WalkingSquares: firefighter
Yesterday I walked into town to meet some friends for lunch. My route took me through St George’s Cross where I saw that the memorial to Sub Officer Adrian McGill of the Glasgow Fire Service was decorated with two wreaths. I remembered seeing in the press that there had recently been a ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of his death, attended by current fire officers and members of his family.
This is part of a wider Firefighters’ Heritage Trail which I haven’t walked in its entirety, though I found several other images of parts of it in my “unused” file. Here is an unadorned image of Sub Officer McGill’s plaque which is easier to read, and another memorial to a 1920s fire in the East End. The window carvings are from a former fire station on St George’s Road, now, I think, housing.
The images below just won’t square, but I want to include them all the same. The bronze sculpture, Citizen Firefighter, stands outside Central Station. It was unveiled in 2001 as a tribute to all firefighters, past and present. The Cheapside Street fire in 1960 claimed the lives of fourteen members of the Glasgow Fire Service and five members of the Glasgow Salvage Corps making it the largest number of Fire Service deaths in the peacetime history of the British Fire Service.
Linked to Becky’s WalkingSquares. Sorry not to be more cheerful today, but I’m glad to have finally found a way of featuring the memorials to these brave firefighters for whose lives I am very thankful.
The Glasgow Gallivanter 
My grandfather was a firefighter in Liverpool during WW2. I never realised just how dangerous that was until I read “The Rescue Man” by Anthony Quinn https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rescue-Man-Anthony-Quinn/dp/0224087274
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I can imagine it was hellishly dangerous!
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He didn’t talk about it much. I remember that he opened up a little when I was at the University in Liverpool. He told me that they were dormed in the University Victoria building – that’s the oldest part of the University and the building that lead to the use of the term “Red brick University”
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I think that was the way with many who had been through terrible experiences in the war, they didn’t want to talk about it.
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Such an interesting and very worthy heritage trail.
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I think so too.
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I like the flowers. Firefighters often don’t get the recognition they deserve so this is a lovely tribute to some very brave men.
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I thought when I saw the pictures in the news it was a lovely idea, which I had forgotten about till I saw the flowers. Definitely a good tribute.
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I’m at a fundraiser tomorrow for the bombeiros- Portuguese fire fighters. It’s a scary and wonderful job they do, often in the most difficult of circumstances, and they deserve all the help they can get.
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They certainly do.
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What a wonderful tribute to him 😀 😀
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Thanks, yes it is.
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What a wonderful tribute to those who run towards danger. Thank goodness for those brave heroes.
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Totally agree.
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Seen a couple of them on walks but not all.
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I think you’d have to download the map to find them all, they are quite spread out.
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Such an excellent idea to honour firefighters in this way – I don’t think they very often get the acknowledgement they deserve, given the risks they have to take in their work.
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So very true.
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A heritage trail dedicated to firefighters is unusual. Are there any elsewhere? I love the window carvings, the sort of thing you might find on an old headstone.
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I certainly don’t know of anything similar elsewhere. It’s a good idea, and a lovely tribute.
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A heartfelt tribute, Anabel
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Thanks Sue. I’ve had some of these photos for ages, and seeing the flowers yesterday gave me a way of using them – thanks to Becky and her Squares!
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Brilliant!
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