A Blast from the Past on Kew Road Traditional Cache

The Air Ministry had forecast that Britain would suffer night air bombing attacks causing large numbers of civilian casualties and mass destruction. It was widely agreed that navigation and targeting would be more difficult if man-made lights on the ground could be extinguished.

Blackout regulations were imposed on 1 September 1939, before the declaration of war. These required that all windows and doors should be covered at night with suitable material such as heavy curtains, cardboard or paint, to prevent the escape of any glimmer of light that might aid enemy aircraft. External lights such as street lights were switched off, or dimmed and shielded to deflect light downward. Essential lights such as traffic lights and vehicle headlights were fitted with slotted covers to deflect their beams downwards to the ground. This made driving in the dark difficult, but something was done to help...

On a couple of the trees on Kew Road you can just about make out a couple of bands of fading white paint. These white markings made it possible to negotiate the road in the darkness of the blackout. Can you still see them?