The Wartime Memories Project - The Second War

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205613 Henry Ackland Auxiliary Fire Service from:Bethnal Green, East London My Grandfather was Harry Ackland who joined the AFS full time on the 24/08/1939, Class 'B' AFS number 18393. He was stationed at Bethnal Green Fire Station (East London) where he served until the end of the war. He covered most of the East/ West End especially the Docks, after narrowly escaping death on several occasions tackling fires he had to contend with UXB's (Unexploded Bombs). He used to drive the fire engine to the blazes and he was the one fighting the fires whilst up the long ladders. My Grandfather wasn't the one to talk about his experiences apart from the fact that he was buried alive for several hours before being rescued and after losing several of his fellow fireman to falling buildings. He was one of the first on the scene at the Bethnal Green Tube Disaster. Due to the fact that he was stationed so close to the disaster and living in Mendip Houses on Globe Rd, which are situated at the rear of Bethnal Green Fire Station, his station was virtually the first on the scene of the disaster so he was one of many fireman to help carry out the injured and those who died as they we're being taken to the waiting ambulances. He said it was absolute chaos as so many people were trying to get out of the station at the same time that people were trampelling on one another while he was trying to help the injured and at the same time there were bombs still being dropped. He said he would never forgot that night. If anyone recognises my Grandfather or those who were stationed at Bethnal Green Fire Station during the war, I would be interested in hearing from you. Perry Martin Add to this record.  Related Content: Auxiliary Fire Service & National Fire Service The Blitz Can you help us to add to our records? Add a record to our website. The names and stories on this website have been submitted by their relatives and friends. If your relations are not listed please add their names so that others can read about them Did you or your relatives live through the Second World War? Do you have any photos, newspaper clippings, postcards or letters from that period? Have you researched the names on your local or war memorial? Were you or your relative evacuated? Did an air raid affect your area? If so please let us know. Help us to build a database of information on those who served both at home and abroad so that future generations may learn of their sacrifice. Contact us. Celebrate your own Family History Celebrate by honouring members of your family who served in the Secomd World War both in the forces and at home. We love to hear about the soldiers, but also remember the many who served in support roles, nurses, doctors, land army, muntions workers etc. Please use our Family History resources to find out more about your relatives. Then please send in a short article, with a photo if possible, so that they can be remembered on these pages.

The free section of the Wartime Memories Project website is run by volunteers. We have been helping people find out more about their relatives wartime experiences since 1999 by recording and preserving recollections, documents, photographs and small items. The website is paid for out of our own pockets, library subscriptions and from donations made by visitors. The popularity of the site means that it is far exceeding available resources and we currently have a huge backlog of submissions. If you are enjoying the site, please consider making a donation, however small to help with the costs of keeping the site running. Hosted by: The Wartime Memories Project Website is archived for preservation by the British Library Copyright MCMXCIX - MMXXIV - All Rights Reserved We do not permit the use of any content from this website for the training of LLMs or for use in Generative AI, it also may not be scraped for the purpose of creating other websites.