CLERK'S DEPARTMENT: CIVIL DEFENCE

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: LCC/CL/CD
Held at	: London Metropolitan Archives   Click here to find out how to view this collection at https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/lma ›
Full title	: CLERK'S DEPARTMENT: CIVIL DEFENCE
Date(s)	: 1935-1949
Level of description	: Collection View parent record
Extent	: 10 linear metres
Name of creator(s)	: LCC | London County Council x London County Council

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

The London County Council delegated administrative matters to its committees, both standing committees and a number of special committees appointed for specific purposes. The committees met frequently, either weekly or fortnightly, while the Council met weekly. Committee reports requiring decision by the Council were dealt with weekly, and each committee reported to the Council every 6 months. In addition the Council also had representatives on many bodies such as industrial councils, school governing bodies and charitable foundations. For the purpose of carrying out the services of the Council, the staff is organised into departments, each of which is under the responsibility of a chief officer.

The Clerk of the Council was the chief administrative officer of the Council, acting as the clerk of the Council itself as well as the various committees. Additional important duties of the Clerk's Department included the maintenance of the library for members of the Council at City Hall, the preparation of general publications and the responsibility for general work including records.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Records of the London County Council Clerk's Department relating to civil defence, including papers relating to: air raid precautions and civil defence, 1935-1947; financial arrangements for air raid precautions and civil defence, 1936-1948; the London Auxiliary Ambulance Service, 1936-1947; use of school ambulances by the London Auxiliary Ambulance Service, 1939-1943; emergency fire brigade arrangements, 1934-1945, including accommodation, staffing, water supplies, maps, appliances, the River Service, salvage arrangements, disciplinary code, collective representation and war gratuities; the unification of the London Fire Brigade and London Auxiliary Fire Service, 1940-1946; National Fire Service, 1941-1947, including detailed liaison arrangements with the LCC; emergency hospital service, 1935-1946, including the Civil Nursing Reserve; the Evacuation Scheme, 1938-1947; the Rescue Service, 1938-1947, including accommodation and depots, equipment, staffing, disciplinary code, reorganisation and co-ordination with repair squads; the Rest Centre Service, 1939-1947; War Debris Survey and Disposal Service, 1942-1948; proposed merger of Rescue and Debris Services, 1942-1944; fire prevention and fire watching, 1940-1945, including stirrup pumps, Clearance of Lofts Order and Fire prevention (Business Premises) Order; repair of highways, 1939-1947; organisation of civil defence 1936-1945, including allocation of responsibilities between London County Council and Metropolitan Borough Councils, Regional Co-ordinating Committee, Joint Committee of Officers of LCC and Metropolitan Borough Councils, Civil Defence Act, 1939 and regional and group organisation; decontamination and cleansing, 1938-1945; the main drainage system and gas mains, 1936-1946; bridges, tunnels and ferries, 1936-1947; structural protection and air raid shelters at housing estates, schools, hospitals, County Hall and other LCC premises, 1938-1946; air raid shelters, 1937-1949; requisitioning of property, 1938-1946; transport arrangements, 1938-1948; personal protective equipment and protective clothing, 1938-1945, including respirators, ear plugs, steel helmets and uniforms; equipment, 1938-1947, including hand-lamps, anti-gas equipment and disposal of surplus equipment; training, 1936-1947, including Civilian Anti-gas School, instructors' equipment and fire fighting courses; Civil Defence personnel, 1939-1947, including rates of pay and conditions of service, employment of conscientious objectors, employment of aliens, statistics of personnel killed or injured in duty, training for post-war work, demobilisation and award of Defence Medal and war gratuities; Women's Voluntary Services, 1938-1949; artists' record of civil defence activities in London, 1940-1942; Civil Defence recruitment publicity campaigns, 1938-1941; wartime arrangements for LCC staff and services, 1937-1947; removal of iron railings for scrap, 1941-1947; honours and awards, 1940-1945; air raid warning arrangements, 1938-1945; blackout arrangements and lighting restrictions, 1938-1945; unexploded bombs, mines and rockets, 1939-1946; Emergency Communications Corps and Dispatch Rider Service, 1938-1946; Invasion Defence Scheme, 1942-1944; scheme for evacuation of non-essential civilian population from coastal areas, 1941-1943; recommendations for awards for gallantry, 1940-1945.

Daily Situation Reports for the London Civil Defence Region, 1940-1945; London Civil Defence Region Intelligence Reports, 1941-1942; reports on air raid fires, 1940-1941; papers relating to war damage, 1939-1947, including damage to LCC properties.

Home Security Circulars, 1940-1944; Ministry of Health Circulars, 1939-1948; London Civil Defence Region London Region Circulars, 1939-1945; London Civil Defence Region Operations Circulars, 1939-1945; London Civil Defence Region Operations Memoranda, 1940-1945; London Civil Defence Region Regional Training Notes, 1942-1945; Air Raid Precautions Service (ARP) Memoranda, Handbooks, and Training Manuals, 1936-1944; Public Information Leaflets relating to air raid precautions, 1939-1941; information leaflets and posters relating to gas attacks, catering during wartime, demolition and clearance, road repairs, rescue training, 1937-1943.

County Hall Fire Picket Log books, 1940-1945; County Hall Fire Picket Log book, Incident book and record of tests of alarm circuits, 1940-1944; "A Short Account of the Services of the London County Council during the War of 1939-45", prepared by the Clerk of the Council in connection with the Pictorial Record of the Council's work during the War, 194- and Emergency Pay and Identity Book issued to LCC staff, 194-.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

LCC/CL/CD/1: Committee Clerk's general papers; LCC/CL/CD/2: Reports on air raids and war damage; LCC/CL/CD/3: Government circulars, memoranda, instructions, handbooks and booklets; LCC/CL/CD/4: General.

Conditions governing access:

These records are available for public inspection, although records containing personal information are subject to access restrictions under the UK Data Protection Act, 1998.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Copyright: City of London.

Finding aids:

Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Acquired with the records of its parent body, the London County Council. Additional accession received in 1995 (ACC/3468).

Allied Materials

Related material:

For other London County Council papers relating to civil defence and wartime emergency measures see LCC/AR/CD, LCC/AR/WAR, LCC/CE/WAR, LCC/EO/WAR, LCC/FB/WAR, LCC/PH/WAR.

Publication note:

For further information on the history of the LCC please see Achievement: A Short History of the London County Council by W Eric Jackson (1965), LMA Library reference 18.0 1965, The London County Council 1938, LMA Library reference 18.7 SER 4, and The Youngest County: A description of London as a county and its public services, 1951, LMA Library reference 18.0 1951.

Description Notes

Archivist's note:

Rules or conventions:
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
April to June 2009