TWELVE ZONES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 29, 4 February 1939, Page 9

TWELVE ZONES.

BRITAIN DIVIDED

May Operate As Separate Units In Time of War. SCHEME ELABORATED. British Ollicial Wireless. (Received 12 noon.) RUGBY, February 3. Further development of plans for! civil defence measures were revealed I in an announcement by Sir John! Anderson that Britain is lo be divided' immediately into 32 zones for civilian defence. Each region in Avar will be in charge of a regional commissioner appointed in peace time and assisted by a deputy commissioner and a war staff, also designated in peace time. Besides air raid precaution regional officers the staff ,will include representatives; of Government Departments concerned in civil defence, thus linking regional organisation with the Government's existing machinery.

The regional commissioner will, in peace time, be supplied witli full details of war plans of all Government Departments concerned in civil defence, and will hold frequent meetings with, officials who would act with him in.time of war. He is not to be concerned .with the administration of the air raid precaution scheme in peace time.

The degree of control exercised by'the regional commissioner in wartime on his own responsibility will vary according to the extent to which communications may have been affected, but the region would, in case of need,.work as a self-contained, unit. "

Greater, London' will form one of the ten regions into which England has been divided. Wales . will be v the eleventh, and .Scotland will be subdivided into live areas to constitute the twelfth.

The scheme. is directed primarily toward .dealing with a situation which might-arise if any area in war were so to suffer-,'from''.bombardment as to be temporarily \ciit off from the rest of the community and forced to organise its life as a separate unit until communications are restored.

Tlicrc' would be in each 12 regions established, a equipped with adequate administrative staff and essential authority to decree and cany out measures for civil defence.