Stretcher railings
London's stretcher railings are railings or fences that enclose some buildings in London. The railings are made of repurposed medical stretchers, left over from the Blitz. Their original design was purpose built and had numerous advantages for use during the war. The design lent itself to easy conversion to railings following the war. There exists a society for their preservation and upkeep.
History
[edit]The stretchers were commissioned for use for Air Raid Precautions (ARP) officers for use during air raids during the Blitz in World War II. Over 600,000 steel stretchers were originally built by the ARP.[1] The stretchers were mainly produced in manufacturing plants in Hertfordshire and the West Midlands. The scale of their production was interpreted as an expectation from the government of high casualties during the war.[2]
Stretcher design
[edit]The stretchers were made of a simple design of a single material.[2] The design had kinks on both ends which would elevate the bed from the ground when laid flat, and allowed medical personnel to easily pick up the stretcher.[3]
The simple all metal design allowed for easy mass production of the stretchers in wartime. The all-metal fabrication also allowed for easy cleaning in the event of gas attacks. The bed of the stretcher is composed of a woven metal mesh.[1] Metal was chosen as it was determined to be easier to clean and disinfect than the wood or fabric materials used in stretchers during World War I.[2]
Decommissioning and repurposing
[edit]Following the end of the war, the London City Council used the then-surplus stretchers as railing fixtures. These were used to replace many of the housing-estate fences that were stripped for metal during the war to aid the war effort. The stretchers were converted to railings with simple reconstruction suspending them from vertical supports.[1]
Some of the railing have since fallen into a state of disrepair due to extensive rusting.[4]
Conservation efforts
[edit]Due to their deterioration and rusting, some railings have been removed. The first noted instance of their removal was in East Dulwich.[4] At a nearby estate, Badminton House, railings have been preserved and their owners committed to maintaining them.[4]
An organisation, "The Stretcher Railing Society", was created to obtain funding and to assist local councils and conservation authorities in guiding the complex restorations needed for some of the deteriorating railings.[2][4] The society maintains a map of the known locations of the stretcher railings.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Kohlstedt, Kurt (1 December 2017). "The Stretcher Railing Society: Preserving WWII Artifacts Hidden in Plain Sight". 99% Invisible. Archived from the original on 17 December 2024.
- ^ a b c d Bird, Steve (15 August 2017). "Campaign to save World War II stretchers today serving the capital as railings". The Telegraph.
- ^ "About". stretcherrailings.com. Stretcher Railing Society.
- ^ a b c d e "The fight to save a hidden part of Britain's war history". CBC Radio. 10 November 2017.