Blackout have on people's lives ?

Thousands of people died in road accidents. The number of road accidents increased because of the lack of street lighting and the dimmed traffic lights. To help prevent accidents white stripes were painted on the roads and on lamp-posts. People were encouraged to walk facing the traffic and men were advised to leave their shirt-tails hanging out so that they could be seen by cars with dimmed headlights. 

 

Other people were injured during the Blackout because they could not see in the darkness. Many people were injured tripping up, falling down steps, or bumping into things.

Plymouth in Bloom Judging Afternoon

On Thursday 14th July, the judges from 'Plymouth in Bloom' arrived to judge our 1940s garden and scarecrow! A group of children from years 3, 4 & 5 were there to great them and show them around. The main focus for the judging was what was actually growing in the garden, how well things were growing and what the children understood about growing and caring for the plants. Although the judges commented that they really appreciated the historical relevance of the features and artifacts from an educational point of view, they were not there to judge that aspect of the garden. 

The children were asked some pretty tough questions, but despite this, they did us proud and proved themselves to be great ambassadors to the school. We're now looking forward to receiving our second group of judges from the Royal Horticultural Society on Monday morning.

The following photos were taken in the garden on Wednesday evening, the day before PIB judging took place.

 

Judging and yet More Judging!!

Things have been a little busy lately, so this is the first Blog entry in quite a while. Things have continued to grow in the 1940s garden, and on the whole, things are looking much more healthy as a result of the recent rain. 

The children at school have harvested potatoes, which have been used by the kitchen in the children's lunchtime meals. The kitchen have also continued to take advantage of the salad beds in the garden to supply their salad bar with fresh salad leaves and radishes. 

Many other crops are ready to be picked / harvested, including carrots, turnips, beetroot, broad beans and garlic. Other crops are continuing to grow well, and will be producing edible food shortly, or later on in the summer ready for the start of the Autumn term.

Last week, on Tuesday 5th July, the regional judges for the Plymouth in Bloom competition came to judge the garden for this year's competition. Unfortunately, due to the school receiving its OFSTED inspection on the Monday and Tuesday, neither myself or any representatives from the school's gardening team were available to meet with the judges. This was very unfortunate, and as a result of the call coming as a complete surprise, the garden wasn't looking its best. Many of the artifacts usually on display in the garden were inside the main building, including our ARP Wardens, and the scarecrow that the children will also be judged on was still partially finished inside the school and not on display. Luckily, we have since received word that the judges will return on Thursday this week (14th July) to complete their tour around the garden where I and some representatives from the school's gardening team will be on hand to answer any questions and point out any features missed the first time round. 

 

In addition to this, we have also received conformation that a separate judging team from the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) will visit the school on Monday 18th July to view the garden as part of their regional gardening competition. Again, this came as a bit of a surprise, as we didn't enter this particular competition; however one of the key members from within the Plymouth Park Services team entered our garden on our behalf. We look forward to receiving these special visitors on Monday!

Finally, in case you hadn't already seen them, the following two articles appeared recently in The Herald newspaper and online on the Plymouth Post website; both articles feature our school's 'Dig for Victory' garden. The first, featured in the Herald, contained photographs taken during our 'VE Day' celebrations, and celebrated the children's week-long WWII themed week and the official opening of our Anderson shelter.

The second features our garden in celebration of the launch of this year's 'Plymouth in Bloom' competition; this article can be found by clicking the following link:

http://www.plymouthpost.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3791:judges-to-pound-the-city-streets-for-plymouth-in-bloom&catid=34:news&Itemid=64

I hope that brings you all up to speed with what's been going on in the garden recently, and I'll keep you posted as to how the two rounds of judging go on Thursday afternoon and next Monday morning.

Thanks to everyone who's been reading the Blog and keeping up to date with what's been going on - we have now had over 2,000 hits, which is fantastic!!