Plaque | War served, Civilian war dead | WW2

Rathbone Street WW2 fire station - AFS

Rathbone Street WW2 fire station Rathbone Street WW2 fire station - AFS

Erection date: /11/2020

Inscription

AFS London
In memory of seven members of the London Auxiliary Fire Service who died as a result of injuries received in World War II on the night of 17th/18th September 1940, when a building on this site, then in use as a Sub-Fire Station 72Z, received a direct hit from a high-explosive bomb.
{7 names - see Subjects commemorated}.
This plaque also remembers Fm. Harry Errington who, for saving the lives of two fellow firemen in this place on the same night, was awarded the George Cross for gallantry.

This plaque was unveiled on 18 September 2020 at a small memorial ceremony but was not erected on the building until some time in November.

Site: Rathbone Street WW2 fire station (2 memorials)

W1, Rathbone Street

The plaques are around the driveway entrance under the building to the left in our photo. However, photos at Fitzrovia News make us think that the building that was being used as a fire station and that was hit by the bomb was the building to the right in our photo, with the curved arches over the first floor windows. The photos show that it had been a garage before being taken over by the fire service. Our thoughts about the buildings and the arch way are supported by the description of Errington's route to safety.

This section lists the subjects commemorated on the memorial on this page:
Rathbone Street WW2 fire station - AFS

Subjects commemorated i

This section lists the subjects who helped to create/erect the memorial on this page:
Rathbone Street WW2 fire station - AFS

Created by i

Auxiliary Fire Service / AFS

The Auxiliary Fire Service was formed in 1938 as part of the Civil Defence Se...

Read More

This section lists the other memorials at the same location as the memorial on this page:
Rathbone Street WW2 fire station - AFS

Also at this site i

Rathbone Street WW2 fire station - Harry Errington

Rathbone Street WW2 fire station - Harry Errington

On the night of 17th September 1940 during The Blitz, a London Auxiliary Fire...

Read More

Nearby Memorials

St Leonard, Eastcheap

St Leonard, Eastcheap

EC3, King William Street, 2a

Site of St Leonard Eastcheap, destroyed in the Great Fire 1666. The Corporation of the City of London

2 subjects commemorated, 1 creator
James Anthony Froude

James Anthony Froude

SW7, Onslow Gardens, 5

L.C.C. James Anthony Froude. (1818-1894), historian and man of letters lived here.

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
Ewer Street bomb shelter

Ewer Street bomb shelter

SE1, Ewer Street

We found each of these civilian casualties in the CWGC database and the make up is interesting: two children (aged 12 and 16); 12 women; ...

Civilian war dead | WW2
23 subjects commemorated
Baker Street Station Restoration

Baker Street Station Restoration

NW1, Baker Street Station

The walls of both platforms are adorned with information boards giving the history of the railway in text and pictures. We are guessing ...

3 subjects commemorated, 2 creators
Hopton's Almshouses - left pier

Hopton's Almshouses - left pier

SE1, Hopton Road

IanVisits's post about these almshouses in March 2011 pictured another plaque, which we did not see when we visited in January 2012. Ano...

1 subject commemorated