Firefighting the Blitz

The former Chief Officer of London Fire Brigade offers his account of life in fire services in London and around Britain during World War II. War was coming. Everyone knew that confrontation with Nazi Germany was inevitable, and that London was likely to be a prime target of Hitler’s bombers. So, in January 1939, Aylmer Firebrace, the Chief Officer of London Fire Brigade, was seconded to the Home Office to plan for the capital’s fire defence. Before joining the Fire Brigade, Aylmer Firebrace had