Fire Service Saves the Day on Hungerford Bridge

My late grandfather, Alfred Blanchard, was in the London Fire Service during WW2. He would spend one or two weekends a month in Moreton, Essex, with his family and was convinced the war was lost after seeing the effects of bombing in London.

One night's air raids left an unexploded parachute bomb on Hungerford Bridge, and Alfred was one of the first on the scene. I was told that he thought it a good idea to train a hose at it while waiting for bomb disposal personnel to arrive. He was encouraged to stop this action very quickly when they turned up!

The bomb was in the process of being made safe when Alfred was asked to find a thin piece of material to stop the detonator from closing. He smashed the window of a train at one end of the bridge and gave a piece of glass to the bomb disposal man. This act supposedly saved the day, Alfred was given the BEM and I believe his station commander was given the OBE.

I believe the same bridge was targeted by the IRA and that attempt was also foiled.

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