Memories from Fire Brigade at Pressed Steel Company

The contributors shared the story of Walter Gibbs, who was born in 1900. Walter was the Deputy Chief Fire Officer of the fire brigade at Pressed Steel Company, where the Mini Plant now operates in Oxford. The contributors noted that Walter's daughter, Chris, was born in 1936. The contributors shared that Walter had an alarm fixed to the stairs at home, which rang 6 times for an emergency. They explained that, when she was 3.5 years old, Chris had the duty of retrieving her father's bicycle while he dressed for work. The contributors highlighted that there were competitions with other factories throughout the Second World War (a pamphlet from these competitions was brought for digitisation), and Chris would give the flowers while wearing home made dresses that were typically made from the curtains. The contributors had brought Walter's helmet and trophy, along with other documents and letters, for digitisation. They noted that Walter's helmet was kept at the factory. The contributors shared that there was a home made air raid shelter in the garden of the family's home and, between 1939 and 1945, Chris would spend hours in the garden with her father unless football was on. Chris also recalled bananas being very exciting when she first tried them during the wartime. The contributors added that Walter was in service during the First World War, and he worked in the factory during the Second World War as he was too old to be called up for service.