Gents siren

[satan18]

Hi
Slightly diversing from bombs and things,this is one of my
British made WW2 Air Raid sirens.

Gents of leicester won the initial contract to supply London and the home counties with 7000 sirens in 1938.

This one came from government buildings in whitehall london,were it had sat in its own housing since the war until decommisioned in 1991.

Not many of the original models now survive and i had to fully restore this to near factory condition.

we have yet to fire it up on full power but know it does work.

If this could talk then i think its seen some serious bombing in London.

 

[satan18]

Gents Air Raid Siren

This is my Gents Air Raid Siren that i fully restored,
It is one of 7000 made in 1938 for a government
contract,won by Gents of Leicester.

This one came from goverment buildings in whitehall London
and was de comisioned in 1991.

Not many of the original style sirens left now and she works.
waiting for the right time to test on full power.

 

[waffenamt]

Ive seen one attached to the side of a country pub in Lancashire.
Its in a fair old condition but i knew what it was when i first clapped eyes on it!
Im sure i once saw one of these on ebay a while ago too?

best

waff

 

[jayteepee_1999]

There are still some hanging round on old RAF Buildings on disused camps. I am sure the local owners will be willing to let them go.

 

[satan18]

Would love to have a recce round to see what is still about

satan

 

[Chris 42 RQ]

Fire alarm

Our local village fire station had one of those shoved up on a pole, sadly it disappeared many years ago, the colours were the same.

How much does it weigh ?

Chris :tinysmile_shy_t:

 

[satan18]

Hi Chris

she is comparable to a nice size german bomb

As she sits it weighs 348lbs which being cast iron does add up.

Regards phil

 

[Chris 42 RQ]

Heavy !

Thanks Phil-phew, I hope you had lifting gear for that one ?

Cheers

Chris :tinysmile_shy_t:

 

[corblimy]

Makes me wonder if the Ware (Hertfordshire) town siren is still on top of the old Library. It was used post war, and I might add, right up to about 1970 or so. Its use then was to call the part time fire fighters to man their vehicle! The signal used was one long continuous wail, it was the air raid siren during the war and could also tell a tale or two!

 

[Chris 42 RQ]

Siren !

The old wartime Siren in Wokingham town is still in place on top of the old Town hall which became the Firestation and was then sold off for offices-I have been told that it still sounds as part of the "Broadmoor" warning system.

Chris :tinysmile_shy_t:

 

[Jason]

Hello,
You've done a fantastic job.Do you mind me asking exactly what the restoration entailed? I have just aquired a 3 phase electric siren which needs restoring but i'm not sure where to start,any advice would be welcome!

 

[Jason]

Hello,you've done a great job on your siren! Is it still 3 phase? I have just aquired an electric 3 phase siren which needs restoring and was made by brook motors and is dated 1936.Do you mind me asking exactly what your restoration entailed please as i'm not sure where to start with mine.How did you aquire your siren and has it cost you much to restore?
Many Thanks

 

[satan18]

Hi Jason many thanks
Time more than money with this one as it had been all rewound in the 70s to star delta three phase and had been living in its own shelter on top of government buildings whitehall.

Still stripped to a nut and bolt and windings cleaned and inspected and tested by my local rewind company 20

Sand blasted as component parts 30

Half litre etch primer and 2k matched grey 65.00

Rotor Red from B&Q plasticote gloss red

Re assemblie 3 hrs hey presto.

I made the rotor plates as per the early sirens without heater elements

These are the original contract sirens as supplied to all the home counties
just before the begining of WW2 .post war sirens had 18 inch diameter rotors,and ally outer bodies.

Have a look at andrew pollards air raid siren website very good pictures


Regards phil

 

[Jason]

Hi Phil,Many Thanks for that.I had a look at Andrews website,most interesting.Have you been to the following site? : www.geocities.com/foxeye/121/sirens.htm
Did you spray your siren yourself? I think i am missing the rotar plates on mine as the outer bodies have got holes around the outer edge so i guess thats what the holes are for.I'm not sure if mine needs a rewind as i don't know much about these things and i've been told that if it does it will be expensive! I noticed that your interested in German air ordnance,do you like German ww2 Incendiary bombs? I've got 10 complete and a few fins.Do you know what colour grey was used on your siren? Mine has'nt got any paint left on the main body as it was stripped off by the previous owner but the rotars are red and the bodies black which is probably incorrect.Would you ever consider selling your siren and if so what sort of figure? Don;t answer that one if you don't want to.
Kind Regards, Jason

 

[Fuzeman]

We have have one on the old Pinner police station, but the station is still in use

 

[spotter]

thought you might be interested in these hand cranked ones
http://www.specialistauctions.com/auctiondetails.php?id=1087809

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/AIR-RAID-SIREN_W0QQitemZ230300226233QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item230300226233&_trkparms=72%3A1121%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

 

[Jason]

Hi,Many Thanks for that!!

 

[jayteepee_1999]

thought you might be interested in these hand cranked ones
http://www.specialistauctions.com/auctiondetails.php?id=1087809

This bloke has a 28lb practice bomb on the floor, in his photo!

 

[satan18]

Hi Phil,Many Thanks for that.I had a look at Andrews website,most interesting.Have you been to the following site? : www.geocities.com/foxeye/121/sirens.htm
Hi Jason
I have access to full painting facilities so that wasnt a problem as this is the 5th siren i have restored but am left with my favorite for many reasons.
This was sold in 1990 at an RAF benevolant auction,and its history was known then as per the catalogue description.
Also under the old paint was engraved MP390 which stands for Metropolitan (the area) and the 390th siren in maintenance,Like all street lamps are numbered so were the sirens.
I have another made by castle castings and with the brooks compton
motor 7.5 horse power big by siren terms that i will be restoring shortly.
This one came from the entrance to blackwall tunnel in 1992.
I sold two wartime Gents sirens and one went for 800 and the nicer one went for 1060 both with historys.
Brooks compton made milling machinery and laythes before the war and did
produce some sirens,but were soon to be replaced by the Gents ones as the initial contract for 7000 units was won by them.
castle castings started to replace the gents sirens in the 60s,
not all of them though as i remember several being near were i lived right up until the nineties.
We are now the only countrie without a national emergencie siren system
and this was done aparently due to maintenance costs and double glazing
muffeling the sounds.
My sister heard mine a mile away with no trouble.

Like the sound of your incendairys as my passion is air dropped ordnance
all german and as you have probably seen i am restoring an SC500
which is rather heavy,have got a few early fire bombs and some butterflys
which i cant resist.

Check out the wiring in the terminal box and if there is three then it is
original being three lives and no earth.

Regards phil

 

[satan18]

Hi Steve
Any chance of snapping a picture of it in situe

Regards phil