Second World War Midlands-based study of the history of gas in warfare and the best ways to counter and deal with its renewed use over Britain.
Small notebook (10x16cm) bound in grey cloth covered card, contained within an anonymous black folder. Author’s signature on the front pastedown: ‘A F Wilson 8 Stychedale Ave, Coventry’. Opposite an Index of contents with ‘folio’ numbers: 56ff - 112 pages of manuscript text in a mixture of pencil and inks with red for highlighting and diagrams - Wilson writes across the whole. The text is begins with the History of Gas Warfare, persistence of gas on the battlefield, classification of gases and their effects on troops, conditions for using gas and the chilling ‘Value of Gas in warfare’. There are notes on Gas duties, respirators and decontamination. Unusually Wilson writes across the whole opening of each double page.
Wilson sets out the history of WW1 gas attacks with care: ‘Oct 1914 - First used in Great War - 3000 sneezing shells sent over by Germans’ followed by the more lethal attack of ‘Apl 22 - 15 Cloud Gas attack launched by Germans against Allies. - 1700 cylinders of liquid chlorine sent from an area of 1 mile - 20000 casualties caused.... The war might have been won for Germany at this stage had she persisted with gas attack as we were totally unprepared.’ The chronology end 1941/2 with German claims ‘that British have been using poison gas... it requires us to be on the alert.’ Wilson sets out the need to prepare for gas attack ‘Getting the correct perspective or attitude towards Gas in the form of Attacks...’ His text then considers possible means of gas attack, methods of assessing different types of gas and their effects and remedies, all rendered with a high level of chemical and military expertise. Coventry was a centre of munitions manufacturing during the war; it seems likely that Wilson played some role in this industry and this manuscript was his professional contribution to preparations for the use of gas during the war.
