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AYTON SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHIC |
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Ayton School Fire Brigade |
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Hugh Colwell was a member of the Fire Brigade until he left Ayton in 1943. He referred to this in his Presidential Address in 1990 - this is what he had to say: The fire brigade really needs a chapter to itself, starting with perhaps ten volunteers working under the direction of Bernard Coates - our parents had to sign an indemnity before we could join. Equipment was very basic and consisted of a few lengths of hose and a couple of standpipes and branches. The first need was a means of transporting this equipment to where it was needed and we acquired a small handcart which, unfortunately, was too small and frail and didn't last very long! I think the next step was being given an old Vauxhall 12 car by courtesy of Sidney Wilkinson's father, John Reader becoming involved and helping with the restoration work. This was followed by the loan of a Sigmund trailer pump by the Auxiliary Fire Service, the school purchased a wooden triple-extension ladder and we started to become an effective unit to serve both the school and the village. We had regular and surprise practices, one of the latter coming as a great surprise to the girls, who were drying themselves after a swimming lesson, when we arrived to pump water from the baths! When the fire alarm sounded just before midnight on the 16th February 1942, however, a glance through the un-blacked out window of B Dorm quickly showed that this was no practice as flames and smoke were belching into the coach road from the room next to the Domestic Science (Home Economics?) room. We were handicapped by the fact that at this time all the equipment was kept in the lobby to the room that was on fire! Fortunately, although very hot to handle, it was accessible and we were able to restrict the fire to the one room and actually had it out before the Stokesley appliance arrived.
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AYTON SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHIC ARCHIVES |
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