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deal of time has been spent in following them up. In 1956, a Home Office circular
advised local authorities to make a final effort to interest these volunteers in the training
programme and to withdraw all those who did not indicate that they wished to continue
training. As a result of the circular, the numbers of the ambulance and casualty collecting
section are being reduced to a more realistic figure.
Recruiting
campaign
Despite the withdrawal of inactive volunteers, the membership of the section did
not fall very sharply in 1956. This was principally because of the success of the autumn
recruiting campaign. A number of displays were staged in various parts of London
during September and October by the Council and the metropolitan boroughs
to show the civil defence services in action. These displays took place at night
in the light of arc lamps and were designed to show the co-operation between the
different sections and the role each would play in an emergency. The ambulance and
casualty collecting section played an important part in the production and presentation
of these displays.
Exercises
Ihroughout the year careful thought was given to the problems which would be
created by the use of thermo-nuclear weapons and volunteers from the ambulance and
casualty collecting section took part in two large-scale exercises in which a hydrogen
bomb was assumed to have burst over London. One,' Exercise Trafalgar ', was designed
to test the control and movement of the mobile services from the depot areas into the
capital, while the other ' Exercise Barbigate was concerned with the problems confronting
civil defence forces which had arrived in the affected area. Exercises of this
kind are essential if civil defence planning is to be capable of immediate application in an
emergency. During 1956, volunteers from this section took part in 23 exercises organised
by metropolitan boroughs and in eight exercises organised by industrial civil defence
units.
Selection of
officers
At the end or the year, the first selection course for officers was held and after
examination eight shift leaders and eight deputy shift leaders were appointed. Volunteers
are being invited to attend officer selection courses in order of enrolment and all fully
trained members of the section will have an opportunity to attend.
Visit by
Home
Secretary
On the 27th February, 1956, Major the Rt. Hon. Gwilym Lloyd George, the
Secretary of State for Home Affairs, visited the Fourth Arms Training Centre and saw an
Courses of
training
ambulance section class in progress.
During 1956, the following evening courses were held for civil defence volunteers :
Ambulance Section, Part I .. 12 First Aid Practical Revision .. 6
Ambulance Section, Part II 12 Ambulance Section Practical Revision 5
First Aid .. .. .. .. 8 New Entrants Course .. .. 1
Driving and Maintenance .. 9 Officers Selection Course .. .. 1
Casualty Simulation .. .. 1
Training of
the regular
staff
The training of the operative staff of the London Ambulance Service in civil defence
duties continued throughout the year and 13 lectures were given to various outside
organisations on the work of the ambulance and casualty collecting section. On 12
occasions, Civil Defence ambulance and staff helped with industrial civil defence
training.
In 1956, five members of the staff attended the Home Office Civil Defence School
at Falfield and one was awarded a special civil defence instructor's certificate and four
received full certificates.
Instructors
Statistics
Statistics for the directly provided service are divided into two sections—the accident
section and the general section—and are shown in the table on page 84 for 1938 (the
last full year before the war), 1947 (the last full year before the inception of the National
Health Service) and 1951-56, inclusive. The table also includes annual statistics of the
work performed by the agency and supplementary services on behalf of the London
Ambulance Service during the period 1951-56.
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