Blitz firefighter finally gets her war medal at age 102

FIREFIGHTER Ula Rigg has at last been honoured for her lifesaving heroics in the Blitz, at the age of 102.

- By James Podesta

Eight decades after she served with the Auxiliary Fire Service as the Luftwaffe bombed her home city of Bristol, the great-great-grandmother has been awarded her Defence Medal.

Her long-awaited Second World War honour has been engraved with the name and image of the then monarch, King George VI.

Tears

Ula, who lives in a nursing home, said: "I'm going to remember this for the rest of my life." Her daughter Debbie said the presentation brought "tears to her eyes" as the recognition "was long overdue".

Her mother had joined the AFS at 18 in 1940 and worked under extreme pressure, deploying fire crews to where they were most needed during the war. Fires caused by bombing had to be put out immediately or they would highlight targets for the next wave of planes in the blackout.