Firemen from Abingdon showed their skill at fighting fires not only in the town and surrounding district but in other parts of the country.

During the Second World War, they travelled to Birmingham seven times to support colleagues, to Portsmouth and London three times and to Bristol and Bath twice.

They also called once to Southampton, Exeter, Leamington Spa and Coventry.

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Author John Hooke, in his book, History of the Abingdon Fire Service 1871-1945, praises the Abingdon team for their “grim and heroic” wartime efforts.

He pays special tribute to the drivers who, after heavy and arduous work at fires, drove the vehicles safely home while colleagues slept in the back.

He recalls how one team, including driver Archie Ackling, fought an intensive fire at Avonmouth docks.

“Truckloads of toppings were ablaze. The water on the burning sacks caused them to burst and Archie and his colleagues were wading knee deep in porridge. After that, he drove home in a blinding snowstorm.”

Fellow driver Leslie Thatcher drove 380 miles to and from Exeter in snow and hail on icy roads, leading a convoy of 10 vehicles.

“All these journeys were undertaken on an open fire engine with no means of protection from the weather.”

The Abingdon crew also received praise for tackling a wartime blaze at a Co-op store in Bristol. The intensive heat had wrecked the building and cooked to perfection 800 sides of bacon worth more than £5,000.

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“The Abingdon crew carried to safety 90 per cent of the bacon. Co-op officials were so elated that they offered a side of bacon to the crew, but the officer-in-charge refused to accept it.”

There was more praise – and a welcome treat – when the team was called to dockyard fires at Portsmouth and was offered breakfast aboard HMS Berwick.

“After a night of hard work, the firefighters sat down to a breakfast of sausages and mash and were waited on by the ship’s company.”

Abingdon Volunteer Fire Brigade was formed in 1871 when the mayor, Mr W Ballard, called a public meeting after a serious fire in Bath Street. It was agreed to buy a fire engine and gear for £200.

The brigade was independent until 1941 when the Government created the National Fire Service to combat wartime attacks. Abingdon became part of No 15 Fire Force covering Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.

In its 74-year history, the Abingdon brigade had five chief officers, some with familiar Abingdon names – two called Morland and others Coxeter, Challenor and Gibbons.

Author John Hooke describes them as “men of outstanding personal leadership, with a keen sense of duty and unbounded enthusiasm”.

He measured the Abingdon team’s record during four years at the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire headquarters during the war.

His 1945 verdict? “There is no town of its size in the three countries with a similar record of efficiency, and many towns twice its size might do well to emulate its example.”