{"id":25791,"date":"2020-08-05T22:33:15","date_gmt":"2020-08-05T22:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abingdonblog.co.uk\/?p=25791"},"modified":"2020-08-05T22:33:15","modified_gmt":"2020-08-05T22:33:15","slug":"abingdon-poetry-and-verse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/?p=25791","title":{"rendered":"The Abingdon Fire Service and N.F.S. No 15"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Markers\"
\nI am always interested to discover old Abingdon poems and verses and recently found a verse in a book on The Abingdon Fire Service (1871 – 1945)<\/em> by John Hooke. <\/p>\n

During WWII the Abingdon Fire Service helped in the national effort and went to faraway places to put out the fires after the Blitz bombing. They arrived in Coventry after a 60 mile journey. It was complete chaos. ‘See those Almshouses, Leslie, the incendiaries have only just started their work of destruction. We could put them out with a drop of water – but there is no water in the mains. Look out! A stick of bombs fall on the cross roads where we had been standing only seconds before, two firemen just disappear.’<\/em><\/p>\n

Town fire services were nationalised for greater efficiency and central control and to ensure uniform standards. The Abingdon Fire Service became part of National Fire Service No 15 (Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire).
\n\"Markers\"
\nGetting water appeared a problem for the fire service. In Abingdon a static water tank was put in the Market Square and at first was a mystery. A verse appeared in the North Berks Herald and is reprinted in the book …<\/p>\n

A hole has appeared in the Market Square!
\nNow who in the deuce could have put it there?
\nEveryone is ‘hollering out’
\nAnd asking ‘What is it all about?’
\nThe ‘whole thing’ seems extremely rum
\nOh! is it an aquarium?
\nTo give the girls and boys a start
\nAt practising piscatorial art.
\nOr is it an act to surprise the nation
\nAn archaeological excavation
\nBy using subterranean measures
\nTo expose some prehistoric treasures?
\nOr maybe a Lido they’ll install
\n(High diving from the old Town Hall!)
\nWith bathing and basking in the sun
\nAt weekends, or when work is done,
\nBut that, we have no doubt, would send
\nThe elders off at the deepest end
\nAnd give their brows a permanent frown
\n(With Victoria looking benignly down).
\nSomeone says it’s for static water
\nAnd not a pond for your son and daughter.
\nIf that be so it seems so queer
\nWith Father Thames so very near.
\nMoreover the scheme appears unsound
\nWith such a limited parking ground,
\nUnless to cater for the pranks
\nOf the latest type amphibious tanks!
\n‘Tis hoped material will be found
\nThe whole contraption to surround
\nTo keep the kids from falling in
\nOr else your troubles will begin
\nThe fence should be a wooden paling
\nOr the salvage collector will be ‘railing.’
\nIn time they’ll lay the mystery bare
\nAnd you, with me, the scheme will share
\nAnd then you’ll known why it is there
\nThe cavity in the Market Square.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am always interested to discover old Abingdon poems and verses and recently found a verse in a book on The Abingdon Fire Service (1871 – 1945) by John Hooke. During WWII the Abingdon Fire Service helped in the national effort and went to faraway places to put out the fires after the Blitz bombing. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[176,121],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poems-about-abingdon","category-poetry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25791\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.abingdonblog.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}