In September 1940, the Fire Watchers order was introduced making it compulsory for building owners or occupiers of commercial buildings were required to have firewatchers on duty at all times. This was part of the wider aim to prepare and tackle fires resulting from Luftwaffe bombings. For example, the 1937 Memorandum on Emergency Brigades Organisation created Supplementary Fire Parties to tackle small fires. Given the extent of the bombings during the Blitz, the current fire service, orders, and volunteers were insufficient to effectively tackle all of the fires. This led to further orders and the compulsory recruitment of civilians to take part in fire watching and tackling duties.
The card is printed with 'Make us all good firewatchers' on the front and 'With thee all night I mean to stay / and sleep until the break of day'.
This object was audited and researched as part of the NLHF Data Hunters and Story Gatherers project.
