Editing Air Raid Precautions (section)

==Origins==
During the [[First World War]] [[German strategic bombing during World War I|Britain was bombed]] by [[Zeppelin]]s and [[Gotha G.V|Gotha]] bombers and it was predicted that large-scale aerial bombing of the civilian population would feature prominently in any future war. In 1924, the [[Committee of Imperial Defence]] set up a subcommittee to look at what measure could be taken to protect the civil population from aerial attack.<ref name="Historic England">{{cite book |last1=Thomas |first1=Roger |title=Civil Defence: From the First World War to the Cold War |date=2016 |publisher=Historic England |url=https://content.historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/iha-civil-defence/heag145-civil-defence-iha.pdf/ |access-date=25 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228182456/https://content.historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/iha-civil-defence/heag145-civil-defence-iha.pdf/ |archive-date=28 February 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The new committee, known as Air Raid Precautions, was headed by the then [[Lord Privy Seal]], [[Sir John Anderson]].[[File:NH Karanjia ARP Warden Service Bombay.jpg|thumb|alt=ARP Warden Service Efficiency Warrant issued to NH Karanjia, Bombay, June 1942 with Acknowledgement of Gratitude Card|ARP Warden Service Efficiency Warrant issued to NH Karanjia, Bombay, June 1942 with Acknowledgement of Gratitude Card]]

For the next ten years this committee looked into issues of new aerial weapons development and the possible impact on civilians. The use of [[Chemical weapons in World War I|gas attacks in the First World War]] played heavily on the decisions and protection via [[gas mask]]s was a core decision taken by the committee. Every single person would need a gas mask which meant nearly 40 million would be required. Together with ideas around the building of [[air raid shelter]]s, [[Evacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II|evacuations of people]] and [[Blackout (wartime)|blackout requirements]] these were all termed passive air defence.

With the rise of [[Adolf Hitler]] and [[Nazi Germany]]'s [[German rearmament|remilitarisation]] during the 1930s, a further [[Home Office]] committee, the Air Raid Precautions (ARP) Department, was created in March 1935. This department replaced the earlier subcommittees and took overall control of the British response to passive air defence.<ref>{{cite web |title=Air Raid Precautions Department |url=http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C511 |website=National Archives |access-date=25 November 2018}}</ref>

{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Air-Raid Precautions Act 1937
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to secure that precautions shall be taken with a view to the protection of persons and property from injury or damage in the event of hostile attack from the air.
| year                  = 1937
| citation              = [[1 & 2 Geo. 6]]. c. 6
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = 
| royal_assent          = 22 December 1937
| commencement          = 1 January 1938
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = 
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = 
| repealing_legislation = [[Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1976]]
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = repealed
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = 
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = 
| UK-LEG_title          = 
| collapsed             = yes
}}
In April 1937, the '''Air Raid Wardens' Service''' was created which aimed to seek some 800,000 volunteers (some 200,000 people had joined by mid-1938, and following the [[Munich Crisis]] of September 1938 another 500,000 had enrolled). After the [[bombing of Guernica]], [[Gaumont-British]] began distributing [[newsreel]]s on air-raid safety to British cinemas.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Reynolds|first=David|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/646810103|title=Summits : six meetings that shaped the twentieth century|date=2009|publisher=Basic Books|isbn=978-0-7867-4458-9|location=New York|oclc=646810103}}</ref> Wardens gave ARP advice to the public and were responsible for reporting bombs and other incidents, and were joined by the '''[[Royal Voluntary Service|Women's Voluntary Service]]''' in May 1938.<ref name="IWM" /> On 1 January 1938, the '''{{visible anchor|Air-Raid Precautions Act 1937}}''' ([[1 & 2 Geo. 6]]. c. 6) came into force, compelling all local authorities to begin creating their own ARP services.<ref name="Historic England" /> Air raid shelters were distributed from 1938.<ref name="IWM" /><ref name="Historic England" />

With the threat of war imminent in 1939, the [[Home Office]] issued dozens of leaflets advising people on how to protect themselves from the inevitable [[Air warfare of World War II|air war]] to follow.