Hero firefighters honoured by plaque

Families of two men killed when a bomb hit Paisley in World War Two air raid remembered

- ELINA KOBZAR

In the same month as Buddies celebrates Victory in Europe, many Renfrewshire families reflected on what they had lost in World War Two.

For the Farrow and Wilson families, that was a great grandfather and great uncle who died in the line of duty-not on the battlefields in France but in protecting families in Paisley.

Auxiliary firefighters John Sydney Farrow and David Wilson were killed by a bomb during an air raid in 1941 when a bomb fell near West Primary School.

This week both families have shared with the Express the impact of those deaths on their loved ones and of their commitment to keep their memory alive.

Those efforts took a step forward when the Red Plaque Project erected a plaque in memory of the fallen firefighters at West Primary earlier this month.

Run by the Fire Brigades Union, the project creates red plaque memorials for firefighters who lost their lives in the line of duty.

Relatives of the two Paisley firefighters who lost their lives during the Second World War in 1941 were moved by the unveiling of a new plaque in their honour.

A red plaque was unveiled earlier this month commemorating two auxiliary firefighters, John Sydney Farrow and David Wilson, who were killed by a bomb during an aid raid.

Over 150 people joined the event at West School, where the plaque is now located, a site which was used as an auxiliary fire station during the war, and is part of the Red Plaque project, run by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) and funded by the Firefighters 100 Lottery.

John Sydney Farrow volunteered for the Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) as a night-time messenger, alerting the fire service of bombing raids, and was just 16 when he was killed.