THIS Christmas, while most of us are putting our slippered feet up in front of the telly, one group of key workers will remain at their station.

Every year, the men and women of our emergency services put the pull of family and friends to one side to keep us safe during the festive period.

Among them is the fire service, who no longer just react to 999 calls but also carry out vital preventative work.

And it was during one such round of free smoke alarm installations and safety assessments that Southport’s firefighters came across 89-year-old Marjorie Hopwood – a rare lady among the men of Southport’s fire service more than 60 years ago.

The Ainsdale resident joined the service prior to the outbreak of war, but as hostilities intensified she found herself becoming heavily involved in dousing Liverpool’s blazing docklands, and eventually the D-Day invasion..

This is Marjorie’s story: “On September 3 1939 when war broke out we were told to report to the stations.

“The main fire station was on Tulketh Street, now a car park, and I was in the control room.

“There were five substations in Southport then: on Cobden Road, Weld Road, the Reliance garage in Ainsdale, Bradley Street and Lincoln House.

“I was sent to Lincoln House and found the men there spending their time building a fire tender out of a Sunbeam car!

“I was trained to be in a pump crew and all did squad drill – we had one woman at each station.

“During 1940, there was heavy bombardment on the docks in Liverpool and fire crews were sent from Southport to deal with them.�

Marjorie continued her work in the north, but as the combat situation changed, demand escalated in the south of England in anticipation of the D-Day landings in Normandy.

Marjorie said: “In January 1944, I volunteered to go to the south coast.

“I was stationed in the control room of the fire station in Worthing and remained there until the end of hostilities.

“We all slept in dormitories in a house there and the south coast was swarming with American and Canadian troops.

“It was the first time I’d ever heard about nylons.

“I couldn’t help but notice how much better looking the firemen are today.

“Then I remembered that all the younger ones had been called up into the armed forces in my day.

“We were left with all the old men!�

A spokesman for Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service added: “It’s amazing the sort of stories we come across while carrying out community fire safety work.

“Our advocates and firefighters meet people from all walks of life, this was particularly nice as they were able to see how the fire service had changed over the years.�

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