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Elasticated Cord used inside barrage balloons.

This piece of cord shown below was kept as a souvenir by a lady called Joan Evans who worked in Cardiff during the war.

She worked  making barrage balloons and was once working inside the envelope of a barrage balloon when an air raid was sounded.

 As the balloons only had a small tube like entrance and exit there was only a narrow aperture for them to leave the balloon  and a couple

 of women in the team began to panic. The forewoman then picked up a hammer and threatened to "brain" anyone who didn't leave calmly

 so they all did so and made their way to the air raid shelter.

Diameter of the cord is three eighths of an inch while the individual rubber strands are one millimeter square.

You can see and feel the great elasticity this cord produced when under tension.