KilroyCD
One Too Many
- Messages
- 1,966
- Location
- Lancaster County, PA
The Office of Civilian Defense needs you!
Well actually, Kilroy's Homefront Commandos needs you. Kilroy's Homefront Commandos is perhaps the only organized Civilian Defense Living History group in the US. (If there are any other groups, I'd really like to hear from them.) We are always looking for recruits, and I was thinking, "Why not try the Lounge?" There are a lot of us here with similar interests.
One might ask what Civilian Defense reenactors do. Despite being a non-combatant, there is a lot one can do with Civilian Defense impressions. The main thing is that you should have a willingness to educate the public.
Most people think of Air Raid Wardens when you mention Civil Defense. All well and good, but there was quite a bit more to it than "Put that light out!" There were many roles within Civilian Defense, and a number were pressed into service in the defense of our country. The Auxiliary Police for example, helped to guard important defense related facilities, bridges, tunnels and the like. Some Auxiliary Police units fashioned themselves after Military Police units, and in fact some of the units were trained by the military.
Here's one such unit from Pennsylvania:
Here I am as an Auxiliary Policeman helping to guard the entrance to Fort Miles, the Coastal Artillery installation at Lewes, Delaware:
That photo was just taken on April 26 of this year.
Whether one is doing an impression of an Air Raid Warden, Auxiliary Policeman, Auxiliary Fireman or any of the others, it's important to stay in first person, as if it is actually 1942 or 43. That is important from an educational (for the public) standpoint, plus it adds immeasurably to the authenticity.
Our group has been developing ways to educte the public, and one of the more interesting (and entertaining) things is our incendiary bomb demo. In this demo we show how to fight a German 1kg (2.2lb) incendiary bomb. First, we educate the public about why it's important to keep your attic clear of junk, as these little bombs can punch a hole through your roof and start a nice big fire in one's attic. Keeping the attic clear helps one fight the fire, plus gives the bomb less "fuel" to ignite. During the talk, I let the public look at and handle an authentic (but inert) WWII German incendiary. Then we have a dummy made from wood (with an authentic set of tail fins) that we fit a smoke charge to. Without getting too deeply into the details, we then show the public how to fight and dispose of them. Of course, sometimes we have fun and show people how not to handle them, such as when Abbott and Costello "help" us:
Anyway, to make an already long story even longer, uh, I mean cut it short, we are always looking for more members. We especially need them at our Fort Miles events. We are one of the resident groups at Fort Miles, and that is because of the CD involvement there during the war. Fort Miles was the headquarters for the defense of the Delaware Bay and its coastline up to and including the southernmost reaches of the Delaware River. This included both military and civilian aspects of defense, so the Civilian Defense HQ at Fort Miles was rather important. We are in the midst of recreating that HQ, and are looking for more individuals who might be interested in this project and becoming a part of it. Here's a part of our display last November:
Oh, and did I mention it's right on the beach? That makes it even better!
PM me if you might be interested in helping or joining Kilroy's Homefront Commandos.
Cheers,
-Chris (aka "Kilroy")
Well actually, Kilroy's Homefront Commandos needs you. Kilroy's Homefront Commandos is perhaps the only organized Civilian Defense Living History group in the US. (If there are any other groups, I'd really like to hear from them.) We are always looking for recruits, and I was thinking, "Why not try the Lounge?" There are a lot of us here with similar interests.
One might ask what Civilian Defense reenactors do. Despite being a non-combatant, there is a lot one can do with Civilian Defense impressions. The main thing is that you should have a willingness to educate the public.
Most people think of Air Raid Wardens when you mention Civil Defense. All well and good, but there was quite a bit more to it than "Put that light out!" There were many roles within Civilian Defense, and a number were pressed into service in the defense of our country. The Auxiliary Police for example, helped to guard important defense related facilities, bridges, tunnels and the like. Some Auxiliary Police units fashioned themselves after Military Police units, and in fact some of the units were trained by the military.
Here's one such unit from Pennsylvania:
Here I am as an Auxiliary Policeman helping to guard the entrance to Fort Miles, the Coastal Artillery installation at Lewes, Delaware:
That photo was just taken on April 26 of this year.
Whether one is doing an impression of an Air Raid Warden, Auxiliary Policeman, Auxiliary Fireman or any of the others, it's important to stay in first person, as if it is actually 1942 or 43. That is important from an educational (for the public) standpoint, plus it adds immeasurably to the authenticity.
Our group has been developing ways to educte the public, and one of the more interesting (and entertaining) things is our incendiary bomb demo. In this demo we show how to fight a German 1kg (2.2lb) incendiary bomb. First, we educate the public about why it's important to keep your attic clear of junk, as these little bombs can punch a hole through your roof and start a nice big fire in one's attic. Keeping the attic clear helps one fight the fire, plus gives the bomb less "fuel" to ignite. During the talk, I let the public look at and handle an authentic (but inert) WWII German incendiary. Then we have a dummy made from wood (with an authentic set of tail fins) that we fit a smoke charge to. Without getting too deeply into the details, we then show the public how to fight and dispose of them. Of course, sometimes we have fun and show people how not to handle them, such as when Abbott and Costello "help" us:
Anyway, to make an already long story even longer, uh, I mean cut it short, we are always looking for more members. We especially need them at our Fort Miles events. We are one of the resident groups at Fort Miles, and that is because of the CD involvement there during the war. Fort Miles was the headquarters for the defense of the Delaware Bay and its coastline up to and including the southernmost reaches of the Delaware River. This included both military and civilian aspects of defense, so the Civilian Defense HQ at Fort Miles was rather important. We are in the midst of recreating that HQ, and are looking for more individuals who might be interested in this project and becoming a part of it. Here's a part of our display last November:
Oh, and did I mention it's right on the beach? That makes it even better!
PM me if you might be interested in helping or joining Kilroy's Homefront Commandos.
Cheers,
-Chris (aka "Kilroy")
