Tributes paid to Hartlepool firefighter who was 'like a cat with nine lives'

Basil Shaw survived for 12 hours in the Atlantic Ocean after his vessel sank while serving in the Royal Navy during the Second World War and he was also blown through a brick wall while later tackling a blaze.

His son, Malcolm Shaw, a semi-retired Hartlepool electrician, added: “He had that many escapes he should have been called Felix. He was like a cat with nine lives.

“Even in the 1970s he cheated death when he booked a holiday in Yugoslavia, was forced to change the date because of a problem at work and the plane he was due to be on crashed with people dying.”

Mr Shaw Senior died earlier this month from heart failure after a short illness with a funeral service to take place at Hartlepool Crematorium this Thursday, September 3, at 11am.

A 1930s fire engine will lead his hearse beforehand past the town’s Stranton Fire Station, in Stockton Street, where firefighters are expected to pay their respects.

He originally joined the fire brigade in Nottinghamshire at the age of 16 and transferred first to the Durham service and then Cleveland after moving to Hartlepool when he married his late wife Margaret, known as Madge, who was from Hartlepool and whose maiden name was Tritschler.

Mr Shaw Junior, 70, whose family own Concord Electrical and Plumbing, said: “He started his apprenticeship after leaving school as a joiner, was working on a window one day, saw a fire appliance pass by and that made him decide he wanted to be a fireman.”

Aside from his war service with the Royal Navy, in which he served as a telephonist and air gunner, Mr Shaw Senior was a firefighter from 16 until the age of 51, rising to the rank of sub officer, and received a long service medal.

He then became a principal health and safety officer in the oil industry and worked for the Cleveland fire service’s benevolent fund after his retirement.

Mr Shaw Senior is also survived by two grandchildren, five great grandchildren and one great great grandchild.

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