Child's Air Raid Warden's Uniform

[Flying10uk]

While looking for something else in my attic recently I rediscovered this, my late father's child's air raid warden's uniform. This was made in mid 1940 by my father's grandmother who had been a professional London seamstress and businesswoman, giving up her career in 1900 when she got married.

When my father received this uniform he had already experienced the horrors of war when a German mine laying aircraft had been shot down over Clacton and one of the mines on board had detonated. Later the same year my father experienced being dive bombed and suffered serious injuries to his ears but received no medical treatment for this until after WW2.

One of the most awful experiences that my father had during the war was witnessing a Spitfire pilot burn to death after he had crash landed in a field, near the family home.

My father loved wearing his air raid warden's uniform, during WW2, as my Grandfather was an air raid warden in Clacton on Sea as well as being in the Home Guard. Yes the uniform should probably be black but in 1940 everything was in short supply and so people made do with what they had.

My father received no counselling or treatment for his PTSD but his recurring nightmares finally stopped in the 1970's.

Before anyone asks, yes I still have the sundial pictured in the centre of the last picture, although I don't store this item in my attic.

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