fire brigade WWII

[petey22]

hi all,
maybe a silly question, but during the second world war, my grandfather ( Henry Philip Rogers ) was in the fire brigade, would this have been seen as military service and would there be a service record for him ? My grandfather also boxed for the fire brigade and won quite a few cups, not sure if this is of any insignificance ?
I would appreciate any help in this
all the best
Pete Rogers

[jksdelver]

Generally it was the National Fire Service during the war . You don't give a location but there may be local records which have been compiled say " The History of X Fire Brigade. News papers for the area may also provide an answer

[petey22]

Hi there
the area was hendon Middx, and I have heard that he was called into central London for the blitz,,, I'll do some googleing,, thanks for the advice
Pete

[forester]

Hello again Pete,

Is Hendon within the London Metropolitan area?
If he was in the LFB at the time of the formation of the National Fire Service, he may be recorded in catalogue series LCC/FB/STA/3 at the London Metropolitan Archives. (I found it through A2A)

I believe the NFS was under Home Office control, so any records would probably be at TNA. There are 189 hits, but they seem to be mostly administrative.

My grandfather was in the NFS and I recently picked up a photo of our local brigade (a village in Sussex), by a local photographer, on ebay. Unfortunately my grandfather missed the photo-session 
His WW1 service record was destroyed as well, so I'm not having much luck.

Phil

[petey22]

Hi again Phil,
What a coincidence we both have a Grandfather in the NFS, I did hear that the ' Home Service's  during the War was seen as no different as to the forces ?? not too sure about it though.
Yes, e-bay can produce some interesting items, shame your Grandfather wasn't on the photo.

Looks like the LMA is down for maintenance , I'll try again this evening/tommorrow.  I tried searching on the TNA but got no hits ? I tried with Henry Philip Rogers and NFS then without, then with date,,,    How did you search ?  I thought I'd look through the 189 hits that you got and hope that one was good.
all the best
Pete

[forester]

Hello Pete,

Apparently he was quite upset at missing out on the photo.
Add to that that his farm buildings were burnt down (accidently) by Canadian troops billeted there and the fire station was burnt down (bomb strike, I believe) and you begin to wonder. 

I put National Fire Service into the search. The TNA search engine is a bit touchy.

Phil

[Maggott]

Just a bit extra - in the country the firemen were civvies, often doing a day job as well as their work with the fire service.  They were called in to fires in nearby towns as they were needed - for example the brigade from High Wycombe went in to London & their duties were then covered by brigades from Oxfordshire.

[petey22]

hi all
found this link to the London Fire Brigade :
http://www.london-fire.gov.uk/about_us/our_history/your_history.asp
they offer (since April 2008 ) a search for War time service records, I've applied and am awaiting a reply and will let you know the results.
This link will take you to a large photo achive of the LFB, worth a sort through, you never know,,,,,
http://www.lfbphotos.com/assetbank-lfb/action/browseItems?categoryId=157&categoryTypeId=1&allCats=0&page=9&pageSize=15
( hi Moderator, hope posting these links is OK )
all the best
Pete Rogers

[jksdelver]

Well done good luck