Express & Star

Hurcott Paper Mill fire: Ceremony marks 50th anniversary

A ceremony will be held to memorialise two firefighters who lost their lives in the 1974 Hurcott Mill tragedy.

Published
Watch manager Bob Crampin and Firefighter Keith Marshall were killed in the line of duty

Friday, March 8, marks the 50th anniversary of the Hurcott Paper Mill fire in Kidderminster, where watch manager Bob Crampin and Firefighter Keith Marshall were killed in the line of duty.

To help memorialise the occasion, a ceremony will be held at Wyre Forest Fire Station, on Stourport Road, Kidderminster, where staff will fly the Station's flag at half mast, before holding a short ceremony, and a minute's silence led by the service chaplain, Rev Dick Johnson.

The ceremony will be held at 5.50pm, exactly 50 years after the tragic events on March 8, 1974.

The memorial ceremony will also be attended by the surviving members of Bob and Keith's families.

A spokesperson for Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service, said: "The flag at Wyre Forest Fire Station will fly at half-mast and fire stations across the two counties have been invited to hold a minute's silence.

"Surviving members of Bob and Keith's families have also been invited."

Also to mark the 50th anniversary of the tragedy, a memorial stone is set to be created near the site of the Hurcott Paper Mill to commemorate the bravery and sacrifice of the the two firefighters who lost their lives.