Title
Mr Arnold Granger remembers firefighting during the Leicester Blitz
Subject
WW2
Description
Mr Arnold Granger recalls wartime firefighting during the night of 19th November 1940 (Leicester Blitz)
Creator
EMOHA70/57
Source
EMOHA
Publisher
EMOHA
Date
20 June 1984
Rights
You may use item in accordance with the licence http://creativecommons.org/licences/by-nc-nd/2.0/uk/
Format
.mp3
Language
English
Type
Oral history
Duration
1 minute 55 seconds
Transcription
[Interviewee: Mr Arnold Granger]
I have very, very vivid recollections of that particular night. We had had many rains in the Midlands up till that night. I think it was about 7:30pm. I live at Braunston. The siren sounded. I saw a flare being dropped by a German aircraft over the city. The city, it was just like daylight. I immediately reported to my station, and from the geographical position of Winstanley Drive Fire Station, we could see the whole of Leicester, or at least most of it, and we saw all the various fires starting to light up the night sky. We set off to cycle as fast as we could to Glenfield Road Fire Station. There, we were told to cycle down to Great Holme Street Fire station. Now, this was our divisional headquarters, where they had 10 fire engines. When we arrived there, they were all out and so we were bundled into a Frears bread van and taken down to Humberstone Gate, where there were huge fires. We were sent to a street adjacent to the Odeon cinema, where the factories were alight from roof to ground level. There were scores of fire engines and hundreds of firemen, and that was my first taste of war time firefighting. It was impossible to put it out. All we could do was to contain it. As dawn broke, we'd realise the absolute devastation, the huge shoe warehouse of Freemen Hardy and Willis was just one smoking ruin. But the efforts of all the firemen in the city were such, that by 7:00am in the morning the situation was under control.
I have very, very vivid recollections of that particular night. We had had many rains in the Midlands up till that night. I think it was about 7:30pm. I live at Braunston. The siren sounded. I saw a flare being dropped by a German aircraft over the city. The city, it was just like daylight. I immediately reported to my station, and from the geographical position of Winstanley Drive Fire Station, we could see the whole of Leicester, or at least most of it, and we saw all the various fires starting to light up the night sky. We set off to cycle as fast as we could to Glenfield Road Fire Station. There, we were told to cycle down to Great Holme Street Fire station. Now, this was our divisional headquarters, where they had 10 fire engines. When we arrived there, they were all out and so we were bundled into a Frears bread van and taken down to Humberstone Gate, where there were huge fires. We were sent to a street adjacent to the Odeon cinema, where the factories were alight from roof to ground level. There were scores of fire engines and hundreds of firemen, and that was my first taste of war time firefighting. It was impossible to put it out. All we could do was to contain it. As dawn broke, we'd realise the absolute devastation, the huge shoe warehouse of Freemen Hardy and Willis was just one smoking ruin. But the efforts of all the firemen in the city were such, that by 7:00am in the morning the situation was under control.
Interviewer
Trevor Pallett
Interviewee
Mr Arnold Granger
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