Green Goddess

The Auxiliary Fire Service, first established in 1938 and amalgamated into the National Fire Service during World War II, was re-established as a voluntary service in 1948 alongside the Civil Defence Corps as part of civil defence preparations during the early stages of the Cold War, with subsequent events such as the Soviet Union detonating an atomic bomb making their presence supporting civilians as part of Britain's civil defence an important role. In a report to the Civil Service by the Strath Committee, which was kept secret from the general population, it was thought that a nuclear attack on Britain would cause firestorms in major cities, which would overwhelm the ordinary fire service, so a large stock of basic fire engines was ordered to form a reserve capacity. The Green Goddess machines were not primarily fire engines (AFS members referred to them as "appliances"), instead being titled "self-propelled pumps", with some being two-wheel drive (4×2), and others in four-wheel drive (4×4) configuration. In the event of a nuclear attack on Britain, as part of a 125-vehicle AFS 'Mobile Column', Green Goddess appliances were to be deployed in a relay system of up to to pump huge quantities of water from lakes, rivers, canals and other sources to regular firefighters in affected cities. Supported by AFS Land Rover or Austin Gipsy command cars equipped with barometers for deployment uphill or downhill, Green Goddesses were stationed at regular intervals to boost water pressure; to transport large volumes of water from beaches or estuaries, three inflatable rafts equipped with portable pumps were provided on the back of Bedford RL or Commer Q4 'Transportable Water Unit' flatbeds, known informally as the 'Bikini Unit'. Firefighting was a secondary role. The Green Goddess remained in continuous use by the AFS, regularly being deployed on training exercises, until the disbandment of the Civil Defence Corps and the AFS in 1968 by the government of Harold Wilson due to high costs and a lack of volunteers, having disbanded the Rescue Section and Ambulance and First Aid Section two years prior. ==Technical specifications==

Unlike modern engines, Green Goddesses had no radio, no cutting equipment, no power steering and only a single ladder, and were relatively slow with a maximum speed of around , a comfortable cruising speed of , and they were sensitive on corners. Fuel consumption was between , depending on driving style and quantity of water carried. They also have less water capacity at in 4×2 form – on 4×4 form – than a modern vehicle, and poorer stability due to a lack of baffle partitions in the water tank. Most had bodywork assembled by Papworth Industries, although up to 200 had bodies assembled by Park Royal Vehicles. Some were later modified by the installation of flashing blue lights and two-tone warning sirens, and alterations to the rear lamps, to bring them into line with then current practice on "regular" emergency appliances. Mechanically, they were designed to be robust and easy to maintain in the event of a nuclear attack. which fed small diameter hoses on each side of the vehicle to give an immediate "first aid" capacity to fight a fire while the main hoses were connected and brought into use. A stirrup pump was also carried, together with a full range of other suitable tools and equipment. Crew The vehicles were normally crewed by an officer in charge, who sat in the front passenger seat, a driver/pump operator, and four fire fighters seated on the crew bench. In the mid-1960s, some Territorial Army artillery regiments were earmarked for a water pumping role, partly because the six-man gun crew matched the numbers on the pump units. Training methods and rotation of roles were common factors in gunnery and water pumping; artillery regiments undertook a two-week course at Le Marchant Barracks in the town of Devizes in lieu of their normal annual gunnery training camp. ==Operational use==

in November 2002 during the 2002–2003 United Kingdom firefighter dispute Prior to disbandment, the AFS used the Green Goddess extensively in support of the local fire services throughout the United Kingdom. They provided additional water delivery and firefighting capability at times when the regular fire brigades had a major incident to contain. The ability to relay large quantities of water over considerable distances was invaluable in some more remote locations, or where the incident required more water than local water systems could provide. Most UK boroughs had an Auxiliary Fire Service detachment housed alongside the regular brigade equipment. After 1968, the vehicles were mothballed, but occasionally used by the Armed Forces to provide fire cover in a number of fire strikes, notably in 1977 and between 2002 and 2003, the latter of which saw 827 placed on standby. They were well maintained in storage at Bruntingthorpe Aerodrome and were regularly road tested; in 1989, the contract to maintain and store the Green Goddess fleet was handed by the government to TNT N.V. subsidiary TNT Truckcare, who stored the fleet in a new warehouse facility in Marchington. The role of Green Goddesses was superseded by new contingency arrangements. The Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 gave the government the power to instruct fire and rescue authorities to make their own vehicles available in the event of future industrial action. New Incident Response Units introduced after the September 11, 2001 attacks offered high-power pumping ability among a range of other contingency functions. Refurbishment on display at The Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft in August 2021 One Green Goddess was donated by the Home Office to TNT Truckcare for an extensive refurbishment trial in 1998. With the aim to bring Green Goddesses held in reserve up to modern firefighting standards in the event they were required to replace conventional appliances, the refurbished Green Goddess, registration RXP 884, was equipped with a new Cummins B Series diesel engine and a ZF five-speed gearbox, an in-cab heater, a modernised emergency lights and siren system including an experimental directional siren, electrically heated mirrors, roller shutter equipment bay doors, a vacuum brake and a new lighter green livery with 'Emergency Fire Service' lettering. ==Disposal==

In March 2004, the British Government announced that it was conducting a test sale of forty of its remaining fleet of more than nine hundred vehicles, and that it was planning to dispose of the remainder. The sale of the fleet was completed, and most of the vehicles were sold to fire brigades in developing countries, mostly in Africa. Some were donated to museums, including the prototype which was placed in the Museum of RAF Firefighting. Others are in the National Emergency Services Museum, Military Museum Scotland, National Museum of Scotland, Kent Firefighting Museum, Leicester Fire Brigade Museum, Yorkshire Air Museum and Montrose Air Station Heritage Centre. Some were purchased by vehicle restoration trusts and some are privately owned. Exports 35 Green Goddessses were bought by Civil Defence Ireland and allocated to corporation and county council auxiliary fire services. 25 were bought new between 1961 and 1964, with ten more ex-British Government vehicles were bought second hand in 1971. Two more ex-British units were purchased by Dublin Civil Defence in 2005. Following their withdrawals, Green Goddesses proved popular worldwide when exported second-hand. 80 Green Goddesses held in reserve across Scotland were donated to Azerbaijan by the British government in 1996 as part of an emergency aid package, with others donated to fire services in African countries such as Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda and Zambia. Two Green Goddesses were also donated to Uruguay, with one operated by a volunteer fire department at the José Ignacio resort seeing frontline service during forest fires in the summer of 2023. ==See also==