Auxiliary Fire Service Practice, Ilford (1942)

Short amateur film showing the men of the Auxiliary Fire Service in Ilford in training in Ilford during the Second World War.

The Auxiliary Fire Service consisted of volunteer firemen and was set up in 1938 in preparation for forthcoming war. This film was shot by Raymond Beck, a volunteer in Ilford, who filmed the group preparing their equipment and then taking part in a practise drill. They were based in Highlands Primary School on Highlands Road in Ilford, a building that had been damaged by bombs during the Blitz.