Last Friday, the staff from the DCBN centre ( Defence Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear), very kindly allowed us access to film and browse through their extensive collection of maps, magazines and respirators, stretching right back to the very earliest attempts at protection from poisonous gases.
We were able to actually wear some of these very early protective interventions and the photograph attached shows Prudence in an early fabric respirator from World War I. The experience was not pleasant, quite claustrophobic, both physically and psychologically, and one can only wonder at the experience of those early soldiers who faced such fearful attacks with what was in the early days, somewhat rudimentary kit.
In contrast, respirators are displayed right up to the present day state-of-the-art NBC respirator, which includes a fail safe drinking device, a secondary speech transmitter which can accept special microphones and corrective lenses where necessary in the eyepieces. Unfortunately of course, as the technology to protect against chemical and biological attack has evolved considerably, so too has the capability of many more countries to deploy an ever widening range of weaponry.