Originally Posted by
Kev
Thanks for the interesting info, I didn't know the reason for the railings being taken down...
I knew since I was a kid that the railings were taken for use as scrap during the War, but then I was born right after the Second World War in 1948. Quite possibly it was my Grandad, who was in the Home Guard during the war, who told me that in one of our bus journeys into town on the 80 bus from Booker Avenue!
The question is... was the scrap iron not used for anything as has been stated in this thread? It couldn't be used for aircraft but couldn't it have been used to make steel battleships or guns?
Lord Beaverbrook also issued a call for aluminium which apparently was not used:
The Great Aluminium Scare began on 10 July 1940 and the ladies of Dartford responded magnificently. Lord Beaverbrook issued a manifesto through the papers "We will turn your pots and pans into Spitfires and Hurricanes, Blenheims and Wellingtons". Locals were encouraged to hand over all their aluminium utensils for use in the manufacture of aircraft. Mountains of pots and pans, shoe trees and bathroom fittings were handed over for recycling. Ironically, most of this aluminium was never used.
Dartford children joined enthusiastically in the national campaign for salvage. Salvage shops were opened where people might leave or report their scrap metal. From 1940 onwards, iron railings were removed from parks and gardens.
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From
Dartford at War 1939-1945
What's the proof that the scrap iron from the railings was dumped in the North Sea, or was it the aluminium that was dumped in the sea?
Chris
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