Blitz Diary by Carol Harris

Author:Carol Harris [Carol Harris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780752462752
Publisher: The History Press
Published: 2010-08-29T04:00:00+00:00

This raid quickly became known as the Second Great Fire of London. The damage caused by incendiaries was a particular cause for concern. On 31 December 1940, Herbert Morrison broadcast on the radio that ‘Britain shall not burn’ and shortly afterwards assumed powers to conscript people into a new group: the Fire Guard.

The new organisation took in the previous schemes of Firewatchers and Street Fire Parties and people were organised and trained locally by ARP services. The aim of the Fire Guard was to spot incendiaries, put them out or call the National Fire Service if the fire looked like it was getting out of control. Members of the Fire Guard were organised into stirrup pump teams, each comprising three people and working on rotas. In towns and cities the aim was to have seven stirrup pump teams to every thirty houses or 150 yards.

Rose Uttin, aged 41 when she started this diary, was a member of a fire party in Wembley, Middlesex. She lived with her husband Bill, mother, and daughter Dora, who was aged 13 when the war broke out. Bill was also a member of the fire party at home and in his workplace at the Royal Exchange in the city of London:

20th January 1941

11.30pm and no alert so we are off to bed. Still downstairs in the lounge of course – I wonder how long it will be before we can safely sleep upstairs again.

At 4am we were awakened by persistent knocking at the front door. I thought at first something had happened to mother but it was the firewatcher. He had made a mistake and he didn’t know how to contact the next couple. He sounded so tired but said he could not go home until he found them – rather like Mary and her lamb; it has not stopped raining since 4 o’clock yesterday so expect the shelter is full of water. Something will have to be done about it – an added base of concrete Bill thinks.

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