A lasting tribute to Joseph Heaphy

The Trust’s Blade of Honour project allows people to pay a lasting tribute to those who served in support of ‘the Few’ during the Battle of Britain.

There are no restrictions on those who can be nominated, provided they played an active role during the Battle period (10 July to 31 October 1940) or one month either side.

Here, David Pollock explains why he has nominated his great uncle, Joseph J. Heaphy…

David never met his great uncle Joseph, but his respect and admiration for him have grown over the years. Joseph was born on 20 December 1906 in Kennington, London and was one of eight children. He worked as a paper storekeeper before joining the Auxiliary Fire Service in September 1939, serving as a dispatch rider based at New Cross station.

In late September 1940, after six weeks without a day off, Joseph was finally off duty when tragedy struck. An aerial mine (converted sea mine) hit the street they lived on, Doddington Grove in Kennington, killing Joseph, his mother and his younger brother Bernard. The entire road was flattened and the devastation remains a lasting memory for his family.

“We only know this because my mum, who was four at the time, had gone to visit her grandmother with her mother and saw the devastated road” David said. “They travelled all over London to different hospitals only to be told that all three of them had died and there was no record of where they were buried.”

Joseph is now remembered on the Fire Brigade Memorial opposite St Paul’s Cathedral, which the family only discovered in recent years and has since visited together.

“My mum remembers her uncle as a loving and caring person” David said. “One of the reasons we nominated Joe is to honour the Blitz firefighters and what they did in 1940. It also gives us a place to go and remember him and for my mum to see his name, which brings both pride and sadness.”

David added: “My strongest feeling is pride. It was a dark and challenging period for Britain and it means a lot to know he played his part. The contribution of those who supported ‘the Few’ shouldn’t be forgotten.”

The Blade of Honour project places commemorative tiles, including the name of Joseph Heaphy, into the propeller blades that surround the seated airman at the heart of the National Memorial to the Few at Capel-le-Ferne.

The tiles can commemorate anyone, military or civilian, who had a support role during the Battle of Britain, which took place from 10 July to 31 October 1940, or one month either side of it.