By JO HARRISON
THE heroic deeds of eight firefighters from Armidale who received the inaugural Medal for Conspicuous Bravery 80 years ago were honoured at a series of special events held at the Armidale Town Hall last Friday.
Family, friends, the community and Fire & Rescue NSW members gathered for the first time to share stories and commemorate the bravery of the eight men who battled a fire at the H Braund & Company Ltd store in Armidale on 18 May 1932.
The incident claimed the lives of firefighters W Robinson and B F Jones when detonators stored in the building exploded.
A display of memorabilia collected from family members and Fire & Rescue staff included the eight Medals for Conspicuous Bravery, the fire helmet that 20-year-old Beresford Jones wore the night he was tragically killed and the original Garford ME68 1927 fire engine that was used the night of the fire.
Penrith’s Museum of Fire CEO Mark White, who helped collect the memorabilia, said that Friday’s event was extremely significant because it is the longest issued emergency service medal in Australia.
“The Medal for Conspicuous Bravery was instituted in 1933 as a result of this fire and the fact that it was awarded to eight firemen is beyond parallel,” he said.
“For the town of Armidale it shows the bravery of what was a great brigade from the early 1800s until their amalgamation with the NSW Fire Brigade in 1909. So they have a long colourful history and an outstanding result from this fire where they were able to save large parts of the CBD of Armidale.”
Susan Smart, the niece of fireman Beresford Jones who was killed said that while she was growing up the tragic event was seldom spoken of by family members.
“It wasn’t talked about a great deal in my family but I did know what happened,” she said.
“My father had photographs of the fire scene, funeral procession and uncle Berry’s helmet but it must have been a very painful experience for him. It is only now that we are digging into family history and finding out more information.
“The fact that my father left the fire brigade to join the Mounted Police and Uncle Berry took his place may have had something to do with how painful it was for my father.”
Armidale Station Officer Wayne Zikan has spent many months organising the commemoration activities. He believes that it is important to remember the sacrifice and contribution that emergency personnel have made over many years.
“It is important to remember these men and women, they are a big part of communities who have helped give a sense of security,” he said.
“It also important for relatives to think that the sacrifice wasn’t in vain and it is important to the service to promote the heroic acts of it members.”
Following the display, activities were held to commemorate the anniversary including a service at Armidale Fire Station and a community function at the Armidale Town Hall.
BREAKOUT:
Conspicuous Bravery Medal recipients:
F G W Maizey
T Snell
R W Wicks
J H Munsie
R J Colmer
T S Snell
W Robinson (posthumous)
B H Jones (posthumous)
