Home Front - Civil Defence Staff and Administration
Aside from the Police, Fire and Medical staff that already existed in the area, there was also a need for more staff to assist with the unique situations that were going to arise from enemy attack. The following extracts show the types of staff that volunteered or were employed, and also some of the situations that occurred.
Civil Defence Staff Register
Aberdeen County kept a register of all the people that contributed to the defence of the County, from those involved in running the Mortuaries to the people in this extract that were involved in Report and Control – processing information about attacks and co-ordinating emergency services in response to these.
The red pen mark on some entries shows those that volunteered in 1944 to continue their service after the war.
Warden Wyness
Air Raid Wardens were also members of the Civil Defence Staff.
William Wyness’s entry on the register here shows that he made the ultimate sacrifice for his service during the War.
Aberdeen County Record
Each area kept a record of casualties that occurred during enemy attacks.
The entry here shows the record that was made for the death of William Wyness on 22 August 1940 along with two others in an air-raid shelter in York Street, Peterhead.
Aberdeen County Incident Register
Aberdeen County kept a record of war related incidents that occurred in the area, spanning the period of 1940-1945.
The entry shown details a raid at a town that suffered much during the War period, Peterhead, on 22 August 1940.
Bombs Dropped: High Explosive – 8
Where Droppped:
Slains Lodge, Cruden Bay (4 High Explosive)
Landale Road (1) York Street (1)
Academy School (1) L. N. E. R. Station (1)
Peterhead Railway Line blocked. Signal cabin & engine shed damaged [Scored out – “One house damaged”]. Gas and water mains damaged. Extensive damage to buildings & dwelling houses 3 of which were demolished.
Cruden Bay Slight damage to dwelling house and to growing crops
Fire Service Enrolment record
Aside from the staff register, a separate record was kept for each person that enrolled.
A batch of enrolment forms for the Ellon Fire Brigade have survived, just like this one for William Buchan in 1940. As well as having basic information about each individual they also contain a photograph of the person enrolling.
Vital sites for the War Effort
Certain areas and buildings in each District of the Country were vital to the War Effort and required extra monitoring and security.
Aberdeen County Control Staff kept a list of the ‘Key Points’ in the area, which included the Consolidated Pneumatic Tool Company in Fraserburgh and Crosse and Blackwell in Peterhead.
Fraserburgh Warden Districts
Monitoring certain settlements and dealing with the effects of air-attacks on them was a big job. Where they were large settlements it was necessary to split them into Districts in order to make the task more manageable. This map shows the Districts in Fraserburgh in 1942.
Procedures were drawn up by the Royal Engineers Bomb Disposal Units for dealing with ‘safe’ unexploded bombs and potential gas contaminants. These sometimes included transportation of the bombs to special sites for disposal or burial, referred to as ‘Bomb Cemeteries’.
This extract from a Royal Engineers report of 23 May 1943 details sites in and around Aberdeen that had been designated for this purpose, including Balmedie Beach.
Church Bells
In order to distinguish between air attack and imminent invasion church bells were going to be used to warn surrounding households rather than air raid sirens.
This document from 1943 outlines the procedure to follow with ringing church bells and what the Home Guard would be expected to do on hearing the bells.
Evidence of a Rumour?
Caption This cryptic message of 23 September 1940 about naturally occurring cobwebs contained in Aberdeen County’s control room file possibly points to a rumour at the time that the Germans had released a strange web-like secret weapon on Britain.
Perhaps there had been a report to the Control Room that had been investigated and proven to be normal spider’s webs.
Retirement Put On Hold
As the war progressed and more people were drafted into the Armed Services the strains on staffing at Home started to show. As a result many employers tried to retain staff wherever possible.
This extract from the Kincardineshire County Council Minutes of 17 May 1941 show Police Sergeant Alexander R Buick’s request for retirement has been refused by the Chief Constable, and that he has been granted additional allowances as a result.
Civil Defence Staff Register
The red pen mark on some entries shows those that volunteered in 1944 to continue their service after the war.
Warden Wyness
Air Raid Wardens were also members of the Civil Defence Staff.
William Wyness’s entry on the register here shows that he made the ultimate sacrifice for his service during the War.
Each area kept a record of casualties that occurred during enemy attacks.The entry here shows the record that was made for the death of William Wyness on 22 August 1940 along with two others in an air-raid shelter in York Street, Peterhead.
Aberdeen County Incident Register
Aberdeen County kept a record of war related incidents that occurred in the area, spanning the period of 1940-1945.The entry shown details a raid at a town that suffered much during the War period, Peterhead, on 22 August 1940.
Bombs Dropped: High Explosive – 8
Where Droppped:
Slains Lodge, Cruden Bay (4 High Explosive)
Landale Road (1) York Street (1)
Academy School (1) L. N. E. R. Station (1)
Peterhead Railway Line blocked. Signal cabin & engine shed damaged [Scored out – “One house damaged”]. Gas and water mains damaged. Extensive damage to buildings & dwelling houses 3 of which were demolished.
Cruden Bay Slight damage to dwelling house and to growing crops
Fire Service Enrolment record
Aside from the staff register, a separate record was kept for each person that enrolled.A batch of enrolment forms for the Ellon Fire Brigade have survived, just like this one for William Buchan in 1940. As well as having basic information about each individual they also contain a photograph of the person enrolling.
Vital sites for the War Effort
Aberdeen County Control Staff kept a list of the ‘Key Points’ in the area, which included the Consolidated Pneumatic Tool Company in Fraserburgh and Crosse and Blackwell in Peterhead.
Monitoring certain settlements and dealing with the effects of air-attacks on them was a big job. Where they were large settlements it was necessary to split them into Districts in order to make the task more manageable. This map shows the Districts in Fraserburgh in 1942.
Bomb Disposal
Procedures were drawn up by the Royal Engineers Bomb Disposal Units for dealing with ‘safe’ unexploded bombs and potential gas contaminants. These sometimes included transportation of the bombs to special sites for disposal or burial, referred to as ‘Bomb Cemeteries’.
This extract from a Royal Engineers report of 23 May 1943 details sites in and around Aberdeen that had been designated for this purpose, including Balmedie Beach.
Church BellsIn order to distinguish between air attack and imminent invasion church bells were going to be used to warn surrounding households rather than air raid sirens.
This document from 1943 outlines the procedure to follow with ringing church bells and what the Home Guard would be expected to do on hearing the bells.
Caption This cryptic message of 23 September 1940 about naturally occurring cobwebs contained in Aberdeen County’s control room file possibly points to a rumour at the time that the Germans had released a strange web-like secret weapon on Britain.
Perhaps there had been a report to the Control Room that had been investigated and proven to be normal spider’s webs.
Retirement Put On Hold
This extract from the Kincardineshire County Council Minutes of 17 May 1941 show Police Sergeant Alexander R Buick’s request for retirement has been refused by the Chief Constable, and that he has been granted additional allowances as a result.
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