As an ex-serviceman and firefighter, I am often struck by the high profile role the fire service has in Remembrance Sunday events across the UK.
There is a long history of close ties between the fire service and the armed forces. Since the Victorian period, firefighters have been drawn from the ranks of ex-servicemen and women to fill posts. Sailors from the Royal Navy were targeted by fire chiefs on the basis that they had 'learnt discipline' and were ‘accustomed to the mental and physical rigours of firefighting.’
Although much has changed within the service, a good proportion of firefighters still come from a military background and as a consequence, so do many FBU reps. Three of the people who hold positions on the South West regional committee are former royal marines. Previously, we’ve had officials who have served in the Army, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and Women’s Royal Navy Service. In recent years, many of us have found ourselves supporting and advising our members who have been called up as reservists to go to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The close links between the fire service, the union and the military stretch back over many years. The most famous example was the unique role played by the union during the liberation of Europe in the Second World War.
In 1944, the FBU took the uncharted step of being part of a decisive military operation across Nazi-occupied Europe. The firefighters of the Overseas Contingent, a column of regular British firefighters who joined up with the invasion force after D-Day, crossed the Channel to protect vital stores and supplies from fire. They worked alongside the Army Fire Service in this vital task, moving across France, Belgium, Luxembourg and finally, into Germany itself.
The Home Office, who paid the wages of the firefighters, deducted their FBU subscriptions at source. Every single member of the contingent - from the commanding officer to the firefighters - were FBU members. The commandant gave them facilities for union meetings and the FBU executive council even sent one of its members, John Forsyth, to travel abroad with the contingent.
In a letter home, he wrote: “It has been a great test of improvisation (sic) but the union organisation was kept very much alive and the members felt that their interests were being looked after both overseas and by head office at home. In some ways, it must have been a unique chapter in trade union history with units attached to the armed forces still having the benefit of trade union organisation.”
This extraordinary story is just one high profile example among many of the close links and ties between firefighters, our service and the women and men who serve in our armed forces. These ties will be especially in our thoughts as we approach the remembrance time of year.
