Global Scale Modeller

I remember these being deployed during firefighter strikes. Green Goddesses they were called.

Yep that's em mate, had soldiers as firemen, the poor so 'n' so's had no hope on a big job.

I was in the RAF at the time of the firemen's strikes of the early eighties. I went to work one morning to find a bus waiting for us. So, without warning, we were bussed from the Midlands down to RAF Manston in Kent. We spent the next three days being trained as fire fighters, yep, three whole days. After returning to base we manned the Green Goddesses during the strikes. I had a ball driving the thing to fires (with a Police escort). The first call we got was for a chimney fire. Instead of using the 1-3/4" first-aid hose, we used the main 4" hose The poor house owner was aghast as the downstairs was under an inch of water. We caused more damage than the fire ever would of Crazy days indeed.

Cymru wrote:I was in the RAF at the time of the firemen's strikes of the early eighties. I went to work one morning to find a bus waiting for us. So, without warning, we were bussed from the Midlands down to RAF Manston in Kent. We spent the next three days being trained as fire fighters, yep, three whole days. After returning to base we manned the Green Goddesses during the strikes. I had a ball driving the thing to fires (with a Police escort). The first call we got was for a chimney fire. Instead of using the 1-3/4" first-aid hose, we used the main 4" hose The poor house owner was aghast as the downstairs was under an inch of water. We caused more damage than the fire ever would of Crazy days indeed.

3 days training, you lucky, lucky lol

I remember the 70s as a kid. Funny how things like power cuts, petrol shortages, nurses strikes (pics of corridors with people laying untreated), bin men strikes (rats running all over the streets, garbage bags piled high on every street corner) panic buying, the old man on a 3 day week all seem funny now.

Oh, and being a West Ham fan travelling all over the country, don't ask me about the 'suss' laws ;0)

Bedford RLHZ self-propelled pump.... these were supposed to be "Britain's last line of defence against nuclear attack". Not reassuring, is it?

I wish someone did a 35th scale kit of a Green Goddess, or even the standard Bedford RL, as the conversion wouldn't be outrageous.

E2+= Someone does! Accurate Armour do an RL, the GS body and a wrecker. Bugger. I'll have to get one now!