Regulars
This month, Austin J Ruddy returns to the Home Front with a look at the main representative collectables of Britain’s Air Raid Precautions (ARP) and Civil Defence (CD) services.
The Defence Medal: the colours on its ribbon represent what the CD was defending, Britain’s green and pleasant land, the orange of the Blitz fires and the black of the blackout. Originals retail £10-£25.
Up until the late 1990s, many dealers and collectors viewed ARP collectables as a rather puzzling secondary diversion from more ‘regular’ militaria. However, as interest and the number of collectors increased, the once-common ARP collectables dwindled in availability, resulting, in some cases, in sharp prices rises.
