Churchill Antiques
British Military
Collectables, Royal Memorabilia
17th
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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authentic and original items to the period.