A Second World War gas mask may seem firmly from the past, but we have all got used to wearing protective masks recently. Luckily the masks we have are very different from the heavy, awkward ones designed to protect British people from German wartime gas attacks They had to be carried at all times, but luckily the gas attacks never came so masks weren’t needed.
The mask was originally used in the Brook Hospital on Shooter’s Hill, built for patients with infectious disease like typhoid, scarlet fever and diphtheria. In the last year, hospitals have been specially built for those suffering from a new infectious disease – COVID-19. Do you have a COVID-19 story to tell us?
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