Some very useful lessons in how fo plan effective defence of vital areas from alr attack were learned In during the recent. "black-out" of }400 square miles of the Note command, including the Medway towns—one of they is Chatham, the great Jdockyara port—and zones on both banks of the River Themes.
From just before midnight ti 2 jam. every light in this area, except special kinds of dim and "reflector" highting needed for the continuance Jessontiat services, was extinguished Jor hidden. A fTerritoriat anti-aircraft Jgroup manned the searchlights and guns. Local air raid precautions} services were mobilized to deal with representations of the fall of high Jexplosive, gas and incendiary bombs. Mobile first-aid parties, rescue parties, gas decontamination squads and Jambulance units ce-operated with fre brigades, police and alr-raid As the "enemy" raiders flew by, all the activities likely to arise from Jo raid were set In motion. "Fires and explosions were assumed to have Jeurred and. the various sections of the protective organization began their allotted tasks.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.