The Belmont Fire Brigage
Fr Brendan Thomas • May 8, 2020
Today we mark VE Day, 75 years since the guns fell silent at the end of the war in Europe, and give thanks for the peace that was won and pay tribute to the service and sacrifice of the entire Second World War generation. What a courageous example they gave for which we will always be grateful.
The monks played their part, such as Fr Christopher McNulty who resigned as Headmaster in 1941 and received a commission as Chaplain to the Forces. Fifteen Old Boys of the school gave their lives in the armed forces during the war and are remembered in the memorial chapel. Below we recall the small local effort of some of the monks of Belmont in difficult times.
Shortly before his death Fr Hugh Menken gave an account of how five Belmont monks volunteered for the fire service in the Second World War, and formed the country's only monastic fire brigade. We reproduce the story from the Hereford Times.
The fire at the Rotherwas Munitions Factory in 1944 is a well-known event in Hereford's history. What is less well known is that one of the county's more unusual fire crews was among the first on the scene. Peter Smith, who has a keen interest in the history of the fire service in Herefordshire, discovered in the course of his research the existence of a unique war-time fire brigade.
In 1940 five monks at Belmont Abbey volunteered for the fire service, working alongside more experienced crews during the war years. Fascinated by how the monks found themselves in the fire service, Mr Smith asked Father Hugh Menken, one of the original fire crew, to share his memories of life in Belmont Abbey's brigade, and was delighted to receive a handwritten account of his parallel life as a firefighter.
He detailed many events from the time his career took a - temporary - change of direction. "In November 1940, a small group offered their services," Father Hugh recalled in his account. "Many of the others were already working for the Air Raid Precautions (ARP). We were provided with a uniform and trained on a two-man manual pump. This rather primitive equipment was housed at Belmont, though it never saw active service."
Later, the Belmont complement rose to 15, the manual pump was withdrawn and replaced with a Coventry Climax Major towing pump and a converted Commer towing vehicle.
"The Commer had already seen much commercial use," Fr Hugh recalled, "and was in a parlous state as to roadworthiness: insufficient compression in the engine to tow the Coventry Climax at any reasonable speed, the gear gate was so loose that gear selection was difficult and the brakes were virtually non-existent. "Only the skill of the driver, Fireman (Rev) Paul Bloom prevented a very nasty accident when the brakes failed entirely on Fromes Hill."
According to Father Hugh, the country's only 'monastic' brigade was recognised by the Home Office for its propaganda value and a Picture Post photographer despatched to Belmont to take shots of the monks as firemen. They also received visits from many senior fire officers, but, wrote Father Hugh, there was a hidden agenda to the visits.
"Two things made such visits possible: monk firemen were an unusual curiosity, and invitations to visit the Abbey relieved HQ in Hereford of their commanding officers staying too long." Calls from HQ to arrange the VIP visits always ended with a request that Father Hugh call HQ the moment the VIP left the Abbey. "It was not merely for official knowledge of their whereabouts," wrote Father Hugh, "but so that Hereford themselves could be on the alert should a further call be made at the fire station!"
The first fire the Belmont brigade attended was at the old Barrel Inn in Eign Street, their last a big fire at an emergency hospital at Hope- under-Dinmore. They were also, with Hereford, the first on the scene at the Rotherwas munitions factory fire in 1944.
"All the gates were locked, everyone was supposed to have been evacuated. It was eerie waiting for the keys to the gate to get at the fires burning in small patches all over the area towards Dinedor Hill," wrote Father Hugh. "The original blast must have killed all the wildlife. There was not a sound from nature, not a bird to be seen, only an ominous drip-drip from a pipe in a wrecked canteen just over the wire fence. Before the keys arrived, we climbed the high wire fence to assist a solitary worker crying for help - he must have been missed when the workers were evacuated. He had a badly lacerated hand with the thumb almost severed, so we bandaged him up and got him off in our ATV to the ambulances at Bullingham."
Memories of the monastic fire brigade of 60 years ago are not the only thing to have vanished. The silver rose bow awarded annually to part time fire stations was returned it 1945 to Hereford Fire Station by the Belmont brigade, the last recipients, and no trace of it can now be found.
Pope Francis RIP Pope 2013-2025 Born 1936, Died 2025 We are deeply saddened at the passing of Pope Francis. As the successor of St Peter he has been a spiritual father and shepherd to the church in our day, challenging us, and calling as to reach out to those on the peripheries. He was the first Jesuit Pope, but took the name Francis after the Poor Man of Assisi who modelled for him a closeness to the poor, a concern for those on the margins of society and a care for all of creation In his preaching Pope Francis always spoke of the joy of the Gospel and encouraged us to reflect the joy of our faith in our lives. He showed the compassion of Jesus to everyone. He worked tirelessly for the unity of the church and travelled even to non-Christian countries promoting a message of peace. He has left a great legacy. With the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio with the community over Easter we were able to express our closeness to the Holy Father in his final suffering. There will be a special Mass at Belmont this Thursday 24th April at 11am to pray for Pope Francis as he makes his final journey to the house of the Father. On the day of his funeral, the Office of the Dead will be sung, and Mass that day will be a Requiem. May the angels lead him into paradise; may the martyrs receive him at his arrival and lead him to the holy city Jerusalem. May choirs of angels receive him and with Lazarus, the poor man grant him eternal rest." (The In Paradisum, words from the Funeral Liturgy)
We were were honoured and delighted to be joined by the Apostolic Nuncio to celebrate Easter. His Excellency Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendía is the representative of the Holy See in Great Britain, and therefore of the Holy Father. His presence on Easter Sunday morning brought us more consciously in communion with Pope Francis, the successor of St Peter, as we heard the Gospel story of Peter running to the tomb. His patron saint is St Michael, so afterwards, at a festive lunch we were able to present him with some Belmont cufflinks with the monastery coat of arms - very similar to his as Archbishop. We were able to pray for him and his work in this country.
