Hall blaze a baptism of fire for Charles

Just eight months into his new job in 1947, Charles Johnson found himself fighting a ferocious fire as it swept through historic Himley Hall.

"It burned for six days straight and was the biggest fire I fought in my 30-year career," said the 91-year-old great-grandfather.

The devastating blaze was one of thousands he tackled as a fireman posted at Dudley Fire Station in Tower Street.

After leaving the army in 1946 following six years of service, aged 25, he found himself without a trade to fall back on.

Instead he signed up to join the national fire service and found himself back in Dudley where he was born.

He was one of 38 former soldiers, airmen and sailors who had been recruited after the end of the Second World War.

"It was quite an upheaval for us all coming out of the forces," he said.

"We had all been through so much during the war that we all had a lot in common and this gave us this good comradeship.

"It was a pleasure to go to work and I really mean that, we all enjoyed our job."

The former Grenadier Guard said the fire at Himley Hall, which broke out during its conversion for use by the National Coal Board and gutted the south wing, was particularly memorable because of the scale of the devastation.

"I was in one of the first fire engines to arrive at the hall. There were 17 fire engines there in total because it was such a huge fire. It did a lot of damage and it took a lot of water and effort to put it out," he said. When Mr Johnson joined the service, Dudley had three engines and the base was in charge of eight other stations stretching from Kinver in South Staffordshire across the Black Country to Old Hill and Coseley.

The former St John's Primary School pupil said the early uniforms were "primitive" and offered very little protection.

"We had rubber boots and cork hats but no gloves. A lot of a fireman's body was exposed to the flames," he said.

"The uniform has changed beyond recognition over the years and I'm in awe of the uniforms they have now which provide all the protection they could want."

He said the hours were tough as firemen would often work for 24 hours and then have 24 hours off before returning for another full-day shift. "Over time we went from working 84 hours a week to 40 hours a week. But nobody ever complained about the work," he said. The fire station in Tower Street closed in 1999 when a new one opened in Burton Road.

Father-of-four Mr Johnson, who retired at 55, said he was pleased that the old station was going to be given a new lease of life as part of a new vocational centre for Dudley College.

"They are keeping the front of the station so it will be there for a long time yet. I am glad it's being used, it's better than it standing empty," he said.

Rugby fan Mr Johnson, who has two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, now lives at Dixons Green Court, a sheltered housing scheme on the site of the old Kates Hill Primary School.

It's just a stone's throw from where he grew up.

For the past three months, as part of a "good neighbour" scheme run by Age UK, Mr Johnson has been receiving weekly visits from fellow retired firefighter Ian Rawlings, 42, from Kingswinford.

Mr Rawlings joined the fire service just four years after Mr Johnson left and the pair enjoy swapping stories.

Mr Rawlings said: "It is uncanny that we have so much in common.

"We both share a love of rugby so we always have lots to talk about.

"I have some time on my hands and I really get a lot of enjoyment out of doing it."