As well as the infant gas mask, there was a gas-proof pram that could be used to protect babies from poisonous gas attacks. The British Hypo helmet Despite offering little help to soldiers, the hypo helmet did provide British troops with an indication that something was being done to help them get through gas attacks, which boosted morale. Other than a few publicity photos these helmets were never needed, as there was never a gas bomb attack on Great Britain. Luckily, they were never put to the test in a real situation. Therefore, all civilians were issued with gas masks. There was a very real fear in Britain that Nazi German bombers would drop poison gas bombs. During demonstrations there were reports that babies fell asleep and became unnaturally still inside the masks! It is likely that the pump didn't push enough air into the mask and the babies came close to suffocating. Gas masks were issued to all British civilians at the start of World War Two. In fact there was some question over the safety of the baby’s gas mask. Despite instruction courses, few parents were totally happy with putting their child in an airtight chamber. Health Visitors and Child Welfare Centres gave lessons on how to use the mask. When the gas masks were made people didn’t realise that asbestos was a dangerous substance. Why were people given gas masks during the war Why did people wer gas masks Everyone in Britain was given a gas mask in a. With the baby inside the mask, an adult could start to use the hand pump. This was pushed back and forth to pump air into the mask. Attached to this was a rubber tube shaped like a concertina with a handle. There was an asbestos filter on the side of the mask, and this absorbed poisonous gases. The canvas had a rubber coating to stop gas seeping through the material, and the straps were tied securely so that the mask was airtight. Then they wrapped the canvas part around the baby's body with the straps fastened under its bottom like a nappy, and its legs dangling free below. There were also special gas masks for babies - parents placed their baby inside the mask so that the head was inside the steel helmet and the baby could see through the visor. WWI German Maskenbrille Eyeglasses for Gas Masks - These eyeglasses were specifically designed to be worn with the gas mask and were issued for front-line. The gas mask in the picture was designed for people who had breathing difficulties or other medical problems and was more like a helmet as it fitted over an adult's entire head. An advisor to the government - Liddell Hart - told the government to expect 250,000 deaths in the first week of the war alone. The government had planned for tens of thousands of deaths in London alone. The first sequence consists of static or stop-action scenes of a number of gas masks or gashoods displayed one at a time against a white background. In 1938, the British Government gave everyone, including babies, gas masks to protect them in case the Germans dropped poison gas bombs on Britain. British stop-action and demonstration film of various gas masks and hoods used by both sides in the First World War, compiled about 1917.
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