The story behind the cigarette cards is not totally clear, as I have been unable to find much information during my research. The Home Office did maintain a file on the matter at the time, but its whereabouts is not known. Enquiries at both The National Archives and the Home Office have failed to locate the file, with the latter saying that it was probably destroyed. If it did survive, then it is not filed under a National Archive document title that makes it immediately obvious that it did. It may well one day turn up in the National Archives, perhaps misfiled, or other files may contain isolated documents.
Background
Although A.R.P. had been announced in July 1935, progress had been slow in gaining wider public support and enthusiasm. Concentration was focussed on organisation at a government and local authority level, and the public not directly involved to avoid causing panic when war did not seem imminent. A few handbooks and memoranda (aimed at officials and A.R.P. volunteers) had been produced, attracting more than a little criticism. It was also intended to publish a handbook to inform the householder as to what he or she could do to to make their home safer in air raids and work on this had begun in 1936, the manual completed and approved in early 1937. [1]
Public issue of the manual, entitled The Protection of Your Home Against Air Raids (right), was delayed, however, as the wider organisation and preparation slowed down due to funding shortfalls imposed by a disinterested Parliament.
The Air Raid Precautions Department of the Home Office at this time (spring 1937) was "considering other methods of appealing to the public, such as posters, A.R.P. cigarette cards and exhibitions..." [2] The exact sequence of events from here is not clear; it is probable that the A.R.P. Department approached the Imperial Tobacco Company (of Great Britain and Ireland) Ltd. to ask for their co-operation, with the cards being issued in September 1938.
The cards are issued
Until this point, cigarette cards had dealt with topics such as film stars, wild flowers, footballers and cars. However, with the threat of a European war on the horizon, the Times of 1 September, (a year to the day before Germany invaded Poland) noted that they had now become "severely practical:"
"Armed with the blessing of the HOME SECRETARY, there appears this week a new series containing a complete educational course in Air-raid Precautions. It is well known that in the air raids of the future there may not be very much time for study. But there will at any rate be time for a little quick fumbling in the pocket for the production of a card, perhaps a little bent and dog-eared, but containing none the less all the essential information, as, for instance, the proper way of removing an incendiary bomb or how to erect a balloon barrage. The rudiments of a modern education include, unfortunately, a fouth "R" in addition to the civilized three. Respiration, perhaps under difficulties, has to be learnt, and the new cards teach the whole art of putting on the respirator....A cigarette card is terse and clear, and does not waste the busiest boy's time. It is so written that he who runs may read, but its weighty advice, in this A.R.P. series, will enable the runner to run to some purpose because of what he has read." [3]
Impact
Quite how often the average boy needed to 'erect a balloon barrage' is not recorded (!), but the article highlights the fact that somebody at the A.R.P. Department had done their research; not only would adults collect the cards, but they would also be highly interesting to children too, despite the fact they were too young to smoke.
This fact is borne out firstly by the notebook shown on the right; this is, in fact a child's scrapbook probably compiled in 1938-39. I believe the original owner was trying to create their own A.R.P. 'manual', as the notebook is the same size and colour of several of the proper handbooks. The 'manual' contains a collection of A.R.P.-related newspaper articles all of which are visual, rather than textual. Significantly, two-thirds of the cigarette cards are also included, filling ten of the sixteen pages. The bright colours appealed to children, and the cards did not waste this busy child's time.
Secondly, there is my own experience; although I only came into contact with the cards about forty years after they were produced, they certainly grabbed the attention and fascination of the seven-year-old I then was. These cards sparked off my interest in militaria and the study of warfare; being raised in a family of railway enthusiasts (I hereby exclude my sister from this description) during my formative years, if it hadn't been for these cards, this website would probably have been about railways instead!
Another person who found the cards useful was S. Evelyn Thomas, author of A Practical Guide to A.R.P. Thomas wrote to the Imperial Tobacco Company asking whether he could reproduce 20 of the cards in the next edition of his book. The company actually had to ask permission from the Home Office, as many of the cards were based on official drawings and photographs supplied by the A.R.P. Department for conversion into coloured artwork. [4]
In the meantime, 'The Protection of Your Home Against Air Raids' had been issued on a limited scale to local authorities in March 1938, but it wasn't until October, one month after the cards were launched, that it was made available to the public, free of charge. This timing is important; the set of cards cover the same sort of areas as the manual, (indeed, the cards are based on several illustrations from it), and were perhaps intended to complement it. Quite what control the Home Office had over the production of the cards is unclear, but a few small errors and omissions mean that the captions were probably written not by A.R.P. officials, but by Imperial Tobacco copywriters armed with 'The Protection of Your Home Against Air Raids' and various press reports.
An interesting aside is that the Imperial Tobacco Company announced at an Ordinary General Meeting in February, 1939, the air raid precautions it had taken to protect its workforce and factories:
"Plans made during the last three years have been or are being completed, so that if the necessity arises reasonably good protection against gas, splinters, and incendiary bombs will be available in our factories. We have our own air raid precautions officers and air raid detachments - fire brigade, first aid, and decontamination - and the total personnel trained is 2,500. If the worst comes to the worst these measures should be of material assistance in enabling your company to carry on production." [5]
The extent to which they followed the advice on their own cigarette cards is not recorded, but I endorse the closing statement of Samuel Hoare's comments on the set of cards when he says "I commend a study of these cards to your attention."
Footnote References
- O'Brien, Terence H. (1955) Civil Defence (Official History of the Second World War series) London: HMSO p103
- Op. cit 102
- The Times 1 September 1938
- HO 186/676
- The Times, 22 February 1939