
William John Kay, pictured shortly after enrolling in the London Auxiliary Fire Service.
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THE CAREER OF A WAR-TIME FIREMAN
The following transcript is reproduced from notes that were discovered by Alan Kay among William’s effects after his death in the year 2000. They are thought to have been written when in his seventies and which seem to have been abandoned before completion. On a number of occasions Alan encouraged his father to record memories of his early life, but although William made several attempts, he eventually confessed that “not all memories are happy ones”; which is probably why they were never finished! Please note: comments in italics and within parentheses are those of APK.
William’s notes, which I believe my father intended to develop further:
1938 to 1945
1st Chapter, 1938-1940
September 1938
Munich Crisis. N. Ch. & P.P.U.
Talk of Evacuation and trench digging.
Fears and upset of employment.
October 1938
Joined A.F.S.
– – – – – – –
September 1st 1939 to August 1st, 1940
The Evacuation. Farewell tears to wife and family.
Last day at work as a messenger.
Report to Station 67 in evening with food, blankets, etc.; prepare for a long stay.
Sand bagging.
Improvising Fire Stations from schools, warehouses, etc.
Brass polishing. Inspections. Drills. A.R.W. (air raid warning) in and out of shelters, and Gas drill (lecture on Spain).
Battle of Britain.
Dunkirk.
Pump Relay drill at Docks (rude youths). (Possibly a reference to the abuse suffered by fire brigades during the ‘Phoney War’!)
– – –
Socials. (William was an accomplished entertainer and was often called upon to ‘give a turn’. One of his favourite ditties was a song about a current craze called Pelmanism and his notes include this topical verse which he probably composed and performed himself:
“He has us up and out at dawn to drill; he stands no tricks,
He’s got so hot it put me in a most unpleasant fix;
So I put in for a transfer to Station Seventy-six . . .
Ever since he Pel – man – ised!”
At another social one of the boys dressed up as a comic fire chief – Silver helmet, lots of ribbon etc. – and with a comic ‘crew’.
– – –
August 15th
I am on leave. I hired a car and took my family to London. Towards evening with an air-raid quite near we took shelter and when the All Clear sounded returned to Bletchley at top speed and very thankful. Never again!
August 24th
Raiders penetrated City of London defences and dropped incendiaries.
Monday after, called to a fire in the City.
Was at a school converted to a fire station, near King’s Cross Station.
In the evening in an air-raid over the City 500 lb. oil bombs were dropped.
At this point and one or two others, William has added the words ‘Our Reaction’, but does not follow it up.
Monday 26th
Ordered to City for cooling down.
Tuesday 27th
Went to pictures with Sister. Sheltered in Red Lion Street.
– – – – – – –
2nd Chapter, September 7th, 1940 to May 19th, 1941
Saturday 7th
Ordered to Station 67 to stand by. Off to Dundee Wharf, West India Docks.
Night in Mile End Road.
Returned to station at 9 am. exhausted, wet and weary!
Sunday 8th
9 pm. Gas main at Rotherfield Street; glance at Morton Road (where his nearby London home was).
10 pm. to Bunhill.
5 am. Golden Lane, City – Collapsing building (here, as in other places, is the word ‘illustrate (1)’; (2) etc. indicating the intended use of pictures).
Returned 10.30 am. Monday.
Monday night – slept under billiard table fully dressed.
Tuesday 10th
To Cheapside in vicinity of D.A. (delayed action) 500 lb. bomb – cooling down.
Thursday 12th
Leave to Bletchley – slept in bed – first time for a week.
Next morning on duty; out with pump.
September 21st
Cycled to Bletchley (45 miles) – train unavailable.
Lovely time at Bow Brickhill.
September 23rd
Bow – no water! Picking up incendiaries (had ’em pinched); (maybe this is a reference to souvenir hunters?).
October
Few nights in bed or at the Station!
December 8th
Southgate – Lambeth – Walworth.
Ruin on corner equal to three or four buildings, a public house and three similar houses.
Anderson shelter – Tunnelling while debris burning – Rescue of an old lady and a boy – 14½ hours.
Sunday, December 29th
GREAT FIRE RAID
Monday, December 30th
City in mourning; Ave Maria Lane in afternoon.
From there (at night) to Docks c/o Bowler at Docks, Oil Tanker, Timber Yard, Coal and Tea Barges; Duke of Devonshire’s house, Pall Mall.
All Clear at 3 am.
– – – – – – –
1941
Heavy fire raids in January, February and March. Citizens’ army of fire-fighters, trained with stirrup pump and buckets, had learnt to master most of the smaller outbreaks leaving the firemen to concentrate on the bigger jobs.
Sunday night, May 10th – Climax of the bombing.
It was my good fortune to be on leave in Bletchley that night but when I returned to Station on Monday morning I found all but the W.R. Att. Evacuated as an UX (unexploded) bomb was buried deep in the school yard.
That was a never-to-be-forgotten week! I spent most of my time at Cannon Street Station (cold storage) and by the riverside where many factories had been laid to waste and debris was burning over acres of rubble.
Raids slackened off after that for which I was very thankful and I went into a London hospital for an operation in November, to cure a trouble brought on by my many hardships and exertions.
(I will leave the reader to work out what that might have been. Obviously, for my father it was rather a delicate matter; one that wasn’t mentioned in polite circles!)
– – – – – – –
3rd Chapter
July 1943
Transfer to Chesham granted.
Last day in London. T.T.L. (is he saying Ta-ta London, I wonder?)
William had been attempting to get a transfer out of London to be nearer to Bletchley when he saw a post advertised in Chesham and knowing that it was in Bucks, he applied for it.
Unfortunately, public transport was almost non-existent at that time and on one occasion mother cycled home with him from Chesham to Bletchley – which are approximately 35 miles apart!
September
Bad raid on Chesham; 17 UX bombs buried!
His next move was to Wolverton which is on the main LMS railway line about seven miles north of Bletchley.
December 1943
Finally, William was transferred to Bletchley despite: ‘A slight expectation of flying bombs’ (it was ‘plenty’ not slight!).
Other work involved aeroplane crashes and railway trains.
After which William says: “And so to 1946 when I resigned.
My fireman’s career was over!
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