Churchill Antiques

British Military Collectables, Royal Memorabilia

17^th Century ~ to the present Day 

Preserving the past for the future

Item: BRITISH WWII ZUCKERMAN HELMET FIRE WATCHER HELMET.

A nice conditioned Zuckerman helmet from Great Britain in WWII with F.W. painted within a circle, this would denote Fire Watcher, complete with chinstrap and liner. The Fire Watcher Service was formed in September 1940. However, following the London blitz on Sunday 29 December 1940 it was found that many offices and buildings had been left completely unattended. This led to incendiaries causing fires that could have been dealt with if detected sooner. To combat this, in January 1941, a Fire Watchers scheme was instigated. This new decree meant buildings within certain designated areas had to have a fire watcher present 24 hours a day. They were to deal with incendiaries as best they could and call on the assistance of the fire and rescue parties as needed. For some businesses finding cover for their buildings was difficult and so the Government implemented a compulsory scheme of fire watching. Fire Watchers (men (aged 16-30) and women (aged 20-45) were to be called up for duty and volunteers were also accepted (men up to age 70 and women to the age of 60). Generally, the duties of watching buildings were tedious, with long, boring nights, and the requirement proved highly unpopular. Fire Watchers did not receive any official uniform but generally wore civilian clothes or a boiler suit. They would be issued with a helmet, armband, torch and a means of dealing with small fires a stirrup pump and a scoop for picking up incendiaries and a bucket of sand to put them out. Please note the period photo of two fire watchers is for reference only and does not come with the purchase of this item.

Condition: incredible condition for its age, please view photos to judge for yourself.

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