Civil Defence Corps

The Civil Defence Corps (CDC) was a civilian volunteer organisation established in Great Britain in 1949 to mobilise and take local control of the affected area in the aftermath of a major national emergency, principally envisaged as being a Cold War nuclear attack. By March 1956, the Civil Defence Corps had 330,000 personnel. It was stood down in Great Britain in 1968. Many other countries maintain a national Civil Defence Corps, including the Isle of Man Civil Defence Corps and the Civil Defence Ireland in the Republic of Ireland. These corps usually have a wide brief for assisting in large scale civil emergencies such as flood, earthquake, invasion, or civil disorder.