In that December the Borough Fire Brigade Committee found the Brigade in good order but a year later the situation had changed dramatically and they decided to disband it and form a new Brigade. In 1907 the Station moved to the Town Hall in Cross Hayes. At this time the alarm was the Silk Mill siren. Horses were then provided by Duck's Brewery [32 Cross Hayes] which kept them in stables in Cross Hayes Lane, but later the Borough Council had two horses that normally pulled the ash cart. However sometimes when the alarm sounded someone had to run and catch horses loose in a meadow by the river in Holloway. There were arrangements to use other horses when the usual team was unavailable and one such agreement was made with Adye and Son [52 High Street], A new horse-drawn Merryweather 'Gem' steam pump was bought in 1920.
10th October 1925 saw a great change with the purchase of a petrol driven Dennis 35hp, 250/300 gallon light turbine with ladder, christened King Athelstan. The purchase price of 1,000 guineas was raised by public subscription, as it was for all of the appliances then. In March 1926 the Brigade was embarrassed by a major fire at Sopworth that got out of control. A defective flue in the nursery of Sopworth House caught light during the night. The owners. Colonel and Mrs. Stanley tried to raise the alarm by telephone but were unable to get any response. Eventually a Police Constable in Luckington saw the glow of the fire on the horizon. He got a lift to the Police Station in Sherston. From there he was able to phone the Police in Malmesbury who called Edgar Basevi. the town's photographer, who lived at 32 Gloucester Street. He woke his neighbour Bill Paginton, a fireman whose job was to alert the Fire Captain. Egbert Edwards (b1879) who lived at 27 Holloway. The fire engine was on its way within 6 minutes and arrived in Sopworth 18 minutes later. By the time it arrived the fire had been burning for at least 2½ hours and the Chippenham Brigade were already there. Councillors at the Borough Council meeting on 2 April called on the Postmaster General to carry out a full enquiry. The reason for the debacle was because the telephonist on duty at Malmesbury's exchange, Reg Wakefield. was asleep.
Shortly afterwards Capt. Scott Mackirdy [Abbey House] promoted a mutual aid scheme between a number of communities bounded by Tetbury and Corsham in the west. Marlborough in the east and Trowbridge and Devizes in the south with Chippenham at the centre which also housed the control room. Between them they could call upon 10 motor pumps, two trailer pumps and many other appliances. Malmesbury was part of the West Midlands District of the National Fire Brigades Association and entered their competitions each year. The District comprised 61 authorities and the brigade was pleased to win a trophy in July 1927 at Banbury.
Councillor Scott Mackirdy presented a Studebaker ambulance to the Borough on 20th November 1927. Before World War II it cost users lOd. per mile with a minimum of 5s., described in Riddick's Directories which charge merely represents the actual cost of running. During 1928 a new electric alarm system with a bell in each fireman's home was installed. It took an average of 4½ minutes to call the crew out. Malmesbury was justifiably proud of its firemen and installed a prominent sign on each of their houses.
The Fire Brigades Act 1938 prepared the service for war although little changed locally. The Rural District Council [10 High Street] should have become the local Fire Authority but they did not disturb the arrangement whereby the Borough Council administered the Brigade, with both Councils contributing to the cost and sometimes complaining about their share. A small trailer pump was acquired which was towed by the Chief Officer's car.
At the end of the war the King Athelstan appliance reached the end of its life. It was replaced by an Austin Hose Reel Tender (HRT) with trailer pump, a type commonly used during the war and this lasted until the early 1960s. It was joined by a similar auxiliary towing vehicle (ATV) that could tow the pump and carry other equipment such as extra hose reels. These were the two appliances when, following the Fire Services Act 1947, the Brigade became the responsibility of Wiltshire County Council.
The Studebaker ambulance also expired during the war. A requisitioned Rolls Royce was converted but was returned to its owner when the war ended. A Ford V8 was used for a short while until an ex Army Austin with an open front was obtained. This ambulance, based in Cross Hayes at the back of the George Hotel, was taken over by the County The Fire Station in the Town Hall caused problems due to the narrowness of the entrance and exit. The engine was able to drive through from the yard behind which was also used for exercises. In 1962 a small Dennis F8 appliance built in 1953 with a Rolls Royce engine moved here from Calne. This vehicle, registration number JMW 424, is now preserved in the Atwell-Wilson Museum at Calne. It remained here until the Station moved to its present building in the Old Station Yard during 1969.
Since then there have been regular changes of equipment, for example, in 1969 a Bedford tender, 1979 a Dodge tender, and so on. The fire engine in 2004 is the prototype Dennis Sabre Water Tender Ladder Rescue Appliance. This was designed by a consortium of five brigades and has more equipment than production models including an exhaust brake, winch, cutting and lifting gear. Retained or part-time fire fighters are wholly responsible for this station. They are summoned by the alarm which is raised by a signal from the new combined service control room in Devizes. This travels along one of two telephone lines or a microwave link to activate the radio transmitter in the station that sets off each fire fighter's bleeper if it is within range.
Source: Charles Vernon
