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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 14, Issue 1 (April 1, 1939)

Air-Raid Precautions — Work of British Firms

Air-Raid Precautions
Work of British Firms

Mr. D. Winright Rodie (the elder son of a former Commercial Manager, New Zealand Railways) in a recent letter, gives some interesting information regarding the very comprehensive preparations being made in Great Britain by leading firms for protection against gas attacks. Mr. Rodie, who trained at Leylands, in Lancashire, and with the Midland Bus Company (L.M.S. Railway), is attending, on behalf of his firm, the Eastwood Park Civilian Anti-Gas School at Falfield, Gloucestershire. At the conclusion of his present training he will be warden in sole charge of the air-raid precautions for his firm at Birmingham. He states that there is a staff of about 4,000 to be trained in the protection of the 28 garages and 1,200 buses against various kinds of gas attacks and air raids, and he expects the work will take about a year to complete. He describes his experiences in learning to detect different gases and their effects: “I have smelt about eight gases, some deadly in the right proportions and some otherwise. We have had to walk through tear gas without gas masks and cry terribly in consequence. We also had to walk through a nose and lung irritant gas which makes one sneeze and cough and produces a burning sensation in the throat and lungs, fortunately all over in a few minutes without, in this case, any ill effects.”

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