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governmental movements to operate in these circumstances, some on an ad hoc basis and some by way of a permanent organisation. During World War II, because of the intensive bombing attacks experienced by the civilian population, some, like the United Kingdom, set up trained units to work in the field of civil defence, assisting those injured or rendered homeless because of air raids
Thousands of people died in Rotterdam during the Second World War in more than 300 German and Allied bombardments. Civil defence measures had been taken before the German invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940 and these efforts were intensified during the country’s occupation as Allied bombers attacked Rotterdam’s port, factories, dry docks and oil terminals. Residential neighbourhoods were also hit through imprecise targeting and by misfired flak grenades. Inadequate air raid shelters and people’s reluctance to enter them caused many casualties. The condition of the corpses and their post-mortem treatment was thus co-constituted by the relationship between the victims and their material circumstances. This article concludes that an understanding of the treatment of the dead after war, genocide and mass violence must pay systematic attention to the materiality of death because the condition, collection and handling of human remains is affected by the material means that impacted on the victims.
civil–military coordination, whereas many others focus on outlining shortfalls and problems of current civil–military engagement only. Several authors specifically discuss guidelines on civil–military engagement, including the Oslo Guidelines (for natural disaster) and the Guidelines on the Use of Military and Civil Defence Assets (for use in complex emergencies), as well as country-specific guidelines or the lack thereof ( Madiwale and Virk, 2011 ; Bollettino, 2016 ; Svoboda, 2014 ; Haysom and Jackson, 2014 ). Lloyd and Van Dyk (2007) provide interesting
It has been accepted since antiquity that some restraint should be observed during armed conflict. This book examines the apparent dichotomy and introduces any study of the law of armed conflict by considering the nature and legality of war. The purpose of what is known as the law of armed conflict or, more commonly, the law of war is to reduce the horrors inherent therein to the greatest extent possible, bearing in mind the political purpose for which the war is fought, namely to achieve one's policies over one's enemies. The discussion on the history and sources of the law of armed conflict pays most attention to warfare on land because that is the region for which most agreements have been drawn up, although attention has been accorded to both aerial and naval warfare where it has been considered necessary. Traditionally, international law was divided into the law of war and the law of peace, with no intermediate stage between. Although diplomatic relations between belligerents are normally severed once a conflict has commenced, there remain a number of issues, not all of which are concerned with their inter-belligerent relations, which require them to remain in contact. War crimes are violations of the and customs of the law of armed conflict and are punishable whether committed by combatants or civilians, including the nationals of neutral states. The book also talks about the rights and duties of the Occupying Power, civil defence, branches of international law and prisoners of war.
An ex-Trident submarine captain considers the evolution of UK nuclear deterrence policy and the implications of a previously unacknowledged, enduring aversion to military strategies that threaten civilian casualties. This book draws on extensive archival research to provide a uniquely concise synthesis of factors affecting British nuclear policy decision-making, and draws parallels between government debates about reprisals for First World War Zeppelin raids on London, the strategic bombing raids of the Second World War and the development of the nuclear deterrent to continuous at-sea deterrence, through the end of the Cold War and the announcement of the Dreadnought programme. It develops the idea that, in a supreme emergency, a breach of otherwise inviolable moral rules might be excused, but never justified, in order to prevent a greater moral catastrophe; and it explores the related ethical concept of dirty hands – when a moral actor faces a choice between two inevitable actions, mutually exclusive but both reprehensible. It concludes that, amongst all the technical factors, government aversion to be seen to condone civilian casualties has inhibited government engagement with the public on deterrence strategy since 1915 and, uniquely among nuclear weapon states, successive British governments have been coy about discussing nuclear deterrence policy publicly because they feared to expose the complexity of the moral reasoning behind the policy, a reticence exacerbated by the tendency of policy and media investigation to be reduced to simplistic soundbites.
of his post.’ 3 Finch performed his duty to the community to the end. Yet as the comments made by Finch's colleagues suggested – ‘we couldn't help liking him’ – his CO status did set him apart. Although COs were not numerically significant within civil defence, they are important because they were the only group to have been regularly, actively and vocally rejected by civil defence communities across the country. As we have seen, the ethos of inclusivity and a commitment to democratic values
In 2004 Kenneth Haines, a former messenger from Bermondsey, London, recorded his story on the BBC ‘People's War’ website. In it he told of his quest for action and adventure in civil defence. He and his friend joined underage in 1942: Sid suggested that we put our ages up and join the ARP. They wanted part-time volunteers, he said. This sounded exciting, but I was a bit apprehensive. I knew that I looked older than my years, but due to School rules, I'd only just started
Architectures of survival investigates the relationship between air war and urbanism in modern Britain and asks how the development of airpower and the targeting of cities influenced perceptions of urban spaces and visions of urban futures. The book brings together a diverse range of source materials to highlight the connections between practices of warfare and urbanism in the twentieth century. It covers the interwar period, the Second World War and the early Cold War to demonstrate how airpower created a permanent threat to cities. It considers how architects, town planners and government officials reframed bombing as an ongoing urban problem, rather than one contingent to a particular conflict, and details how the constant threat of air raids prompted planning for defence and planning for development to become increasingly entangled. The book highlights the relevance of war and the anticipation of war in modern urban history and argues that the designation of cities as targets has had long-lasting consequences. It addresses militarisation in modern Britain by investigating how air war became incorporated into civilian debates about the future of cities and infrastructure, and vulnerability to air raids was projected onto the mundane material culture of everyday urban life.
When asked why he had joined civil defence as part of a survey conducted in June 1939, one man answered: ‘Well I suppose more or less it's in the blood, isn't it? I done four and a half years in the Great War so it comes natural really.’ 1 Veterans regularly made connections between service in the two world wars and used their combat experience to assert their status within civil defence. In the case of another air raid warden, George Titcombe of Hampstead, it was his heroic conduct in both
As the Second World War drew to a close, many members of civil defence reflected on what they had achieved in the seven and a half years since recruitment into the services had begun. The combination of joy and sadness expressed by one post warden in Lewisham was typical: ‘How glad we are that the reason for “wardening” is over, yet how sad we are to break contact’. She continued: I was proud of my post – it has a good record – and I am happy to have had the loyalty and