Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
I'm taking part in a charity event on 6th December to raise money for The Firefighters fund. This charity gives support and assistance to firefighters needing help following injuries, it offers rehab facilities and also settlement if early retirement is needed. It also gives invaluable support to bereaved families.
The Swiss Christmas stroll has been organised by Ellen Wilson, wife of the late, great Tony Wilson. Tony was a much loved member of West Yorkshire Fire Service and I had the honour of being one of his trainees on his final course at Fire Service HQ. Although I did not know him long, Tony was a massive inspiration to me and the rest of the 190th trainee course and I owe him a lot for all he taught me, not just on the fire ground, but also through his amazing attitude to life. He is sadly missed by everyone who knew him. This event is in his memory and is to raise funds for the charity that he campaigned so hard to support and in turn has given support to his wife Ellen and his girls Jessica and Rebecca since he sadly died in April earlier this year.
Thank you for your support.
Green Watch’s speech – Dine In Night 31/03/09
Early on in January, year 2009, 7 trainee firefighters began to combine,
We were told we were Green Watch and we were proud of our team,
Our Leader was Watch Carthy who said he’d make us Firefighters supreme
Alas a few weeks on, Watch Carthy couldn’t train us any more,
He still kept an eye on us from his office and the drill square
But now he’d handed us over into someone else’s care.Crew Wilson was the lucky man who suddenly became our Watch,
It was confusing for us to change his title and we occasionally called him Crotch
Watch Wilson came with new ideas and we knew we’d all get onWe were soon his little chickens and it was him we relied on
There are many things Watch Wilson taught us along the way
We were lucky to have his experience.. that’s what he liked to sayHe’d tap his nose knowingly with a cheeky smile on his face
And kindly reminded us where the bus stop was….just in case!He’d rock on his heels while talking, always asking if we were happy
Then he’d detail us a drill to do and tell us to make it snappy.
If we’d had a bad morning, he’d tell us what we’d done wrongThen his immortal words “Draw a line in the sand” helped us all move on
As Watch is such a generous soul, he shared his tips on staying fit
His strangest, never drink milk in your tea, unless you’ve played football for a bit.He would exercise his biceps, Extending to Lower with just one arm
And the fact he would point out where the beach was just added to his charm.Of all Watch Wilson’s sayings, one makes us chuckle to each other
He asks if we have cabbage heads on … always the same veg, never any other.
He asks it on parade to psych us up for the day ahead,But we look forward to him saying it and it just makes us smile instead.
When we’re all together, Green Watch are a fantastic crew
Baggy, Robbie and Arthur… Wally, Tommy and StuWe were gutted to lose Keith after his terrible RTC
But he’ll be back here in September stronger than ever, we all agreeAll the warm ups Baggy did to loosen up our muscles,
Me writing left and right on my gloves to stop me getting muddled.
The way Wally would burst into rap in the middle of a drill andTommy the quiet and gentle soul with all the knowledge and skill
Stu is Green Watch’s strong man, his muscles never let us down
and Matt’s the cool and calm one, under pressure he never frowns.
And if you ask any one of us, we’ll all say Green Watch are the best.
