RAF Oakington Volume 2 - The Airfield Research Group

2.6 Decontamination Annexe (10)
16 4 7 9 / 3 9 & 2 4 2 5 / 4 0 , N G R : TL 404 8 1 6 64 5 0
2.6.1 Introduction
The use of gas in war was outlawed by the Geneva Gas Protocol of
1925 (both Germany and Britain were signatories), but its production
and development were not. As a result the British Government, with
its previous experience of the ease with which signed agreements
were broken during hostilities, decided to develop gas weapons and
design methods of protection against their use. This included the construction of specialised
buildings so that in the event of such an attack, personnel who became gas casualties could
receive first-aid treatment and get decontaminated. The decontamination centre and annexe to
the sick quarters was designed to deal with most types of gas developed during WWI:
lachrymatory agents, respiratory agents and blister agents.
It was possible to protect oneself from many of the gases by wearing a respirator. Some gases
had distinctive odours that gave sufficient warning of their presence to allow personnel to take
cover inside a building or shelter. However mustard gas has only a faint smell of garlic and its
symptoms are not always apparent until sometime after the attack. In liquid or vapour form, the
skin can absorb mustard gas without the victim noticing. By the time irritation is felt, the agent
has penetrated the surface of the skin and started to cause serious damage. Therefore special
warning posts with metal plates coated with gas detection paint were placed at intervals along
pathways connecting with buildings; these would change colour when exposed to mustard gas.
The basic idea was to get out of all contaminated clothing and dispose of it, then wash
thoroughly and change into fresh clothing as soon as possible. If all this could be achieved
within 20 minutes of the initial contamination, serious injury could be avoided.
Two buildings were built at Oakington for the decontamination of personnel:
Annexe to sick Quarters (10) for wounded male and female personnel.
Decontamination centre type ‘G’ (13) for unwounded male and female personnel. This was
demolished along with the ambulance garage and mortuary (11) in 1989, to allow the
construction of a car park.
The chief architectural difference between the sick quarters annexe and the decontamination
centre is that the latter was a detached building. The annexe is also associated with the
disinfector house (52) where the contaminated clothes would be taken for boiling.
2.6.2 Operation
Wounded personnel requiring treatment for conventional wounds as well as decontamination
had to be cleaned and treated for the effects of the gas before entering the SSQ. A one-way
system was in force whereby wounded personnel (either walking or as stretcher cases) would
enter the annexe through one of two doorways located on the SE end elevation: men through
the left and women the right). Here there is a path with a gentle slope that functions as a
footbath of bleach solution. Guide rails (which are missing) were provided, as one of the effects
of mustard gas is blindness. The first room is a reception area and undressing room where
contaminated clothes are discarded through metal hoppers (these have been in-filled with brick)
where they fall into bins which were placed against the SE elevation, below the hoppers. The
concrete floor and internal rendered walls were treated with sodium silicate solution and the
floor has a drainage system to allow decontamination to be easily carried out. With the plant
running this part of the building operated at ambient air pressure and therefore, during a gas
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