Firefighting the Blitz

Firefighting the Blitz PDF Author: Aylmer Firebrace CBE KPM
Publisher: Frontline Books
ISBN: 1399015028
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description
War was coming. Everyone knew that confrontation with Nazi Germany was inevitable and that London was likely to be a prime target of Hitler’s bombers. So, in January 1939, Aylmer Firebrace, the Chief Officer of London Fire Brigade, was seconded to the Home Office to plan for the capital’s fire defence. Before joining the Fire Brigade, Aylmer Firebrace had been a Royal Navy officer who had fought in the Battle of Jutland during the First World War. It was following the Armistice that, in 1919, he became principal officer in the London Fire Brigade. He was promoted to deputy chief and finally chief officer in June 1938.. That war struck London soon enough, but it was on 7 September 1940, that Firebrace’s preparations were truly tested with the start of the Blitz. For the next fifty-seven days and nights London was subjected to the longest continuous bombing campaign in history. Then, as the Luftwaffe ranged wider and further across Britain’s towns and cities, Firebrace was tasked with toured the nation to see the effects of the bombing, at which point he saw the need for a national response. The result was the creation of the National Fire Service. Formed in August 1941, by the amalgamation of some 1,600 separate brigades, this remarkable organisation had, at its peak, a strength of 370,000 men and women. It was led for its entire existence by Aylmer Firebrace. As the war continued, Firebrace became Chief of the Fire Staff and Inspector-in-Chief of the Fires Services, being the first and, to date, only person to head all the fire-fighting services in Britain. This body had to deal with the expansion of the Blitz as well as the so-called ‘Baedeker’ raids, the ‘tip-and-run’ attacks, Baby Blitz and V1 and V2 offensives of the later years of the war. In his fascinating account, written immediately the war, Firebrace reflects on the functioning of the fire service at its most testing time. This book is an essential addition to the understanding of the Blitz and how London and the rest of the country survived its darkest hour.

Firefighting the Blitz

Firefighting the Blitz PDF Author: Aylmer Firebrace CBE KPM
Publisher: Frontline Books
ISBN: 1399015028
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 344

Get Book

Book Description
War was coming. Everyone knew that confrontation with Nazi Germany was inevitable and that London was likely to be a prime target of Hitler’s bombers. So, in January 1939, Aylmer Firebrace, the Chief Officer of London Fire Brigade, was seconded to the Home Office to plan for the capital’s fire defence. Before joining the Fire Brigade, Aylmer Firebrace had been a Royal Navy officer who had fought in the Battle of Jutland during the First World War. It was following the Armistice that, in 1919, he became principal officer in the London Fire Brigade. He was promoted to deputy chief and finally chief officer in June 1938.. That war struck London soon enough, but it was on 7 September 1940, that Firebrace’s preparations were truly tested with the start of the Blitz. For the next fifty-seven days and nights London was subjected to the longest continuous bombing campaign in history. Then, as the Luftwaffe ranged wider and further across Britain’s towns and cities, Firebrace was tasked with toured the nation to see the effects of the bombing, at which point he saw the need for a national response. The result was the creation of the National Fire Service. Formed in August 1941, by the amalgamation of some 1,600 separate brigades, this remarkable organisation had, at its peak, a strength of 370,000 men and women. It was led for its entire existence by Aylmer Firebrace. As the war continued, Firebrace became Chief of the Fire Staff and Inspector-in-Chief of the Fires Services, being the first and, to date, only person to head all the fire-fighting services in Britain. This body had to deal with the expansion of the Blitz as well as the so-called ‘Baedeker’ raids, the ‘tip-and-run’ attacks, Baby Blitz and V1 and V2 offensives of the later years of the war. In his fascinating account, written immediately the war, Firebrace reflects on the functioning of the fire service at its most testing time. This book is an essential addition to the understanding of the Blitz and how London and the rest of the country survived its darkest hour.

Firefighting the Blitz

Firefighting the Blitz PDF Author: Aylmer Firebrace CBE KPM
Publisher: Frontline Books
ISBN: 1399015001
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 415

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Book Description
The former Chief Officer of London Fire Brigade offers his account of life in fire services in London and around Britain during World War II. War was coming. Everyone knew that confrontation with Nazi Germany was inevitable, and that London was likely to be a prime target of Hitler’s bombers. So, in January 1939, Aylmer Firebrace, the Chief Officer of London Fire Brigade, was seconded to the Home Office to plan for the capital’s fire defence. Before joining the Fire Brigade, Aylmer Firebrace had been a Royal Navy officer who had fought in the Battle of Jutland during the First World War. It was following the Armistice that, in 1919, he became principal officer in the London Fire Brigade. He was promoted to deputy chief and finally chief officer in June 1938. That war struck London soon enough, but it was on 7 September 1940, that Firebrace’s preparations were truly tested with the start of the Blitz. For the next fifty-seven days and nights London was subjected to the longest continuous bombing campaign in history. Then, as the Luftwaffe ranged wider and further across Britain’s towns and cities, Firebrace was tasked with toured the nation to see the effects of the bombing, at which point he saw the need for a national response. The result was the creation of the National Fire Service. Formed in August 1941, by the amalgamation of some 1,600 separate brigades, this remarkable organisation had, at its peak, a strength of 370,000 men and women. It was led for its entire existence by Aylmer Firebrace. As the war continued, Firebrace became Chief of the Fire Staff and Inspector-in-Chief of the Fires Services, being the first and, to date, only person to head all the fire-fighting services in Britain. This body had to deal with the expansion of the Blitz as well as the so-called “Baedeker” raids, the “tip-and-run” attacks, Baby Blitz and V1 and V2 offensives of the later years of the war. In his fascinating account, written immediately the war, Firebrace reflects on the functioning of the fire service at its most testing time. This book is an essential addition to the understanding of the Blitz and how London and the rest of the country survived its darkest hour.

Firefighting the Blitz

Firefighting the Blitz PDF Author: Aylmer Firebrace CBE KPM
Publisher: Frontline Books
ISBN: 9781399014991
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
War was coming. Everyone knew that confrontation with Nazi Germany was inevitable and that London was likely to be a prime target of Hitler's bombers. So, in January 1939, Aylmer Firebrace, the Chief Officer of London Fire Brigade, was seconded to the Home Office to plan for the capital's fire defence. Before joining the Fire Brigade, Aylmer Firebrace had been a Royal Navy officer who had fought in the Battle of Jutland during the First World War. It was following the Armistice that, in 1919, he became principal officer in the London Fire Brigade. He was promoted to deputy chief and finally chief officer in June 1938.. That war struck London soon enough, but it was on 7 September 1940, that Firebrace's preparations were truly tested with the start of the Blitz. For the next fifty-seven days and nights London was subjected to the longest continuous bombing campaign in history. Then, as the Luftwaffe ranged wider and further across Britain's towns and cities, Firebrace was tasked with toured the nation to see the effects of the bombing, at which point he saw the need for a national response. The result was the creation of the National Fire Service. Formed in August 1941, by the amalgamation of some 1,600 separate brigades, this remarkable organisation had, at its peak, a strength of 370,000 men and women. It was led for its entire existence by Aylmer Firebrace. As the war continued, Firebrace became Chief of the Fire Staff and Inspector-in-Chief of the Fires Services, being the first and, to date, only person to head all the fire-fighting services in Britain. This body had to deal with the expansion of the Blitz as well as the so-called 'Baedeker' raids, the 'tip-and-run' attacks, Baby Blitz and V1 and V2 offensives of the later years of the war. In his fascinating account, written immediately the war, Firebrace reflects on the functioning of the fire service at its most testing time. This book is an essential addition to the understanding of the Blitz and how London and the rest of the country survived its darkest hour.

Firefighters & the Blitz

Firefighters & the Blitz PDF Author: Francis Beckett
Publisher: Merlin Press
ISBN: 9780850366730
Category : Fire extinction
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"The story of the National Fire Service's origins in the devastation of the Blitz during the Second World War, commissioned by the Fire Brigades Union to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the start of the blitz"--Author's website, Feb. 27, 2012.

The London Blitz

The London Blitz PDF Author: Cyril Demarne
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Fire extinction
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description
Prior to September 1939, the author had been fighting fires in the East End of London for fourteen years. On the outbreak of war he became one of the nucleus of professional firement preparing men of the Auxiliary Fire Service for the maelstrom of the Blitz. This work presents the true story of ordinary men and women in extraordinary circumstances who, with fortitude and great courage, became very far from ordinary.

Fire And Water

Fire And Water PDF Author: H. S. Ingham
Publisher: Jeremy Mills Pub
ISBN: 9781905217144
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
This anthology of 23 separate contributions written and illustrated by London firefighters during the 1940-1941 Blitz forms a unique record of one of the most fiery and dramatic periods of British History.

Trailer Mounted Fire-Fighting Pumps

Trailer Mounted Fire-Fighting Pumps PDF Author: William Blunden
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781545338926
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 180

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Book Description
From "The Blitz" in London, to the United Military and Civil Defense program in the United States, this book covers the little known firefighting units that were an integral part of fire fighting efforts during WWII. This book discusses the purpose, use, and construction of these two wheeled fire fighting vehicles and outlines how they were used to protect both Europe and the United States. TMFFP's also discusses the various manufacturers and their challenges with developing and building these units. There are a large number of historical photos, advertisements, and technical information on these units as well as modern photos of the very limited number of trailer pumps that survive today.

Secret Casualties of World War Two

Secret Casualties of World War Two PDF Author: Simon Webb
Publisher: Pen and Sword History
ISBN: 152674323X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 211

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Book Description
This study of friendly fire on civilians during the London Blitz and the attack on Pearl harbor exposes the unknown horror behind these iconic WWII events. The London Blitz and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor have ascended to the level of myth for Britain and America. Yet both of these artfully constructed narratives of heroic resistance to aerial bombardment conceal the massacre of citizens by the very militaries charged with protecting them. In Britain, thousands of civilians were killed when the army shelled London and other cities to prevent residents from fleeing the German bombs. At Pearl Harbor, American warships fired their heavy guns at the city of Honolulu with devastating results. Simon Webb begins this volume with an overview of bombing and anti-aircraft guns from the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 through to the First World War. He then reveals the casualties which friendly fire from heavy artillery inflicted upon British and American civilians during World War Two. In the case of the British, these deaths were a deliberate part of a shockingly cynical policy. There were times during the German bombing of London when more people were being killed by British shells than by enemy bombs.

Blitz

Blitz PDF Author: William Sansom
Publisher: Faber & Faber
ISBN: 9780571272716
Category : Bombing, Aerial
Languages : en
Pages : 230

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Book Description
One of the most frequently evoked national experiences is the Blitz of the Second World War. For five years - through the Phoney War, the Blitz proper, the Lull, and the Little Blitz - the civilians of London were in the front line. Hitler's bombs made no distinction between rich and poor: Westminster, Pimlico, Soho, Mayfair, Belgravia, and the royal residences, Marlborough House, the Palace of St James, and Buckingham Palace - nowhere escaped. Londoners were, as they said, 'in it together'. This eyewitness account written shortly after the war, not only chronicles the events of the period but also brings out the attitudes of the time, the courage in adversity, the impotence of not being able to fight back, and the jaunty, live-for-today attitude that existed at times of the worst bombing. William Sansom, a leading writer of his day, served during the war in the Auxiliary Fire Service, and his own experiences and his novelist's eye, gave him a unique insight into the spirit of the time. Originally published in 1947, the late Stephen Spender - who was also a fireman during the war - contributed a new foreword to this 1989 reissue, and Sansom's most famous story 'The Wall', set in the Blitz, is also included.

The Blitz and its Legacy

The Blitz and its Legacy PDF Author: Peter J. Larkham
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351893890
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 434

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Book Description
Triggered in part by contemporary experiences in the Balkans, the Middle East and elsewhere, there has been a rise in interest in the blitz and the subsequent reconstruction of cities, especially as many of the buildings and areas rebuilt after the Second World War are now facing demolition and reconstruction in their turn. Drawing together leading scholars and new researchers from across the fields of planning, history, architecture and geography, this volume presents an historical and cultural commentary on the immediate and longer-term impacts of wartime destruction. The book's contents in 14 chapters cover the spread of themes from experiencing the war to reconstruction and its experiences; and although many chapters draw upon the UK experience, there is deliberate inclusion of some material from mainland Europe and Japan to emphasise that the experiences, processes and products are not London-specific. A comparative book tracing destruction to reconstruction is a relative rarity, and yet of the utmost importance in possessing wider relevance to post-disaster reconstructions. The Blitz and Its Legacy is a fascinating volume which includes war experiences of destruction, architecture, urban design, the political process of planning and reconstruction, and also popular perceptions of rebuilding. Its findings provide very timely lessons which highlight the value of learning from historical precedent.