Fire Duty

Memories of WWII

My war began in 1938 when I had to register for National service we have to go back a few years to...

NFS North London Messengers Part 5

A TRIBUTE. by The Evening Standard and Citizens of London Printed on the back page of The Royal Albert Hall...

Tale of a West London Fireman

I did this for the remainder of the war and the system was that, although we were not in east London where...

Fire-Fighting during WW2

The lighthouse tower was never camouflaged as the Germans aircrafts when they came across the English...

Home Guard Brass Band

We could then train the mother in the use of the gasmask, which had to be pumped up with air when the...

Dad In The London Rescue Service

The following true story is as told to me by my father Charles Harte who was in charge of a rescue service...

Memories of Amble and district

One Sunday night, when the rest of the fire-fighting team was away on a training exercise leaving only my...

From Bricklayer to Fireman: On the 'Blue Watch' at Tooting Fire Station

We drove these cabs back to the main fire station....

Fire Service

Luckily for us, the A.T.S Catering Staff were still there,. It wasn't long after my short stay in...

Fire Service Messengers

I was the Senior Messenger for the Bromley division and often used to ride with the Divisional Officer in...

Bernard's Wartime Childhood in Ipswich

The shelter had its own distinctive atmosphere; a mixture of candlewax and the dank smell of earth.I can...

"Haben Sie Wasser Bitte?"

Bomb is the same in both languages, however aimer sounds very much like the German word "eimer"...

The Defence Medal

My father was awarded the Defence Medal for 6 years service in the Auxiliary and National Fire Service...

Fire Service

I was married on 10th May 1941 at St Bartholomew's Church Rock Ferry, to Darcy Hesketh and we held our...

One Man's War as a Fireman in Kent

He moved to Ramsgate when he was two, and went on to attend Chatham House School, along with his best...

Looking Back: Fire Service in Hastings

I, a twenty-two year of firewoman, was transferred from Salford Fire Station where I worked as station...

Gas Identification Officer for Bedford Borough

When war was declared in 1939 I was recruited to be Gas Identification Officer for the Borough of Bedford....

Doing My Bit

In September 1939 I was in the Commercial Sixth Form at the Blyth School in Norwich. I also helped at St...

East London Firewoman 1938-1945

I joined the Auxiliary Fire Service, part-time, in 1938 aged 20, at Station 22, Burdett Road, Bow,in East...

Stirrup hand-pump

Stirrup Pumps were used by Fire Guards to put out Incendiary bombs dropped by enemy planes to cause fires...

Doris's Story: In the Auxilliary Fire Service

We marched as a group to the station and transported to Barry Dock... While at Barry we were woken in the...

The Day War Began -James Annison

At the time I was working in an humdrum job in an Umbrella factory then on that Sunday my Birthday...

The Wartime Fire Station and Fire-Fighting Displays

Shortly before the war, the Fire Station was moved from the rear of the Town Hall to a new building...

Court Martial

As the war moved on the Air raids became less and people started to become somewhat complacent me included...

A Solicitor in the Fire Brigade

I remember after the fall of France - it would have been about 1942; our eldest child David, he was just...

The Ninety Day Raid: London Blitz

He was barely more than a teenager and kept calling "mutti, mutti". Some local women took him in...