1906-1992

The longest serving fireman in the history of Bourne was Jack Moody who joined the brigade in March 1927 and remained with them until he retired in 1964 having completed 37 years. In 1963, he was honoured for his long and distinguished service when he was awarded the British Empire Medal in the Queen's Birthday Honours, having already been presented with the Queen’s Coronation medal and the fire brigade’s long service and good conduct medal.

John Henry Moody, always known as Jack, was born at Bourne on 7^th December 1904, son of Mr C W Moody, an engineer with the E A Foley agricultural engineering company where he himself was apprenticed as an engineer after leaving school. He later worked for W M Friend, also agricultural engineers, but left to join Motors and Tractors of Stamford as their salesman based at Spalding.

He was 21 years old when he became a fireman in 1927 and was promoted to engineer in 1933 and second officer in 1939. When the National Fire Service was formed during the Second World War, he was appointed section leader in 1941 and six years later, he became company officer and then first officer with responsibility for Bourne station where he remained in charge for the next sixteen years. He had considerable experience of wartime fire fighting and was involved in the rescue work after a German bomber crashed in flames on a public house in Eastgate in 1941.

His service continued after the war and in December 1947 he was promoted to company officer, rising to station officer when Kesteven County Council took over the running of the brigade the following year. In 1948, following a fire at Thurlby, he was commended for his conduct by the judge at Kesteven Quarter Sessions. There was also a social side to his activities and in 1967, a team of firemen from Bourne entered the All England Firemen's Quiz and managed to get through to the finals but were beaten by a team from the London Fire Brigade. Also, during his time as officer in charge at Bourne, they won the cup for the best-kept station in Lincolnshire in 1949 and again in 1956.

On 3rd December 1964, four days before his 60^th birthday, Mr Moody was given a farewell dinner by the Kesteven Fire Brigade to mark his retirement when he received an autographed photograph of the brigade and an inscribed gold watch. Many tributes were also paid to his career by senior officers and councillors when it was noted that Bourne firemen had attended 850 fires in the previous 16 years.

Mr C J Murden MBE, Chief Fire Officer for Kesteven, said that Mr Moody was known and respected throughout the county and added: “The efficiency of a station depends entirely on the calibre of the officer in charge and he has been a fine example in that respect. He has the knack of welding people together into a first class team. He has given the lead throughout the years and shown all the qualities needed by an officer in charge. He has done a first class job. He has left his mark and he leaves this station in wonderful shape. I have been proud to have been connected with an organisation that has produced a man like Jack Moody.”

Looking back on his career in 1990, he said: "My heart and soul were in the fire brigade all of my life. I loved it. It was my duty, my pleasure and my life."

In private life, Mr Moody was an all round sportsman in his youth, his particular interests being football and boxing, playing for Bourne Juniors and later Bourne Town, finishing his career with Bourne Rovers. For a time, he also had a reputation as an amateur boxer and organised a boxing club for youths at a hut in Coggles Causeway. In later years he played bowls and was a member of Bourne Abbey Bowls Club and Peterborough Indoor Bowls Club. He was also an active member of the RAOB, the Buffs, with which he had been associated since 1935, and for 12 years sang with the choir at the Abbey Church.

He died on 28th July 1992 at the age of 86 but his attachment to the fire brigade had already started a family tradition. His son John served as a retained fireman at Bourne until he retired in 1990 after 32 years while his son Mick was a full time fireman in Nottinghamshire where he completed 22 years of service bringing the family total to 91 years.

See also     The fire brigade     The Eastgate plane crash