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On Tuesday 29th December, the Fire Service
Preservation Group held an event to mark
the 75th anniversary of the biggest Blitz raid
on London. Two fire appliances were on show
outside St. Paul’s. There were also events at
Dowgate Fire Station on Lower Thames Street.
At 18:15, the siren sounded and the appliances
went on a circuit of the City “on the bell”.
December 29, 2015 was the 75th anniversary
of an air raid on London that led to a fire
later described as the Second Great Fire of
London. Within the first hour of the raid 10,000
incendiary devices had been dropped by
German bombers and at least a further 10,000
followed over the next few hours.
There was widespread destruction of property
across the City. Strenuous efforts were made
to protect St Paul’s Cathedral which, at one
point, had an incendiary device lodged in the
dome.
Members of the Worshipful Company of
Firefighters, including PM Peter Cowland,
were amongst a group who paid tribute to the
firefighters who fought those fires, at a series
of ceremonies around the City on the day of
the anniversary.
The Fire Service Preservation Group, together
with some private owners, brought together a
number of pre-war fire appliances, several of
which had served in London during the Second
World War. They were displayed on the
forecourt of Dowgate fire station and outside St
Paul’s, arousing considerable interest amongst
the tourists in the City that day.
At midday, members of the Preservation
Group laid a wreath at the memorial to one
of the firefighters killed on the night of 29/30
December, 1940, Auxiliary Fireman Sydney
Alfred Holder, in Shoe Lane. Fireman Holder
was killed when a wall collapsed on him. Later
in the day there was a display by the fireboat
Massey Shaw which was joined on the Thames
by one of the current LFB fireboats, Fire Dart.
At 18:05 a hand-operated air-raid siren was
sounded at Dowgate fire station and all the
old appliances, together with Dowgate’s Pump
Ladder, made a short circuit of the City before
assembling for a service at the Firefighters
Memorial, opposite St Paul’s.
Picture left to right: Graham Woodhouse, Peter
Cowland, Bruce Hoad, Mike Cotton (LFB),
Mike Hebard, Graham Maltby and David Holt
1940 BLITZ REMEMBERED
Worshipful Company of Firefighters with a 1937 Leyland Metz 100 ft TTL in the background
A REVIEW OF OUR YEAR