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Members of Herne Bay's First Aid Posts gear up for gas-attack casualties in this remarkable film, which also features a visit to the deep tunnel shelters in the cliffs of Ramsgate.
Amateur film 1939 20 mins Silent
From the collection of:
Beginning with evacuees arriving in Herne Bay, this film shows men and women volunteers from the town's First Aid Post and Mobile Units conduct various emergency exercises including the treatment of gas-attack casualties while wearing protective rubber suits, rescuing bomb victims and practising decontamination. There is also a group inspection of Ramsgate's unique air-raid shelter system followed by a large church parade featuring all the volunteer services.
The film-maker, John Clague, was an architect who set up Clague's Architects in Canterbury in the mid-1930s. This is still a thriving company run by his son Andrew.
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Screen Archive South East is a public sector moving image archive serving the South East of England. The archive's collections of magic lantern slides, films, videos and associated materials capture the many varied aspects of life, work and creativity from the early days of screen history to the present day and serve as a rich and invaluable historical resource.
