Hi all
I received a reply to my inquire,,,,apparently the Womble/Hendon areas were outside the London border during WW II and fell under the Midlesex Fire Brigade (which no longer exists ) well this is the reply ;
We have now checked our records and unfortunately have no information on your grandfather Henry Philip Rogers.
This is because during the war years Wembley and Hendon were outside the London border. It fell under the Middlesex Fire Brigade (which no longer exists) therefore we would not hold any records of him at all. I should point out that during the war, there used to be what they called "parish stations" which were very small fire stations set up in all areas to complement the existing fire stations( it was known as the Auxiliary Fire service). The National Fire service was set up after a decision was made that the fire service should be operated by the government on a national basis. It was thus created on 18th August, 1941. During this time, fire forces were divided into a number of divisions and sub-divisions both for command and mobilizing purposes. Please note that it was also set up to accommodate the Auxiliary Fire Service( AFS).
In the war years, the fire service fell under the jurisdiction of the London County Council therefore staff records for these stations were held by Borough Councils. When the greater London council replaced the London county council from the 1st April 1965 and became the fire authority, most of there records were sent to archive centres and libraries. As a result of this, records received from stations such as these are minimal and incomplete.
Old records for the above stations would have been kept at there headquarters but as the Middlesex fire brigade is no more, you'll have to contact the London Metropolitan Archives.
Well, I have contacted the LMA and am awaiting a reply, hope that the records still exist, maybe the Hendon Library have some records, I must check that out, I believe that Hendon also has a museum which may also be of help, think I'll look for a local research/history group at Hendon.
Anyway, just posted this as it shows the London Fire Brigade site is good and deliver a good reply to any enquirer.
all the best
Pete Rogers
