‘Bombed But Far From Beaten'

In May 1940 Pat and baby Carol joined John in their new family home in Chingford; when the Blitz began in September, they evacuated to Oxfordshire. John worked around the clock, daytime in the office, evening making the rounds of London’s fire stations where he often slept or accompanied union members to the fires. John’s ‘front line’ visits gave credibility to the Union’s demands that the Home Office improve firefighters’ conditions.