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June 2024 June 2024

SPOTLIGHT ON …….. INTERESTING LIVES

…… Bere Regis Firefighters Pamela Mann
Janey Gordon
Born in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, I was four
In the parishes of Bere Regis and Affpuddle with when my family moved to Hailsham, Sussex.
Turnerspuddle, and the villages these parishes There, I went to a private school that taught
include, there are a number of people who give French which, interestingly, remained my best
subject throughout school. As my mother was
their time and energies to support the local communities and individuals who live from Yorkshire, she missed her family, so the move
here. They contribute to the villages either as individuals or as groups and teams.
was made to Wakefield. Not the easiest transition
The parish magazine is running a short series to “Spotlight” some of these, and this for me, from private school in the South of
month we are featuring the crew of Bere Regis Firefighters, who operate out of the England to State school in the North. I couldn’t understand them and they didn’t
fire station in North Street. want to understand me! Difficult for a 7-year-old who, even then, regarded
friendship as very important. Unfortunately, I also had my first taste of bullying.
This is an ‘On-Call’ fire station, which means that the firefighters are not ‘wholetime’ However, from there, I went to a (minor) Public School and have continued
but schedule themselves to be ‘on-call’ for between 40 and 120 hours per week. several of those friendships to this day.
During these hours they must carry their ‘alerter’ (pager) and be able to respond to
an emergency call out. They also all meet at the fire station every Tuesday for a During my childhood, my architect father had many books published. Through
drill night, so I went along to meet them. him, the family learned about the emotional undulations involved in writing. An
optimistic man, having submitted either articles or books, he would comment,
There are currently four on-call firefighters in Bere Regis, who are all very local. They about a week following submission – “They’ve accepted it!”, only for the
are professional firefighters with the requirements for fitness and capability that this manuscript to plop back on to the mat the following day! I was to learn,
carries with it, exactly like any wholetime firefighter. They are paid a retainer when eventually, that that is usually part of writing. In fact, now, manuscripts are often
they are on-call but when they go out as a member of the fire crew, they are paid not acknowledged at all when turned down. Not easy, but part of the process.
an hourly rate. Perseverance is a large part of writing.
Tom Boulter is the Station Commander, I asked him why he decided to become an Again, a mention of my father which influenced my life. At the age of 10, he was
on-call firefighter. pushed into a swimming pool and couldn’t swim. On being dragged out, he was
Tom: I have always lived in Bere Regis and I wanted to do something for the barely alive and had lost his hearing in one
village. When I was six or seven a fire crew came to the school to talk to us, and I ear. That hearing loss was to affect the
was very impressed by them. As I grew up, I felt that being a firefighter was where whole of his career. However, the
my personal skillset lay. I am very proud of making a difference. If we get called to experience resulted in his ensuring that my
a road traffic accident, we know that the people involved could get no better brother and I learned to swim at an early
care! I am very proud of our crew. age. He started to train me when I was
seven and passed me to a professional (er…
Moira Mathers is a one of the Bere Regis firefighters. Why did she become a handsome!) swimming trainer at the age of
firefighter? 10. At 13, I swam in the National
Championships and came fourth: the first
Moira: I have always been aware of the roll of on-call firefighter. When I moved to three went to the Olympics!
the village a few years ago it coincided with a recruitment drive. I wanted to
contribute to the village and I felt I was part of a smaller subset of people who After “A” levels, I didn’t know what I wanted
could take on the role. It was also a personal challenge to see if I could do it. The to do. At that time, the Scottish aunt and
application and selection process are quite tough. uncle of a good friend of mine, Jean, had
emigrated to Canada and kept inviting her
to visit them. So, as we both loved travelling,

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