DIED IN BLITZ

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 122, 26 May 1942, Page 3

DIED IN BLITZ

BOY FIRE FIGHTERS

NO PENSION FOR MOTHER

LONDON, March 20

On the day that war broke out the corner of Buckingham Gate nearest to the palace and birdcage-walk had a fire-watching and fire-fighting voluntary body ready for action. It was composed of residents and workers in the adjoining blocks. Before the war a communal fund had been raised to buy equipment. One of the contributors was the Duchy of Cornwall, whose offices— since blitzed with the total destruction of the King's Council Room— are in that section of the thoroughfare. The voluntary brigade worked in full co-operation with the .Westminster A.R.P. organisation. It had its baptism of fire on December 29, 1940—the night of the second Great Fire of London. The amateur fire-fighters, some of them mere boys of 17, 18 and 19, extinguished many fire bombs, and, boylike, fought for the remains as souvenirs while H.E.'s were coming down. They had other nights of fire fighting. Then came May 10 —London's worst night. Just after midnight a very heavy bemb fell beside the duchy offices. Two IS-year-old boys, Edwin Leitch and Edward Payne, were killed, their bodies flung almost to the palace railings. Funds from the Public Assistance Board paid for the lads' funerals. Leitch was the main support of his mother, but she received no pension. From a hospital bed. where he spent several months suffering from blast and cuts. Mr. Charles A. Oliver, warden and organiser of the voluntary brigade, conducted negotiations with the district valuer for compensation for lost equipment. His claim amounted to £12 5/6. He sent it in on July 21 last year. He still awaits a settlement.—Sunday Express.