On the night of 12-13 December 1940, Sheffield endured its worst air raids of the Second World War. German bombers attacked the city in waves, devastating factories, homes, and public buildings. Amid the chaos, firefighters battled relentless blazes and searched for survivors.
One of them was Frederick Parkes Spencer, a full-time Police Fireman as they were then known, stationed at Division Street Fire Station, Sheffield. When the Empire Theatre on Charles Street was struck, Frederick rushed inside to help. As he worked to rescue people from the burning, collapsing building, another bomb fell. Frederick was killed instantly. He was just 31 years old.
Frederick was the only full-time Police Fireman to lose his life in the Sheffield Blitz. His colleague, Auxiliary Fireman Stanley Slack, also died at the Empire Theatre that night.