CIVIL DEFENCE IN BRITAIN

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 68, Issue 139, 24 March 1948, Page 5

CIVIL DEFENCE IN BRITAIN

Shelters Discussed by Commons WOMAN MEMBER PROTESTS (iN.Z.P.A Copyrights. LONDON, March 23. During a debate on civil defence in the House of Commons Sir John Pederson advocated a policy of shelter against atom bombs which could be put into effect at short notice. Sir John Anderson, who was Minister of Home Security in the early part of rhe war, said there was no reason why surface shelters should be rejected because of the possibilities of atom bombing. A sheet of brown paper would suffice against “flash burning”—burning by heat radiation —but lor protection against radiation concrete shelters might be best, although possibly several feet of sandbags would suffice. Major 1 K. G. Younger, Undersecretary to the Home Office, said that shelter policy was largely a matter for research, but deep shelters seemed to provide effective protection against atomic warfare. “It is a shocking commentary on our times that we should be talking about protecting our citizens from tho next war before we have rebuilt the houses destroyed in the last,” said Mrs Elizabeth Manning (Labour, Upping).' “It is horrible and outrageous. If you men can sit here coldly discussing another war, the women can’t.” Some sense of reality should be brought into the debate. Otherwise they were being frightened for nothing. said Mrs Manning “If the Government is convinced that there is going to be a war they must find out how to disperse people into the Commonwealth, because leaving people .in this tiny island is no good at ail.”