One of the most widely recognised objects of Britain’s Home Front was the civilian gas mask. Austin J Ruddy looks at the surprisingly wide range of wartime gas masks and gas mask paraphernalia and their associated history.
Gas masks – or, officially, respirators – are one of the most enduring and iconic items of Britain’s Second World War Home Front. Fortunately, they were never actually used for their intended purpose, but, nonetheless, government foresight enabled every British citizen to have some protection against the potential horror of chemical warfare. They were produced in their millions, although the civilian respirator is best-known and most commonly encountered. Several different types were provided on the Home Front and occasionally surface today.