Notts Firefighter Memorial

Some of the stories of those that we wish to remember

Frank Bennett, Raymond Burrows, Albert Cooke, Alan Day, Clifford Fardon, Charles Gooding, Philip Hunsley,

James Shelley, Albert Smith, Cyril Theaker, John Tyers, Ruth Willis, Joe Wright.

Fireman James Shelley

Auxiliary Fire Service
Died: 2nd February 1940

James Shelley was born in Litchfield in 1894 and at the age of seventeen he enlisted with the 3/South Staffordshire regiment Special Army Reserves in February 1912. In June of that year he then enlisted in the South Staffordshire Regiment.

When the First world war broke out he went to France as part of the British expeditionary Force which was know as the 'Old Contemptibles'. The regular army adopted this title themselves after the Kaiser of Germany referring them as a contemptible little army.

James served on the Western Front and was transferred back to the army reserve in April 1919. Lieutenant Colonel Davidson described him on his discharge papers as "Hardworking, willing, good tempered, honest and sober."

He took upemployment at Cannock chase Colliery where he became a Coal Cutter Chargeman. He moved to Nottingham and on 8th August 1928 he married Adelaide Taylor. They had one son and at that time were living on Dorset Street.

James joined the Auxiliary Fire Service and attended many fire calls both prior to the outbreak of the Second World War and afterwards. It was following one protracted incident where he had been soaked through by freezing cold water for many hours that he fell ill. He deteriorated and doctors diagnosed that he had pneumonia. He finally succumbed to this on 2nd February 1940.

He is officially recorded as having died due to illness contracted on duty as a result of firefighting.

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Fireman Clifford Fardon

Auxiliary Fire Service

Fatally injured: Coventry 14th November 1940

An air raid on Coventry on 14th November 1940 become infamous for the level of destruction caused to the city.

Assistance was called for from other regions and fire pumps and crews from Nottingham were sent to help the hard pressed Coventry firemen. One of the Nottingham crews was fire fighting when a high explosive bomb fell right next to them. The crew were stunned by the blast and when they came to; they found that Fireman Fardon was seriously injured.

Fireman William Chadwick described the scene. "Fireman Fardon was right next to me when the bomb fell and it was a terrible bang. You could have put a bus into the crater it left. Why the rest of us escaped serious injury I shall never know. We all got up after the explosion, but he couldn't, poor devil. I think he was unconscious and his leg was all smashed up with the bone sticking out." Fireman Fardon was placed into the care of an ambulance crew and he was taken to Rugby Hospital.

The crew then turned their attention back to the task of firefighting. Their towing vehicle and equipment had been damaged by the explosion, but worst of all their trailer pump had been put out of action completely. At this stage, they could perhaps have been forgiven for deciding there was nothing they could do to help and in fact they would have been justified in finding a first aid post and getting their injuries seen to. Instead, they searched around until they found another trailer pump that had been abandoned by its crew. The reason quickly became obvious because, just like their own, it would not work. They eventually got the engine to start, found a water supply from a fire hydrant and recommenced the job they had been sent to do; put fires out.

The following day, the crew learned that Fireman Fardon had died of his injuries at Rugby Hospital. The crew received praise, from Herbert Morrison the Home Security Minister. He sent each of them a letter which said: "Your devotion to duty was deserving of high praise. I have pleasure in informing you that his majesty has been graciously pleased to give orders for the publication of your name as having received an expression of commendation of your services" As a result of this King's Commendation, they were entitled to wear a Silver Oak Leaf on the ribbon of their Defence Medal.

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Ruth Willis

First Aid Party Air Raid Precautions Service

Killed: Laxton 28th August 1940

At 22:25 hours, six high explosive bombs fell in Laxton along with two large calibre oil incendiary bombs and numerous one kilogram incendiaries. Ruth Willis, was on duty as a member of the Air Raid Precautions Service First Aid Party in Laxton.

She was by her front door at The Old School House in the village when the first bomb fell into her front garden. The shrapnel killed Ruth, and seriously injured two other people from the first aid party who were standing near where their ambulance was parked. Damage was caused to several other houses, farm buildings and the village school.

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Firemen Raymond Burrows, Joe Wright, Alan Day, Albert Cooke.

Auxiliary Fire Service
Killed: Manchester, 23rd December 1940

An eleven hour air attack was carried out on Manchester by 270 aircraft. The aircraft dropped 272 tonnes of high explosive bombs and 37,152 incendiaries on Manchester alone.

The firemen had an insurmountable task to control over 400 fires that were consuming entire blocks of buildings. Three Nottinghamshire firemen from Kirkby, Raymond Burrows, Joe Wright, and Alan Day, were killed on 23rd December during the raid.

Manchester was attacked again that night and the Luftwaffe crews could see the glow that was Manchester from as far away as London. 171 enemy aircraft bombed the city for five hours, unleashing 195 tonnes of high explosive bombs and another 7,000 incendiaries. During the raid, another of Nottinghamshire's firemen, Albert Cooke, was seriously injured and after being treated in hospital at Manchester, he was returned home. He subsequently died of his injuries.

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Cyril Theaker

First Aid Party Air Raid Precautions Service

and

Charles Gooding

Air Raid Warden Air Raid Precautions Service

Killed: Nottingham 8th May 1941

107 aircraft were assigned to raid Nottingham. During the raid, one 'stick' of bombs fell in a line from Kentwood Road to Lichfield Road in Sneinton. A shop was wrecked on the corner of Port Arthur Road and the gas main in the street was blazing fiercely.

In Baden Powell Road, four men were out in the street when a bomb fell. Charles Gooding, the ARP warden, Cyril Theaker a member of the first aid party as well as a fire watcher, Cyril Parkes and a nineteen year old soldier, Joseph Murquis. The blast killed Gooding, Murquis and Theaker.

Cyril Parkes was seriously injured and suffered from ill health for over forty years due to his injuries.

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Fireman John Tyers

National Fire Service

Fatally injured: Ollerton 4th November 1941

John Tyers was a French Polisher by trade and he joined the Auxiliary Fire Service before the Second World War.

In September 1939 he was called up as a full time member of the fire service and was stationed at Eastcroft Fire Station which was off London Road, Nottingham. John was involved in fire fighting during the Blitz of 1940 and 1941 in Cities and Towns all over the country. On May 8th and 9th 1941, Nottingham, West Bridgford, Colwick, Carlton and Beeston were heavily raided. John reported for duty when the air raid sirens went and when he did not return home again the next day, his wife Mary tried to find what had happened to him. She eventually found him on 10th May along with other fire crews at the rubble that had once been the Co-Operative Bakery in Meadow Lane, Nottingham. We can only imagine Mary's relief when she found her husband alive.

In August 1941, the National Fire Service was formed and this absorbed all the fire services in the United Kingdom, including the Auxiliary Fire Service. As well as his role as a fireman, John was also a dispatch rider and he regularly took messages all over the country, including Bletchley Park which was a centre for intelligence gathering during the war. John would sometimes be away for two or three days at a time whilst working as a dispatch rider.

On 4th November 1941, John was carrying messages and he rode his motorbike down the A614. As he reached the roundabout at Ollerton, a lorry collided with him and John died of a fractured skull. He was the first member of the National Fire Service to be killed on duty in Nottinghamshire.

Mary Tyers was left to bring up her two daughters aged seven and two as best she could.
She struggled for a long time on a pension of £0.4s.3d. (21p) and had to work hard just to make up the deficit of the 10 shillings (50p) per week rent that she had to find.
John was 30 years old when he died and is buried in Carlton Cemetery.

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Divisional Officer Frank Bennett

Nottingham City Fire Brigade

Fatally injured: Nottingham 5th November 1948

On 5th November 1949, the city brigade were kept busy attending bonfires that had got out of control and other fires that had been caused by sparks from bonfires or fireworks.

A call was received at the Brigade control room stating that Wall's Ice Cream Factory on Castle Boulevard was on fire.

Upon arrival fire crews could see no obvious signs of fire. A ladder was pitched to the flat roof of the factory so that a check could be made on the rear of the premises. Firemen Chris Raybould accompanied Frank Bennett onto the roof and they established it was a false alarm. They could not be sure however, whether it was a malicious call made by some one who knew there was no fire, or whether the call was made with good intent by someone mistakenly thinking the building was on fire. They went back towards the ladder, but Frank Bennett made a fatal mistake. He accidentally stepped off the edge of the roof and crashed to the ground landing on the base of his spine; this caused him to fracture his skull. He was rendered unconscious immediately.

The fire crew were able to get down to him as he lay in the rear yard of the factory and sent a message back to their control room requesting an ambulance. Frank was taken to the Nottingham General Hospital where he died three days later having never regained consciousness.

Chris Raybould believed that Frank mistakenly thought that the roof stretched further than it did. This illusion was created by the very high wall at the rear of the factory which cast a shadow over the entire roof area. In the darkness, this shadow looked solid as if it was part of the roof. Frank Bennett had survived fire fighting in the blitz and had escaped with minor injuries when a bomb fell directly opposite his house in Charlbury Road, but fate played a trick when his luck ran out at a false alarm.

Anyone who knew Frank described him as a gentleman and the firemen respected him as a very capable and fair officer.

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Station Officer Albert Smith

Nottingham City Fire Brigade

Killed: Nottingham 16th January 1969

The brigade were called to Dakin's warehouse on Talbot Street at 02:35 and Station Officer Albert Smith was in charge of the first crews to arrive.

Fifteen pumping appliances, two turntable ladders an emergency tender and the control unit attended the fire.

During the four hour struggle to control the fire, Albert Smith was found collapsed in the street. He was taken to the Nottingham General Hospital, but was confirmed dead.

Bob Nurcombe, a leading Fireman with the City Brigade, saw Albert at around 02:50 whilst he was still directing the firefighting operation. "He had been in the building, but when I saw him he had come out. I got the impression that he was suffering from the effects of the smoke. He had just about had it."

The news of Station Officer Smith's death had a profound effect on the men still tackling the blaze. Divisional Officer Ted Cowling said: "…this fire was one of the most hazardous that we have had for some considerable time. In the incipient stages when Station officer Smith was in charge, it must have been quite strenuous for him, but it was due to his efforts that the fire was brought under control quickly and with no further loss of life."

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Leading Firefighter Philip Hunsley

Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service

Died: East Leake 24th March 1998

Philip Hunsley was a very community minded person and believed in serving the public.

The fire station in East Leake, where Philip lived, were recruiting part time firefighters in 1988 and it was no surprise to Philip's family that he enrolled to become a retained firefighter. Philip was just completing his basic training in January1989 when the Kegworth air crash occurred. The fire appliance from East Leake was mobilised to the incident, but Philip was not able to attend. He was frustrated by this, but it showed him just exactly what being a firefighter was about and spurred him on to contribute to a service that was held in high esteem. In 1998, Philip had been promoted to Leading Fireman and was approaching his 55th birthday. He knew that it was obligatory for him to retire, but he wanted to continue to serve, and asked for permission to extend his service by six months so that he could assist with training new recruits at East Leake. The Chief Fire Officer granted the permission and Philip was pleased that he would have a final six months of public service. On 24th March 1998 he was at the fire station in East Leake with other members of the crew undertaking training to rescue people trapped in Road Traffic Collisions. The training had gone well and just before 21:00 hours, they re-stowed the equipment that had been used and removed their fire kit. A few minutes later and without any warning, Philip suddenly collapsed. The fire crew immediately suspected a heart attack. They called an ambulance and began a resuscitation attempt on Philip. Using the oxygen resuscitator from the fire appliance and carrying out chest compressions, they worked on Philip until the ambulance crew arrived. Philip's wife and son arrived at the station and they could see that he everyone was doing all they could to resuscitate him.

Philip was conveyed to the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham by ambulance and he was pronounced dead on arrival. It was subsequently confirmed that he had died of a Myocardial Infarction (heart attack). He had died just one week before his 55th birthday when he could have retired. Philip was cremated and his ashes were scattered by his family at Spurn Point on the East Coast which were his wishes. Spurn Point was a favourite spot for Philip where he indulged his other great passion - bird watching. Philip is still well remembered in the village as his commitment to public service.

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We are indebted to the families who have provided the insight into the life of those that we wish to honour.

Many of these accounts are taken from David Needhams book "The Battle of the Flames", others have been given to us as a result of the publicity created by the memorial appeal.

web master Alan Yeo

September 4, 2011