Original British WWII Wood Air Raid Alarm / Gas Rattle
In stock
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Original Item: Only One Available. In WWI poison gas was introduced, now totally outlawed as inhumane. With all the noise in the trenches, the wooden gas rattle was adopted to alert soldiers in the trenches of an impending attack. These rattles had a totally unique sound, and were quite jarring, being able to be heard above the din of war.
The fear of course once WWII began was that the NSDAP War machine would reintroduce poison gas, which would be delivered by aerial bombardment. We now know that no one used poison gas as a military weapon in WW2, so the Gas Rattles were instead used to warn people to get to shelters before air raids commenced. They became somewhat redundant once the country was covered by Air Raid sirens, but nevertheless in the early days every resource was put to use.
This example is in good condition but is unfortunately missing the metal resonator. The thin wood portion is still intact but very thin and could break easily, so we recommend not using this. It is still very sturdy and does appear to function still, we just did not test it out due to the age. It measures roughly 11 ½ x 9 x 2 ¼”.
An early authentic Air Raid warning rattle which would have been seen and used during London's Blitz. Comes ready for display.
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