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The Special Repair Service (SRS) was a British civilian organisation that operated during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
under the control of the Ministry of Works. Its function was to travel anywhere in
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
to carry out essential building and structural repair work. SRS teams were usually the first on the scene of any new government construction job, laying the foundations and setting up camps for the main labour force. SRS men usually travelled by rail, but the organisation also operated Flying Squads, which travelled in
lorries A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...
with
caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals *Convoy, a group of veh ...
bodies in which they lived until permanent accommodation was available. The service recruited only men born before 1910 (although younger men were eligible if they had been certified unfit for military service) who had previous experience in the building industry. They signed on for a year at a time and were paid top building industry rates.


References

*''Special Repair Service'', Ministry of Works leaflet, 1943. *''S.R.S. - Join the Builders' Flying Squads'', Ministry of Works recruiting handbill, 1943. United Kingdom home front during World War II Construction organizations Defunct public bodies of the United Kingdom {{UK-org-stub