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David Oliver speaks to Erica Castle on 10.5.05 about his Grandfather, Sir John William Lampton Oliver. David became a seaman but was still in school during WW2.

In 1924 the Government were very concerned about gas attacks during WW1 and so started to develop gas masks for their 40 million civilians in case of another war.

By 1936 it was important to get production going and in order to do this borrowed naval store and admiralty staff. David’s Grandfather, Sir John William Lampton Oliver, Director of Naval Stores who had retired in 1934, was bought back into the admiralty and loaned to the ARP ministry. He and his team made 250,000 gas masks per week in three different sizes. They were made in Barnsley, Yorkshire and cost two shillings each. 40million masks were produced in total.

Rubber content was a problem and as rubber was not durable in normal air conditions, masks had to be stored in containers with nitrogen gas. Storage of such a large number was also a problem until they were distributed at the end of 1939. The team also had to train people in how to fit them and use them properly.

David has already researched this in War museum in London and found no mention of his grandfather but insists, ‘He’s the man who did it!’

David’s father was an army paymaster. At the time the family were living in Jamaica. David well recalls him having to go to the local post office after receiving a call from the post lady to say there was a parcel for him. He set off with a soldier, two revolvers and a rifle, and duly picked up the parcel, returned to the office and found £40,000, which he had to count, and use to pay the soldiers and navy sailors. The parcel was simply labelled ‘Treasury’.

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