Auxiliary Fireman Robert John Deans was born on 8 January 1913 in West Ham, London, the ninth of the eleven children of Thomas Bell Deans (1868-1927) and Emily Louisa Deans née Stevenson (1870-1952). His father was a Ships Boiler Maker/Repairer who died on 7 September 1927 when the family was living at 173 Coventry Road, Ilford, Essex. His father's estate was administered by a Harold Fossey (1897-1967).
The 1939 England and Wales Register shows him as a solicitor's clerk, a member of the AFS Beckenham and as a single man living with his younger brother, Donald Leslie Deans (1914-1995) at 144 The Grove, West Wickham, Kent. This house was also occupied by Harold Fossey, his wife and child.
He was attached to the West Wickham Fire Station and died, aged 28 years, on 20 April 1941 when a German parachute mine landed on Auxiliary Fire Service Sub Station 24U, which was housed in Old Palace LCC School, St. Leonards Street, Poplar. He was buried at Beckenham Cemetery and Crematorium, Elmers End Road, Beckenham, BR3 4TD.
He is also commemorated on the Firefighters Memorial and in their Book of Remembrance. His name is also recorded in the Civilian War Dead Roll of Honour that is held near the entrance to St George's Chapel, at the west end of Westminster Abbey.
Credit for this entry to: Andrew Behan.
