Green Goddess Responding
On a very frosty morning, AF91, a Royal Navy-manned Green Goddess, responds to a fire alarm.
She is seen here departing the RAF Manston fire station, where we were based during the 1977-78 national fire strike. Manston was the only location in Kent to have two fire engines at that time.
The Navy crews in Kent were all trainees from various courses at HMS Pembroke in Chatham and had replaced Royal Engineer crews who had been manning the engines for most of the strike but needed a break.
Just 12 weeks into my naval service, this was a great adventure and mostly fun. Luckily we never had a really serious fire to deal with...
The Green Goddess is the colloquial name for the Bedford RLHZ Self Propelled Pump, a fire engine used originally by the Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS), and latterly by the British Armed Forces. The design was based on a Bedford RL series British military truck.
I should note that the vehicle above has lost its White Ensign - flown from a broom handle amidships - to a low-hanging branch! We flew them to indicate to the general public that 'the Navy's here...'
Green Goddess Responding
On a very frosty morning, AF91, a Royal Navy-manned Green Goddess, responds to a fire alarm.
She is seen here departing the RAF Manston fire station, where we were based during the 1977-78 national fire strike. Manston was the only location in Kent to have two fire engines at that time.
The Navy crews in Kent were all trainees from various courses at HMS Pembroke in Chatham and had replaced Royal Engineer crews who had been manning the engines for most of the strike but needed a break.
Just 12 weeks into my naval service, this was a great adventure and mostly fun. Luckily we never had a really serious fire to deal with...
The Green Goddess is the colloquial name for the Bedford RLHZ Self Propelled Pump, a fire engine used originally by the Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS), and latterly by the British Armed Forces. The design was based on a Bedford RL series British military truck.
I should note that the vehicle above has lost its White Ensign - flown from a broom handle amidships - to a low-hanging branch! We flew them to indicate to the general public that 'the Navy's here...'