| W. (�Bill�) Meaden. 1934-2005. |
| It is with deep regret that the death is announced of former President of NARF, Bill Meaden.
Bill was Devonian, born in Plymouth, but the family moved to the lovely village of Imber in Wiltshire which, regretably, was taken over by the Army for training purposes at the outbreak of the Second World War. Bill and his family, with all of the other villagers, had to move out at very short notice. The promise that they would all be allowed to return, on the cessation of hostilities, was never kept.
As a young man Bill was apprenticed as a plumber before serving 2 years with the Army, after which he joined the Fire Service. He served with the London Fire Brigade (where he met and married Shirley) until, at the age of fifty two, he retired from his post a Senior Fire Prevention Officer, taking up an appointment as Emergency Planning Officer with the London Borough of Hounslow. He served there for three (not very happy) years. By that time Bill and Shirley had been living at Kings Lynn, Norfolk, in a house they called �Imber� in recognition of the great affection held for his former village and life style.
Bill and Shirley were due to celebrate their forty eighth wedding anniversary the week after his death.
Bill was a quite exceptional servant to NARF, with which he first came into contact in 1992 as the representative of the London RMA. His abilities and powers of leadership were quickly recognised. He was appointed Vice President, and in April 2000, National President: a position he held with great distinction. After three somewhat turbulent years in NARFs� history, he retired in the Spring of 2003, and was honoured with a Life Vice- Presidency.
Bill was a tireless worker, not only for Fire Service Pensioners, but for the elderly in general. He had been a long-standing member of Age Concern (England) where, more recently, he had been appointed a Trustee. He represented NARF on the National Pensioners� Convention and the Public Services Pensioners� Council.
By virtue of his Life Vice-Presidency he remained an active member of the National Council and also the Pensions Committee.
Everyone recognised that Bill was a man of strong convictions and tremendous drive. He enjoyed travelling abroad, especially Europe, which he loved ( France and Spain in particular). He was an excellent raconteur and bon viveur, and perhaps, above all, unfailingly good company.
We will miss him greatly.
Barry Hook.
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| Owen Jesse Cole |
Born 11th April 1902 � Died 8th November 2005.
Owen passed away peacefully at the age of 103 at the home of his daughter Thelma, with whom he had been staying since moving from Gloucester to Essex in 1999.
He had a fascinating history, having joined the Gloucester City Fire Brigade in 1916 at the age of 15 as a Cadet Fireman. His earliest duties were as a messenger and he was required to go around the houses of Firemen to summon them to a fire.
Although of diminutive stature at 5�2�� he was recruited because of the demands on manpower caused by the First World War. However his enthusiasm ensured that on 28th January 1918 he was taken on in full time employment in Gloucester City Fire Brigade. It was a different era then, thirteen days on duty and one day off for the handsome sum of 28 shillings a week (�1.40).
Owen was the first person, in the rank of Fireman, to pass the Institute of Fire Engineers Examination. In 1937 he was one of the first to drive and operate the �new� Leyland Metz turntable ladder that served in Gloucester City Fire Brigade up to 1967 and which he was re united with on his 100th Birthday in the old Bearland Fire Station where he started his service. (Bearland Fire Station was now home to a small motor transport museum).
Prior to the outbreak of the Second World War Owen moved to Littlehampton as a Superintendent Engineer. One of his responsibilities was to train members of the Auxiliary Fire Service which was being expanded as a result of the outbreak of hostilities. With the formation of the NFS (National Fire Service) Owen saw great changes in the British Fire Service with the standardisation of equipment and training. One of his unusual tasks was to train Canadian soldiers in the use of �Salvus� breathing apparatus, which were used as escape sets for tank crews.
He was appointed as Port Fire Officer at Littlehampton three months before D-Day and was responsible for the fire protection of barges containing vast amounts of ammunition and fuel. He received a commendation from the Home Secretary for his actions in dealing with a fire at a local boatyard.
After the war he transferred to Chichester where he was Officer in Charge, until his retirement in 1957. Owen then returned to Gloucester with his wife May, who sadly passed away in 1981. Owen and May had seven children, four girls and three boys. Owen continued to work after leaving the fire service and was employed in the packaging department of Dowty Rotol, a local aircraft component manufacturer, until he retired at the age of 65.
He continued to maintain links with the Fire Service and built up a wealth of Fire Service memorabilia that he continued to display until he was 102, when he passed it over to his Grandson Brian, who had just retired from Essex Fire and Rescue Service.
Owen had an amazing capacity for work and was always making things to sell to raise funds for the Church and Charities. I received regular correspondence from him, typed on his old manual typewriter, detailing what he had been up to and the various open days at fire stations that he would be visiting and fire service events that he would be involved in. Owen last visited the Fire Station in Gloucester on 28th September 2004 when he attended the Branch meeting of the Gloucestershire Branch of Retired Firefighters.
Owen was an amazing character and he was a wonderful person to know. Always active he was planning his 105th birthday celebrations which sadly he was never to see.
Paul Gaze.
Secretary � Gloucestershire Branch of the National Association of Retired Firefighters.
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