Stretcher railing – Wikipedia

London fences made from stretchers

Stretcher railings are railings or fences which enclose some buildings in London, England, that were made of repurposed medical stretchers left over from the Blitz during World War II. The stretchers’ original form followed a purpose-built design and had numerous advantages for use during the war, and when they became unnecessary surplus after the war, their design and steel construction proved to be suitable for easy conversions to railings. The Stretcher Railing Society promotes their preservation and upkeep.

During the Blitz, the German aerial bombing of the United Kingdom between September 1940 and May 1941, over 600,000 steel stretchers were commissioned for use by Air Raid Precautions (ARP) officers in the course of air raids.^[1] The stretchers were mainly produced in manufacturing plants in Hertfordshire and the West Midlands. The scale of their production was interpreted as an expectation from the government for high casualties during the war.^[2]

The stretchers were made to a simple design and of a single material.^[2] The design had kinks on both ends which would elevate the bed from the ground when laid flat, and allowed medical personnel to easily pick up the stretcher.^[2] The simple all-metal design allowed for easy mass production of the stretchers in wartime, and for easy cleaning in the event of gas attacks. The bed of the stretcher is composed of a woven metal mesh.^[1] Metal was chosen as it was considered easier to clean and disinfect than the wood or fabric materials used in stretchers during World War I.^[2]

Following the end of the war, the London County Council used the then-surplus stretchers as railing fixtures. These were used to replace many of the housing-estate fences that were stripped for metal during the war to aid the war effort. The stretchers were converted to railings using simple reconstructions suspending them from vertical supports.^[1] Some of the railings have since fallen into a state of disrepair due to extensive rusting.^[3]

This deterioration has led to the removal of some railings, with the first instance noted in East Dulwich. At the nearby estate of Badminton House, railings have been preserved and their owners have committed to maintaining them.^[3] The Stretcher Railing Society was created to obtain funding and to assist local councils and conservation authorities in implementing the complex restorations needed for some of the deteriorating railings.^[2][3] As of 2017^[update], the society maintained a map of known stretcher railings locations.^[3]