Tenement Warden (clip)

Advice on how to respond to the threat of air raids

Description
Questions & Activities
Clip Details
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Description

This film shows the work of Edinburgh tenement wardens in helping people to blackout their properties and to respond to the threat of German air raids. This particular clip shows air raid shelters being built, tenement wardens making plans and then visiting householders to make sure that they are aware of the regulations.

Questions & Activities

Questions

Is the music appropriate to the subject matter of the film?
Why were sandbags or bricks stacked around entrance ways of tenements?
Why would it be worse if bombs were dropped in tenement areas than suburban areas?
Did it look as if there were enough shelters available?
Where have the children gone?

Activities

Research the different techniques employed by the ARP and discuss whether these were effective measures or more to make people feel safer.

This a good film to show how tenement / slum housing was organised. Freeze the film and study the plans and numbers shown in this film.

Nominate group wardens to make sure that classroom/group safety procedures are observed.

What evidence in this clip is there of a sense of community? Compare and contrast the spirit of this film with the sentiments expressed in the film 'Gallimaufrey - A Cumbernauld Poem' about the development of new towns.

Find out more about the Department of Home Security and find out what other work they undertook.

Clip Details

Record Id	007-000-000-235-C
Resource Rights Holder	Courtesy of the Imperial War Museum
Project Ref	1386
Date	1941
Genre	Documentary, Public Information
School Subject	History, Social History, Geography
Subject Matter	Evacuation, Community involvement, Citizenship
Who	Alan Harper (director), Edinburgh ARP Committee and Ministry of Home Security (sponsor)
Where	Edinburgh
Event	World War II
Attributes	Black and White, Sound
Clip Length	6:45
Film Length	19:53

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