ARP Art

Most military photographs that cross the sea from Germany represent death-dealers--heavier bombs, bigger Berthas, faster Heinkels. Most military pictures that cross from France and Britain represent life-savers--slicker gas masks, thicker walls, deeper holes. Last week, straight from a Hounslow, Middlesex, firm with the reassuring name of Concrete, Ltd., came some examples of British ARP (Air Raid Precautions) art which would gladden the heart of any wisely defensive ostrich.

One picture represented 55 solid balls of concrete pyramided above sandbags piled on a segment of sewer pipe. When a 1,200-pound dummy bomb (Germany has some real ones weighing 2,200 pounds) was dropped on this monument, the only thing which had to be replaced was Concrete, Ltd.'s concrete balls. Another picture showed upright tapered steel outhouses onto which a brick wall was toppled without so much as denting them. These shelters were labeled: ARP CONSOL--Suitable Shelter for Key Personnel. Non-key personnel are supposed to be hiding in cellars.

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