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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Yorkshire (East Riding & York) => Topic started by: Wincolmlee on Saturday 27 June 15 16:57 BST (UK)
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I'm hoping members can help with a research project and possible book on the fire brigade in Hull.
I'm interested in the period before 1974 (when Humberside took over).
I'd be very grateful if anyone has any photos or other material you'd be prepared to let me use (copyright acknowledged, etc).
Photos taken at stations- perhaps at open days or even picture taken at fires would be great.
Of particular interest are the old West and North Hull fire stations:
The old West Hull was at White City on Anlaby Road (round the corner from the current one in Calvert Lane) and the old North Hull was at Grove House on the corner of Beverley Road and Clough Road.
Both these were opened during the last war and replaced by the current ones in the 1950's and 60's.
Any other info related to the pre-1970's period would be most interesting.
Many thanks,
David Jessop
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Hi David....They might have something of interest here if you contact them:
http://www.carnegiehull.co.uk/resources.php
Carol
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Many thanks, Carol.
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Your request has caused me to spend quite a while to mentally shift tidbits of memory around to see what I could recall from my childhood. Unfortunately it's not much and it's not what you require.
During the 1940s and 1950s we lived off Spring Bank West near Calvert Lane and my mother joined the Auxiliary Fire Brigade sited on Anlaby Road corner of Calvert Lane. I remember my father didn't sound too pleased with the idea when she first broached the subject and as I never seemed to do what I wanted I was surprised a few days later seeing her setting off for the interview. There was a delay of several days before she found that she'd been accepted and I think that would be the time I discovered that she was 5ft 6.1/2 inches tall.
It seemed a long time before she received her full uniform and I especially remember the shoes which weren't the shiny gleaming footwear worn by the soldiers we used to see practicing marching up and down the main road. These were dull black pimply leather, extremely heavy and the leather was thick, hard and unforgiving. I remember she spent hours each day "bulling" the shoes using spit & polish which she rubbed in with the bone handle of one of our dinner knives in an attempt to get a remove the "pimples" and get a smooth sheen; apparently we were supposed to be able to see a reflection of our faces in the toecap if she bulled them sufficiently. I've never seen a photo of my mother in her auxiliary FB uniform. I'm pretty sure she would have bought a copy of a group photo if there had been one
I've had a look through the Hull Daily Mail newspapers on GenesReunited to see if I could find an advert for recruits specifically for our local fire station but there were too many general calls for volunteers. I did see that the local Priory Cinema at the other end of Anlaby Road was also used to request people to volunteer.
Below is a 1944 call for recruits to defend the city but at that time we were in Brierfield, Lancashire awaiting the birth of one of my brothers.
"Hull Daily Mail East Riding of Yorkshire, England
21 Mar 1944
HULL FIRE GUARD SERVICE
HULL FIRE GUARD SERVICE Appeal for Volunteers The Fire Guard film was again shown, together with news and propaganda films at the Priory Cinema, Hull. The attendance of the public was particularly good, no doubt indicating the growing interest being taken"
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Hi Rena,
What a great reply- it's those personal recollections that make all the difference-
I've found loads of "official" archive material ranging from the National Archives in Kew to the various local ones (Hull History Centre, Carnegie, newspapers, etc) but this is the kind of stuff that really brings it to life.
Many thanks
David
PS: when I was a child, we lived off Spring Bank West and Willerby Road so I know exactly the area you're talking about.
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Thanks David,
I thought there might be a few more contributions but on reflection it was a minority occupation so possibly it would be rare for family researchers to find one in their family.
Presumably you've seen there's a few old fire brigade postings in "Hull, the Good Old Days" on Facebook?
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Thanks again, Rena,
I'm not on Facebook so I'm not familiar with that content- is there a special section or a general "old Hull" section? I suppose I ought to sign up and see!
David
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There's over 18,000 people on this Facebook page: "Hull: The good old days"
https://www.facebook.com/groups/278450892200994/?fref=ts
and there's over 9,000 on this Facebook page: "Old Hull"
https://www.facebook.com/groups/oldhull/?fref=ts
You can't make a posting without joining a group. This is to keep spammers off the sites.
You'll notice under their heading that there's a small magnifying glass on the top right hand side. This means that you can search for keywords instead of trolling through the postings.
There's the same search facility in the separate sections, e.g. if you click on the heading "Photos" for instance , you can also search using keywords.
Good luck with your quest.
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Hi Rena,
You've done a fantastic job (and contrary to your first reply in which you said it's not what I want)!
I followed your guidance and found around half a dozen great photos which I hadn't seen before (I've seen many, perhaps most, of the published ones during my quest).
Of those is one of the old North Hull fire station which I had regarded as something of a "Holy Grail"!
Many thanks,
David
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Yeah - so pleased you found something.
Your moniker of "Wincolmlee" had me fooled as that's east Hull but from your description I guess you must have lived somewhere near the Priory Cinema in the region of Ampleforth Grove which is where my in-laws used to live.
Best Wishes,
Rena in Lancashire
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Hi Rena,
Almost- Willerby Road (I knew the Priory Cinema as "Frank Dee's"- it was a supermarket when I was a kid!).
Wincolmlee was somewhere I "discovered" while I was an architecture student in the 1980s. I live in Kent now.
Best wishes,
David
PS: You've spurred me into finally joining Facebook (with much mockery from my long-standing member wife)!
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Hi Wincolmlee...Glad to see you are making progress...are you aware of this book:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/City-Flames-Firewomans-Recollections-Blitz/dp/1872167411
I live just up the hill from your old stamping ground ;D ;D ;D
Carol
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Hi Carol,
Thanks for looking in on my progress-
I certainly am aware of that book, we snapped it up when it was first published!
One of the firemen mentioned, Charles Kenningham, was a family friend and served with my late grandfather in the brigade from during the war to the late 1960's.
I'd love to hear from any surviving members of the brigade (or their relatives) from that era.
Best wishes,
David
PS: there is some basic Hull Fire Brigade information on my old Hull website- I did this a few years ago and I've decided it was time to expand on it:
http://www.davidjessop.co.uk
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There are some great images there on your gallery....sad to see the degeneration of some iconic buildings :-\
I will keep my eyes and ears open for anything I feel will be of interest.
Thanks for sharing.
Carol
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Thanks for the kind words, Carol
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Have you asked for anecdotes, etc., on the two Facebook pages concerning Hull?
(1) "Hull The Good Old Days" (18,000+ members)
(2) "Old Hull" (10,000+ members)
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Hi Rena,
Good idea- I hadn't thought of that (though I've joined both groups (and the Hull & Yorkshire one)- down to you of course).
I'll give it some thought.
Many thanks,
David