Fire watching and the defence of families

A family recollection describes a grandfather who served on fire watch in London, including watching from buildings such as St Paul's Cathedral. He watched for fires around the city and for signs that the buildings themselves had caught fire. He is described as having treated rescue work as an ordinary obligation rather than distinguished war service. Conversations with him and other older men are then used to explain their determination that younger family members should escape an invasion. Previous exposure to First World War bombardments is suggested as another source of resilience. A comparison with Germany argues that fear of Soviet occupation could produce a different willingness to resist from that encountered by the Western Allies. These are personal recollections and interpretations of motivation, rather than a measure of how every unit would have fought.