Remembering our bravest firemen

“I thought the attached would be of interest to your readers and might prompt some nostalgic memories among the wide readership,” he begins. Well, I think so too so if anyone has anything to add, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

In the email, headed “local firemen remembered: to commemorate the site of the fire station in Whippendell Road,” Roger writes: “The access road to the site of the old Watford Fire Station in Whippendell Road has been named Raven Close in memory of Fireman John Raven.

“John was a member of a hydraulic platform crew from Watford that attended a warehouse fire in Welham Green, near Hatfield, in 1975. While at the fire, a wall collapsed onto the hydraulic platform, striking John as it fell. Tragically he died from his injuries.

“John joined the brigade in 1970 as a mechanic at Hemel Hempstead, and a year later transferred to Watford as an operational fireman. He was known for his fantastic Spanish flamenco guitar playing.

“In 1980, John’s parents presented the John Raven Memorial Shield to the brigade in memory of their son. Watford Fire Station personnel contributed towards the cost of the shield by donations raised on the station. The Memorial Shield is awarded to the recruit who achieves the best overall performance during the year.

“The blocks of apartments on the site have also been named after Watford firemen. The three that face Rickmansworth Road are Pratchett Court, Wise Court, and Wynne Court; the one that faces Whippendell Road is Fountain Court.

“Superintendent Henry Pratchett, Fireman Daniel Fountain and Fireman Richard Wise were firemen awarded the Order of the British Empire after a fire and explosion at a Watford munitions factory in February 1917.

“The citation read ‘for conspicuous courage and devotion to duty on the occasion of a fire at a munitions factory’. The medals were awarded on November 10, 1920, in the Clarendon Road Drill Hall Yard, by the Lord Lieutenant of the county (Brigadier-General Viscount Hampden). They were based at the fire station in Watford High Street, which was located just north of the flyover between May 1900 and February 1961.

“Superintendent Pratchett was the Watford Fire Brigade’s Superintendent from 1910 to 1929 and saw the advent of the first motor driven fire engines (Dennis Pump Escape and  Pump) in Watford in 1913. He became the chief officer in 1924.

“Daniel Fountain was an original member of the Watford Local Board of Health Fire Brigade formed in 1888 and lived in Beechen Grove. He was awarded the Long Service Silver Medal in 1918. When he retired from the fire brigade, he became the deputy mace-bearer for the town council.

“Richard Wise lived in Watford High Street and was taken on for the duration of the First World War to help fill the vacancies caused by firemen being away on active service.

“Wynne Court is named after Eric ‘Lofty’ Wynne who served from 1926 in the Watford Volunteer Fire Brigade (there were four full-time firemen only) at the fire station in Watford High Street.

“In 1932, he became a full-time fireman and during the Second World War he served for three years at St Albans, training more than 200 auxiliary firemen.

“He retired in 1968, after working for ten years as the hydrant inspector at the fire station in Whippendell Road.

“His height plus fire helmet meant he had to drive leaning to one side otherwise he would hit his head on the ladder.

“When Scammells built two fire engines for Watford Fire Brigade (1933 and 1935), he had to go to the factory to sit on the appliances to ensure the ladder wouldn’t hit his head when it was stowed. He was also the last fireman to be taken to his wedding at Watford Parish Church on a fire engine in 1931.

“The roads were named after representations to Watford Borough Council and the Royal Mail were made by the Herts Fire Brigade Museum curators – to remember that a fire station was on the site between February 1961 and November 2009.”

It is often said that our policemen, and indeed our fireman, are wonderful, but in December 1961, one Watford woman had cause to be grateful to the town’s dustmen.

I’ll let the Watford Observer of December 1, 1961 tell the story:

“Preparing for Hogmanay, Mrs Betty McDermott bought three coach tickets to take herself, her husband and young son home to Edinburgh for the festivities. The tickets, worth £13, were not long in her possession before she mistakenly threw an envelope containing them into a dustbin at her home in Clarendon Road, Watford.

“When she discovered they were missing, Betty made extensive enquiries, but all her efforts drew blanks. Then, on Wednesday morning, a registered letter arrived on her doormat containing the missing tickets.

“They had been found by Mr R.G. Skeggs, of Tonwell. He had been working on Watford Corporation’s refuse tip at Moor Hills, near Bricket Wood, when his sharp eyes detected the envelope in a giant heap of rubbish.

“Quite a lucky coincidence considering that 85 tons of refuse is shot onto the tip from Watford bins every day. Said a Corporation spokesman: ‘It was a chance in a billion.’

“Said Betty: ‘Our dustmen are very honest.’

Finally, as I have said previously in this column, many years ago, if a column fell short in the Watford Observer, those responsible would stick in a small, usually one sentence, of ‘not quite news’ to get the reader to the bottom of the page.

Here’s one which appeared in the paper on December 19, 1914. I’m not quite sure why it was considered worth telling readers 99 years ago, but if it was considered so then, it may still be today – so here it is again:

“Montreal has the largest flour mill in the British Empire. It turns out 5,000 barrels of flour a day.”

Now you know.

ONLINE SATURDAY: Is sign 200 years old - or more?

These stories formed part of the Nostalgia column first published in the Watford Observer on December 13, 2013. The next Nostalgia column – with Christmas news, recipes, puzzles and more from the past – can be found in tomorrow’s Watford Observer (dated December 20, 2013) or read online here from 4pm Christmas Eve.

If you have anything to add – or would like to tell us anything you think our readers may enjoy about Watford’s history – we are always pleased to hear from you. Contact Nostalgia, by clicking here watfordnostalgia@london.newsquest.co.uk