Person    | Male  Born 19/11/1926  Died 23/1/1958

Fireman Richard Daniel Stocking

Fireman Richard Daniel Stocking

Richard Daniel Stocking was born on 19 November 1926, the third of the five children of Richard Daniel Stocking (1903-1953) and Rose Florence Stocking née Oates (1902-1951). His birth was registered in the 4th quarter of 1926 in the St Olave (Bermondsey) registration district. His father was a greengrocer's assistant.

His elder sisters were Florence Margaret Stocking (1920-1993) and Lilian Elizabeth Kathleen Stocking (1924-1983). His younger siblings were Roy E. Stocking (b.1938) and Pauline Stocking (b.1943). The 1939 England and Wales Register shows the family living at 2 Gomm House, Gomm Road, Bermondsey.

He married Joan Margaret Emery (1924-1973) in the 1st quarter of 1946 in the Bermondsey registration district and the birth of their daughter, Cherry L. Stocking, was registered in the 4th quarter of 1946 in the Bethnal Green registration district.

He became a Fireman and was based at Clerkenwell Fire Station. On 23 January 1958, aged 31 years, he was overcome by smoke and fumes whilst wearing breathing apparatus during fire fighting operations in the basement of Smithfield Poultry Market. He and Station Officer Jack Fourt-Wells became lost in the basement labyrinth beneath the market and were not missed nor reported missing until it was too late. He was taken to St Bartholomew's Hospital but was tragically pronounced dead on arrival.

Probate records show his address to have been 134 Avalon Road, Orpington, Kent, and that when administration of his estate was granted on 6 June 1958 to his widow, his effects totalled £1,206-15s-0d.

His name is also shown on the National Firefighters Memorial, Sermon Lane, London, EC4 and in the Firefighters Memorial Trust's Book of Remembrance.

Credit for this entry to: Andrew Behan.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Fireman Richard Daniel Stocking

Commemorated ati

Fourt-Wells + Stocking

To mark the 60th anniversary of the fire this plaque was unveiled, on one of ...

Read More

Highgate Cemetery - Fire - R04 - Fourt-Wells & Stocking

Stn. O. Jack Fourt-Wells, Fm. Richard Daniel Stocking. 23.1.58, Smithfield Ma...

Read More

Other Subjects

Fm. Ronald Stiles

Fm. Ronald Stiles

Firefighter from Downham Fire Station who died as a result of a fire.

Person, Emergency Services

1 memorial
Major F. W. Jackson, CBE, DSO

Major F. W. Jackson, CBE, DSO

A contributor to WW2 Talk is researching this man: " ... my grandfather was in the RASC during WW1. He joined the London Fire Brigade in 1920 and was the Chief Fire Officer for London during the Bl...

Person, Emergency Services

1 memorial
L. W. Skitt

L. W. Skitt

Either lost his life, or gave distinguished service to the London Fire Brigade, and was buried in the Highgate Cemetery plot between 1884 and 1955.

Person, Emergency Services

1 memorial
William Edward Richard Whitlock

William Edward Richard Whitlock

William Edward Richard Whitlock was born on 29 April 1916, the younger son of Bertram Sidney Whitlock (1890-1917) and Rosetta Whitlock née Killick (1893-1971). His birth was registered in the 2nd q...

Person, Emergency Services

War dead non-military, WW2
1 memorial
H. G. Sharp, (London Salvage Corps)

H. G. Sharp, (London Salvage Corps)

Either lost his life, or gave distinguished service to the London Fire Brigade, and was buried in the Highgate Cemetery plot between 1884 and 1955.

Person, Emergency Services

1 memorial

Previously viewed

V1 and V2 rockets

V1 and V2 rockets

The V1 and V2 rockets were developed as a reaction to the heavy allied bombing of German cities towards the end of WW2. (V stands for Vergeltungswaffe - retribution weapon'). In total, over 3,000 V...

Event, Tragedy

28 memorials
G. H. Pearce

G. H. Pearce

Co-partner or employee of the South Suburban Gas Company. Served but did not die in WW1.

Person, Armed Forces

War served, WW1
1 memorial
Sir Derek Barton

Sir Derek Barton

Organic chemist. Born Derek Harold Richard Barton at Grenfell Sun Lane, Gravesend, Kent. After his initial studies, he spent a year at Harvard university. For his work on the relationship between c...

Person, Science, France, Scotland, USA

1 memorial
Charles H. Osmer

Charles H. Osmer

Role on the lost expedition: Officer on SS Erebus. See John Franklin.

Person, Exploring, Tragedy

1 memorial
William Hogarth

William Hogarth

Satirical artist and illustrator. Trained as an engraver, he depicted the unseemly behaviour of contemporaries in works like 'The Beggar's Opera' (1728) and 'A Rake's Progress' (1732). Much of his ...

Person, Art, Seriously Famous

12 memorials