Dennis the PE

My Dad joined the Middlesex Fire Brigade in 1957 and then became a London Fireman on the 1st April 1065 when the GLC took over the running of all the local Fire Brigades.

After getting permission from Brigade HQ I went to the last station he served at, Acton, for a day of photography.

It was the first time I'd been there since my Dad's retirement in 1983 and I took my wife who'd never been there before.
We arrived at Acton and were welcomed by the Station Manager and then was given a surprise......full access to the station, no restrictions and NO escort!
Throw in a cup of tea and a biscuit and you can see why I was a happy bunny!

My Dad always says "Never go back" and in a way he is right; the station has changed so much and stayed the same!
The tower in the yard had lost 3 floors from it for starters. However, that wasn't the biggest surprise I had.
When my Dad first went to Acton there were the following fire appliances:
Pump (P), Pump Escape (PE), Turntable Ladder (TL) and an Emergency Tender (ET), also there was an Auxillery Fire Service Green Goddess stationed there.
When I looked around there were 3 appliance but two of them, the PE in the picture and an old TL in the yard, were museum pieces being stored there!
There was what they now call a Pump Ladder (some Brigades call them Water Tender Ladders) and that was it!
Instead of the 15-20 Firemen of the old days there were 5 Firefighters on duty that day and I was, needless to say, gobsmacked!
Even the station's number has changed....it was D22 and is now G26; to me it will always be D22 though!
I remember walking around the station as a wee lad and I could hear a man whistling (if I hear a man whistling in an echoy area it brings it all back.) in the appliance bay, someone shouting down the stairs, the Watchroom Man on the phone and a host of other noises; now there is nothing and its like a deserted building.

The appliance shown is a Dennis Pump Escape and is housed at Acton. It was never based there as it is badged to the pre-GLC London Fire Brigade and Acton was a Middlesex Fire Brigade station before the amalgamation.