Cyril Demarne
| Cyril Demarne | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
7 February 1905 Poplar, London, United Kingdom |
| Died | 28 January 2007 (aged 101) |
| Occupation | British wartime firefighter Author |
| Spouse(s) | Alice Blanche |
| Children | Two daughters; Josephine and Marji |
Cyril Thomas Demarne OBE (7 February 1905 – 28 January 2007) was a British firefighter. He served in London during the Second World War, throughout the Blitz. He was later involved in establishing aviation firefighting units in Australasia and in Beirut. In retirement, he wrote several books based on his wartime experiences.
Demarne was born in Poplar, London. As a boy, he recalled seeing troops marching from Woolwich through the Blackwall Tunnel with horses pulling the guns. Most distinctly, he remembered the Zeppelin raids on London in 1915 and witnessing the downing of the Schütte-Lanz SL11 (1916) for which William Leefe Robinson was awarded the Victoria Cross. Those dramatic events were a precursor of the relentless bombing of the capital 25 years later
He joined the West Ham Fire Brigade in 1925 and was a Sub-Officer instructing the Auxiliary Fire Service when war was declared.
He spent the period from September 1940 to May 1941 serving in West Ham, one of the most heavily bombed areas in the country.
The first day of the Blitz (7 September 1940), Demarne recalled a "lovely sunny day. It was about 5 pm. There were about 300 German aircraft. Some detached and flew along the waterfront from North Woolwich to the tidal basin, bombed the big factories along the River Thames." These included the giant Tate and Lyle factory in Silvertown. The factories had thousands of people working in them, and the bombing caused "horrendous casualties". Buildings were ablaze for three miles along the River Thames. Demarne ordered 500 pumps to the scene. His commander thought was this a bit excessive, and sent someone to check: he reported back that 1,000 engines were needed. Remembering those days 60 years later, Demarne recalled "In the first week of the Blitz I thought London wouldn't be able to stand up to it. There were huge craters and gas flames blazing high in the air and tangled telephone cables everywhere but every night the emergency services got to work and got everything up and running all over again."
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