![]() ![]() ![]() Early gas masks were nothing more than cotton wool pads or cloth soaked in water or in some cases urine. As a result, Allied forces struggled to find effective countermeasures. ![]() So devastating was the attack that it almost enabled a rare German breakthrough. This attack caused an immediate panic leading to a massive retreat. When inhaled, the gas destroyed the alveoli of the lungs, causing men to essentially “drown” on the liquid created by their own bodies. The first chlorine gas attack, which hit French Colonial and Canadian troops, appeared as a yellowish-green cloud. Introduced during World War I, the French Army used the ARS 1917 until 1935. And while the gas actually killed very few combatants when compared to the vast numbers who gave their lives in the war (according to some sources, as many as 93 percent of gas casualties returned to duty within a few weeks), it was quite a success as a psychological weapon. But it was that calm April day that marked how truly devious gas could be as a weapon of war. ![]() While the first widespread use of poison gas occurred on April 22, 1915, near Ypres, Belgium, there had been previous small experiments by the Germans in the weeks prior to the attack. For soldiers on both sides, the horrific effects of the new weapon added another vital piece of equipment to the soldiers’ needs-the gas mask. In a conflict that already was infamous for reaching new depths in the shameful chronicle of man’s inhumanity to man, the new weapon proved to be so heinous that it was never used again on such a massive scale. Young visitors (photos above) enjoy putting on replica gas masks (these are completely safe, some World War Two ones have asbestos in them and should not be worn or handled without testing/careful controls).With World War I in a seeming stalemate, German forces in late April 1915 introduced a horrific new weapon to the fighting. Thankfully gas masks were not used in Britain in World War Two but serve as a grim reminder of the possible horrors of war and the amazing gift of peace in Europe which was achieved on VE Day 75 years ago. The Museum has another gas mask specifically aimed at children on display, this is the ‘Mickey Mouse’ gas mask. Her treatment of this piece of (potentially) lifesaving equipment was so careless that she had to have it replaced several times. She remembered getting in trouble for dragging her gas mask along the ground on the way to school. During a recent oral history project, the Museum spoke with a lady from Carlisle, who is now in her 90s. It is estimated that nearly 40 million gas masks were issued during World War Two. Fortunately, neither Britain or Germany used poisoned gas on one another during the War (although its possible use was discussed by both sides). Changes to aerial warfare meant that civilians could have been targeted and poison gas could have had a devastating impact had it been used on a large urban area. It provides lots of interesting information such as: -they were issued to the mother on the birth of a child -the gas mask was issued by he local council and was government property -it was expected that it would be returned (obviously some weren’t) -masks such as this were meant to be used for children up to the age of two Poisoned gas was widely used in World War One and, although its use was banned under the terms of a 1925 Geneva Protocol, both sides in World War Two anticipated its use by their enemies and prepared accordingly. We are also fortunate to have a document in the Museum collection which went with gas masks such as these when they were issued. One is on display in the Museum’s First Floor Second World War galleries and the other is in our object store (it was recently donated to the Museum and is unusual in that it came in its original box). The Devil’s Porridge Museum has several gas masks in its collection, some date from World War One but the majority were made during World War Two. ![]()
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