Touching tribute to Hartlepool firefighter as vintage engine leads funeral cortege past Hartlepool fire station

They lined up outside Stranton Fire Station, in Stockton Street, Hartlepool, to honour Basil Shaw, a former sub officer, who died on August 24 aged 96.

While he retired from the fire service more than 40 years ago, his son, Malcolm Shaw, said: “He would have wanted this.

“He was still a fireman as far as he was concerned when he was in his 90s.”

Mr Shaw Senior joined the fire service in Nottinghamshire at the age of 16 after initially working as a joiner.

He saw a fire engine passing by as he was fixing a window and decided then to change careers.

Aside from a spell in the Royal Navy during the Second World War – in which he swam in the Atlantic Ocean for 12 hours after his vessel sank – he worked for the fire service until he was 51 and received a long service medal.

He transferred first to the Durham brigade and then Cleveland after moving to Hartlepool when he married his late wife Margaret, known as Madge, who was from the town and whose maiden name was Tritschler.

Mr Shaw Junior, 70, whose family own Hartlepool business Concord Electrical and Plumbing, nicknamed his dad “Felix” as “he was like a cat with nine lives”.

He was once blown through a brick wall while tackling a blaze and cheated death outside of work when he cancelled a flight to Yugoslavia which crashed.

Mr Shaw Senior was also recommended for the George Medal for bravery after rescuing people from a fire at ICI, on Teesside, although he did not receive it.

He later became a health and safety officer in the oil industry although he retained links with the fire service by working for its benevolent fund.

His son added: “He was a caring person with a lot of time for others.”

The funeral service for Mr Shaw Senior, who died from heart failure, took place at Hartlepool Crematorium on September 3.

He is also survived by two grandchildren, five great grandchildren and one great great grandchild.

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