Modern Echoes
Events from the past often reflect contemporary concerns. The following documents are offered as examples that can be used to generate class discussion about contemporary issues from past experiences.
Documents
- Central Conference of Chief Constables 16th September 1942: Agenda Item 6 (and Minute Item 13) on Arming the Police.
Remember that until very recently it was extremely rare for police officers anywhere in Britain to carry guns.
- Central Conference of Chief Constables 16th September 1942: Agenda Item 12 (and Minute Item 19) on identity cards.
Identity cards were required from the beginning of the war. The government never claimed that this was to prevent spies and saboteurs. Rather the card was part of a system of national registration so that the government had a better idea of available, productive manpower. The government also claimed that it was a way of ensuring that, in the context of the evacuation of children for example, families would never be permanently separated. If people carried identity cards, it was argued, parents and children could easily be traced and brought back into contact with one another. Identity cards were abolished in 1952.
- Copy of a child’s identity card.
The format of a child identity card was almost identical to that of an adult.
Modern Echoes
