This bronze statue was built to honour the firefighters who
gave their lives in defence of the nation during World War Two (1939-1945). It depicts a sub-officer and two branch-men
firefighters with their hoses aimed at St. Paul’s Cathedral which they successfully
helped to protect even after two direct hits during the Blitz (1840 and
1841). London was blitzed with bombs
for 57 consecutive nights, and the area around St Pauls was a scene of total
devastation. Thousands of London homes
were bombed and 28,556 Londoners were killed. This plaque is in honour of the
1027 firemen and 24 firewomen who died fighting fires during the war. The plaque quotes Winston Churchill who
called them “The heroes with grimy faces.”
Sculpted by the British sculptor and painter John W. Mills,
it was unveiled by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother on 4 May 1991. The blitz began on 7 September, so every year
a remembrance service is held here at the statue.
Originally the plaque was to honour those war heroes, but seven
years after it was erected it was decided to extend the memorial to include all
firefighters killed while fulfilling their duty regardless of whether it was
during war or peace. The plinth was
elevated by a metre and 1,192 names were added and unveiled on 16 September
2003 by the Princess Royal, Princess Anne.
The lettering used is the same font as used on the wartime
ration books.
This is an excerpt from the tour St Paul's Precincts found on www.obelisktours.co.uk
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