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The Auxiliary Fire service was started in Horsham at the end of 1938.With War looming, volunteers were asked for. Ten recruits came forward and these were trained at the Fire Station, which was situated at the entrance to Horsham Park, close to Park House.
Later, men were trained in Surrey, at Hobbs Barracks, not far from Lingfield, facilities were better there and the standard of training improved. Shortly before the outbreak of war a sub station was also opened at Jackson鈥檚 Garage, in Springfield Road Horsham. My father, Robert Blake worked there as a Coach Trimmer and was one of the first volunteers. There are very few documents to inform us of the work Horsham Fire Brigade did. Records were hand written into simple notebooks and very few remain. When the fire brigade moved to Hurst Road in around 1970, the council turned the building into offices. A skip was used to take away the 鈥� rubbish鈥�, and lots of local war time History was lost for ever .I was researching our family History when I discovered this and wrote to the Fire Brigade, it transpired that the Horsham Fire Station had very few war time artefacts, No war time records, but a lot of interest in the subject
It was difficult to know where to start. So I began with my father, Robert Blake, with the help of his diary鈥檚, the Records Office, and a few of my father's colleagues I have put together, as much information as I have been able to find.

When the war began, the men from Jackson鈥檚 Garage Sub Station were posted to the main station, full time. They were given a uniform; the jacket of that was single breasted and offered little protection from heat or sparks. (Double-breasted jackets were introduced later) To this was added a waterproof, a pair of leggings, Wellington boots, and a tin hat. Men complained often when fighting a fierce fire, that the water soaked through their uniforms very quickly and the fronts of them would be steaming with the heat of the fire, while their backs were shivering cold
The men were divided into three watches, red, white and blue each worked for 48 hours on and 24 hours off. They looked after the watch room themselves, but this meant that when they were called out to an incident, the watch room was left unattended. Not until after they became the National Fire Service in 1941, did women take over the jobs of watch room attendant, cooks and secretaries.
To begin with Fire Engines were bright red; this made them stand out rather too well, so they were painted a dull grey, even the brass fittings were painted. First they had a Bedford, and old Dennis pump then a Pyrene Pulsometor, which the men were supposed to be able to slide off the trailer and carry to the incident, but in was difficult to manoeuvre and extremely heavy and awkward. I was told that it often got 鈥渟tuck鈥� and was left where it was until the incident had been dealt with and they could return to retrieve it. Fifty foot of rubber-lined hose was always carried; this hose worked the best, allowing the water through quickly and the men found it easier to handle and carry then the canvas hose of which they had 75 foot, but it was made of a very course material with a much narrower pipe, which restricted the water and was harder to control.
Water was their main weapon against all fires, and was taken from anywhere, streams, rivers paddling pools, swimming pools and garden ponds, And even the bomb crater itself on many occasions, a small quantity of foam was carried though not often used. Also in regular use was an old ford lorry fitted with a canvas tank on the back, it was known as the Dam lorry and held about 1,000 gallons of water when full. This had to be driven with great care, as sudden breaking would cause the contents to slosh over the front of the vehicle. I was told by Charlie Jones of one occasion on the Carfax when the loaded dam lorry had to break sharply, A cyclist nearly came off a bicycle in front of them, the lorry stopped in good time, but the water didn鈥檛!
Canvas Dams or surface tanks were constructed and filled ready for use, at many sights around Horsham. One was on the Carfax, another down the Bishopric, one by the Iron Bridge. Each of these held about 10,000 gallons of water, and they were checked and filled regularly so that they were always ready for use, should an emergency arise.
Pumps were later installed in the village sub-stations including Crawley (then still a village), Cowfold, Broadbridge heath, Mannings Heath, and Roffey. These also had to be serviced weekly by men from the Horsham Station.
For the first few months the men slept on the station floor, between the Fire engines. And sometimes in the hayloft on makeshift beds and mattresses, until they collected enough wooden grocery boxes to build themselves a more comfortable hut, in the park. There was an allotment where the men demonstrated how much food could be grown on a small piece of land and added to their families鈥� food rations. Apart from their ordinary duties, Horsham Firemen assisted the local community. They organised a number of social functions and lent a hand in running Fetes for many worthy causes. Each Christmas the children of the fire men were given a party at the fire Station, all the toys were made by the men in the little spare time available to them.
In the summer months they gave displays in the park to entertain the public.
A savings group was organized at the Station, and the average monthly collection for the Red Cross Penny a week Fund was about 30/- 拢1.50p
Co-operation between the N.F.S. and the other Civil Defence Services was extremely good and combined exercises were frequently held. The firemen instructing the Home Guard, Troops stationed locally and the civil Defence in the best way to deal with any of the fires they came in contact with. For all this work they received 拢3.00 a week and NO overtime. Once they had arrived at the incident, they stayed until all was made safe. However long it took.

Full time Firemen
MR ROBERT BLAKE
MR R. MILES
MR. F. RICHARDSON.
MR H. OSLEY
MR C. BROOKS
MR F. DULLFIELD
MR G. LONDON.
MR. A.J.MANVILLE
MR P.G.DODD (Warnham Sub Station)
MR G. PERKINS (WARNHAM Sub- Station)
MR DAVE SHOUGBRIDGE (Southwater Sub-Station)
MR STANBRIDGE
MR JICOAMELIE (Roffey Sub-Station)
MR ALLAN DAVEY
MR GEORGE ETHERIDGE
MR A ETHERIDGE.
MR GEORGE GARETT
MR W. ROWLAND
MR FREDDIE GREEST
MR J CADD
MR DENNY
MR IAN CAMPELL (Killed at Colegate)
MR JACK CONSTABLE (Killed at Colegate)
MR WILLIAM DOIK. (Killed at Colegate)
MR STAN ROSE.
MISS VERA BROOKS
MISS MARGERY BENNETT

The Horsham Fire Brigade was not limited to the town, but sent to most of the surrounding villages, towns, and even the Cities. They were also on Standby in London, Dover, Folkestone, Tunbridge Wells and East Grinstead. Portsmouth, Southampton, Chichester and places in between. The early days of the war were quiet, but in Horsham on January 12th 1940 there was a tremendous fire at Victory Road School (Caused by a faulty central heating System). The school was completely destroyed by the blaze, the heat so intense that it melted the glass in the windows and welded together coins left classrooms. For all the heat generated it was still a freezing night, wet uniforms froze, and tin helmets were covered with ice. The firemen worked for six hours to control the blaze, greatly hindered by the lack of water pressure and were later criticized for the time it had taken them.
In August there was a Heavy enemy bombing raid on Portsmouth. 64 high explosive bombs and 3 oil bombs were also dropped on Chichester a focal point for the central administration of the Police, A.R.P. and emergency wartime services in the region. 117 people were killed, 99 seriously wounded. Horsham firemen were sent to help, during the night the men had a great deal of bomb damage to deal with, they found themselves climbing over rubble to put out fires and rescue the injured. The following morning they returned to the scene to help with making safe. When climbing to the top of the pile of rubble he had been working from, the night before, my father found the remains of a male body; he had been unknowingly standing on the night before. The thought of this horrified him and affected him for many years. Horsham Brigade worked for a week day and night. And all this time they had to supply their own food and drink. No provision was made for the welfare of fire crews in the early days. A catering van was supplied by the generosity of the people of Canada the following year.
In September 1940 the German air force and England鈥檚 fire brigades began a battle every bit as fearsome as those being fought on the front line, and became one of the busiest times for Horsham鈥檚 crew. They raced with huge numbers of other fire engines to London and became part of the 25,000 firemen, from all over southeast England that fought the fires of the London blitz.
Most of the firemen in England joined the A.F.S a short time before the war, some had not been in service long enough to have attended a serious fire. The beginning of the blitz was a terrifying sight to these people. The heat, smoke and noise made it difficult to control a natural fear of fire and the enormity of the task were daunting. Everywhere they looked great sheets of roaring flame leapt about them, making it so bright that there was no difficulty in finding their way. Walls came crashing down around them, and enemy planes flew over their heads. From the 7th September the Luftwaffe raided London day and night, at first the attack was centred on the Docks, this is where the Horsham men were sent. When they arrived a terrible black smoke hung over the city, all that could be seen was the cross on top of St. Paul鈥檚 Cathedral shining above it.鈥� A truly awesome site鈥�. Bombing did not subside until the 5th October; after which most raids took place at night. The attack ended at last on the 8th December giving both fire service and the people of London a welcome chance to recover.
But the war came closer to thier home ground, when a bomb landed on the house of the district nurse in Colgate, a village close to Horsham, she was rescued and taken to the first aid post at the village hall, but two other bombs followed, one hit the Post Office, the second fell on the Village Hall, killing the nurse who had just been taken there for safety and wounding a first aid worker, who later died. Another bomb exploded close to the church gate, it killed three members of the Auxiliary Fire Service. Three more bombs fell on the village that night, but did not explode, although one of them did go off some time later.
Between times Horsham鈥檚 firemen still dealt with House and chimney fires, Farm buildings and haystacks fires, and the many accidents caused by the blackout. Enemy planes crashed quite regularly around the area, the fires they caused had to be extinguished quickly before they made a beacon to attract other enemy bombers.
Incendiary fires burnt fiercely in St Leonard鈥檚 Forest where another Fire fighter lost his life. But there was still more was yet to come.
On the evening of November 29th another enemy attack was made on Horsham, and a two-year-old girl was rescued from a house in Orchard Road, where seven people were killed. One of the dead, a young evacuee, had been sent to the town for safety, from London. It was a Friday; the bomb went down the middle of the road, taking out the front of the houses. One young child had a lucky escape, but was left an orphan. The Fire Brigade were hindered by the broken water main and filled buckets from one of the bomb craters in the road to douse the fire. There were 23 casualties.
In the early evening of 29th December 100,000 firebombs were dropped on London by the Luftwaffe. Firemen each worked in fifteen hours shifts, rescuing the injured and extinguishing the fires. They were soaked to the skin within minutes of arriving, the wet cloths getting heavier and colder as the night went on adding to the misery and mayhem that surrounded them. Fires raged in the open, at petrol stations, timber yards, warehouses, paint and chemical works, also among the homes of Londoners. Bombs fell constantly making new fires and taking lives, flames lighting the way for the enemy bombers. Splinters from shells flew through the streets causing more injuries and destruction. Two of Horsham鈥檚 exhausted men, stopped by a tea wagon and shared their sandwiches with a pair from another brigade. When they parted company to return to their posts, a-bomb burst overhead killing both of their new found friends; un-injured, Horsham鈥檚 two startled firemen returned to the task of fighting fires.
The following year on the 10th-11th May the Luftwaffe struck again. Dropping hundreds more Bombs on the east end of London. Again Horsham sent its firemen to the rescue. Fires were burning fiercely all around them. Bombs were still falling and exploding, Buildings crumbled and fell burning to the ground shooting sparks and flames high into the night sky, chemicals in warehouses added to the danger as they exploded from the heat or added thier poisons to the air. The vast amount of water used to quench fires flowed into the bomb craters hiding them from view and creating yet another hazzard. Young boys rode motorcycles through burning streets, over miles of hose, craters, water and debris with messages from their fire crews and control centres. Woman telephonists, ignoring the danger around them, worked on so that the emergency services could to keep in contact with each other. The woman鈥檚 Auxiliary Fire Service drove petrol-laden tankers, through hot sparks and flaming, crater-ridden streets to keep the fire engines mobile. Or drove canteen wagons to the worst hit areas in order to feed exhausted men and offer support, encouragement and that important cup of tea.
Men and women had volunteered for the A.F.S. from all walks of life. Few of them realized what they would have to face, some of them gave their lives. Others returned to civilian life hopeing for a quieter more peaceful future. But these men and women never forgot the sites, sounds or fear of the war years. All of them disserve recognition and a permanent place in the history of Great Britain.

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Written by Margaret Baldwin

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