BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY - AFRO-BRITISH " FRANK ARTHUR BAILEY " WAS THE FIRST POST WAR BLACK FIRE FIGHTER IN BRITAIN - GOES INTO THE " HALL OF BLACK HEROES "

    BLACK         SOCIAL           HISTORY                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Honour guard for funeral of London's first black firefighter
London firefighters will form a guard of honour at the funeral of London's first post-war black firefighter Frank Arthur Bailey later today.
 Frank Arthur Bailey joined West Ham Fire Brigade in 1955
Frank Arthur Bailey joined West Ham Fire Brigade in 1955 Credit: London Fire Brigade
Frank Arthur Bailey came to London from Guyana in 1953. He later attended a Trades Union Congress (TUC) conference and heard from a Fire Brigades Union (FBU) delegate that black people 'were not employed by the fire service'.

He applied and joined West Ham Fire Brigade in 1955 and served at Silver WAS THE FIRST POST WAR BLACK FIRE FIGHYRT IN BRITAIN -

town Fire Station. Although there are anecdotal reports of black firefighters during WWII, it's thought Frank was the first full-time black firefighter In London and quite possibly the first in the country.

Frank left the Brigade in 1965 to become a social worker and the first black legal advisor to black youths at Marylebone Magistrates Court.
 Frank Arthur Bailey
Frank Arthur Bailey Credit: London Fire Brigade
Frank was asked for his take on his career for a 2007 Brigade publication called 'In their own words' – a history of black and Asian staff in the London Fire Brigade.'

He said: "I was told that the authorities were not hiring black men because they were not strong enough physically or well enough educated to do the job.

"I immediately recognised racism and said I’m going to apply to be a firefighter and see if they find me unfit. I saved a fellow firefighter's life when he fainted while we were on the fifth floor of a ladder drill session.

"I brought him down to the ground in a fireman's lift. The guy's weight was 16 stone and he was 6'2."
Frank Bailey passed away on the 2nd December 2015, six days after his 90th birthday. He is survived by his three daughters. His funeral will take place later today.
A chance encounter between his daughter Alexis and an FBU London official in 2000 brought Frank to our attention.

His knowledge and passion for black self-organisation and progression in our society remains an inspiration to us today and he is rightly thought of as the father of black firefighting in this country and should not be forgotten.

– MICHAEL NICHOLAS, FBU NATIONAL SECRETARY FOR BLACK & ETHNIC MINORITY MEMBERS