![]() Today’s DIY movement also reminds me of actions taken by some local authorities during the First World War to prepare civilians for aerial and naval bombardment. Source: North Yorkshire County Record Office, Z.1028. ![]() North Riding Lieutenancy pamphlet, February 1918. This has been described by some as akin to the ‘war effort’ embodied in the First and Second World Wars, where ordinary people, most often women, provided knitted clothing and other comforts to soldiers who were suffered shortfalls at the front. Newspapers had already published instructions for home-made face-coverings, while some people have taken to producing masks at home to donate to those in need, including healthcare and other key workers who are suffering severe shortages. Government guidance – for England and Scotland, at least – now advises people to wear face coverings on public transport and other enclosed spaces where distancing is difficult. Though such parallels between a public health emergency and armed conflict are very often ill-fitting and inappropriate – as Henry Irving has demonstrated in posts for the SHS Research Exchange and History & Policy – the ongoing debate about shortages of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) among healthcare workers and in society more generally has precedent in the history of early twentieth century conflict. ![]()
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