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Known as the second great fire of London, the worst night of the blitz in the British capital during the Second World War was on the night of 29-30 December 1940. During that night, over 100,000 bombs were dropped on London, causing widespread fires and destroying numerous buildings, including 13 of Sir Christopher Wren’s churches. Central to this tragedy were the brave firefighters who went to extreme measures to save lives and preserve buildings. Many of these firefighters were also talented artists who later documented the turmoil and terror they witnessed through a series of evocative paintings and sketches.
To commemorate the 300th anniversary of Wren’s death, high-quality reproductions of the firefighters’ artworks, along with contemporary photographs from the London fire brigade (LFB) archive, will be showcased across a selection of City of London churches. Fire in the City: Artists in the Blitz, organized by the London Fire Brigade Museum in association with the Square Mile Churches, features works by notable painters such as Wilfred Stanley Haines, Paul Dessau, and Reginald Mills. Mills’ watercolour painting, Fire in the Strand, depicts St Clement Danes after it was hit by an incendiary bomb that pierced its roof. The fire shot into the air through the bell tower, leaving only the tower and exterior walls by morning.
Resting at a Fire by Reginald Mills.
During the Second World War, women joined the fire service for the first time as volunteers in the Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS), taking on various roles such as control operators, dispatch riders, and delivery drivers. These women often had to undertake perilous missions, like driving petrol supplies during bombing raids. Although they were known as the “firemen artists”, a few AFS women were also painters. One of them was Mary Pitcairn, whose painting Driving by Moonlight portrays AFS volunteer Gillian “Bobbie” Tanner driving a truck. Tanner was awarded the George Medal for bravery after volunteering to drive a lorry loaded with 150 gallons of petrol for three hours during intense bombing.
Driving by Moonlight by Mary Pitcairn.
Another firefighter artist was Julia Lowenthal, whose watercolour sketch, Bells Down, references how firefighters were alerted to action by bells in their fire station. The original artworks are currently in deep storage as the LFB plans for a new museum. They were first exhibited in London in March 1941, after 10 artists serving with the AFS formed the Firemen Artists Organising Committee. That year, these artists also toured the US as part of the British government’s efforts to gain American support in the war.
Fire in the City opens on Friday and can be viewed in various churches including St Mary-le-Bow, St Mary Aldermary, St James Garlickhythe, St Magnus the Martyr, and St Stephen Walbrook. A second series of churches will host displays from the end of October. Dinah Winch, the London Fire Brigade Museum curator, expressed that the firefighter artists were courageous individuals who witnessed unimaginable horrors during the Blitz. Their curiosity, creativity, and compassion are evident in their paintings, making them captivating to modern audiences. The exhibition serves as a great opportunity to shed light on their story in the City where they bravely served during the bombing raids.
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