As German Luftwaffe stepped up their campaign to bomb the UK, many towns in the UK stepped up their fire drills. Blantyre was no exception. In March 1942, local men were drafted to become fire wardens and plenty were thought to be needed. The number of volunteers for this service was plentiful and people were required to be trained to deal with the fires that may have arose from bombing.
A regime of compulsory fire-watching was ordered, and two of the paid Blantyre wardens were transferred from that organisation to supervise 2,500 people who registered for fire-watching duties.
Those concerned had a circular sent to them outlining their duties and their hours of service. A film describing what was required of them was shown in the Community Service Hall, at 11am on 1st April 1942, and again the following week to suit those engaged on night-shift work.
