West Ham This Photograph is of some of the Officers and men at West Ham Fire Station, Barking Road, Canning Town. My Grandad, Charles Ronal Gedge is standing 3rd from the left on the rear row.

 He joined West Ham because he and his mate were not tall enough for the City of London Police. He Served at West Ham until 1941.   My Dad, Ron Gedge , tells me of an incident during the Blitz, where Grandad was at work, when a bomb exploded on a local primary school, where local Fire Fighters had been billeted. Grandad attended with others to carry out body recovery,all of these men were mates of my Grandad.  He resumed work, but it had a deep effect on him. His hair turned white, and the final straw came when he just got up and walked out. He was found several miles away, wandering about. He couldn't remember a thing. Hence he was discharged. He was never allowed to carry out any active service again. He had what we would call as Post Trumatic Stress Disorder.

Photo: From the private family collection of Andy Gedge