In December last year (2023), a photo album containing dozens of pictures dating back to 1919 and letters of service for an ‘A.Scrivens’ arrived at Kent Fire and Rescue Service headquarters.

Workers at a car scrap yard had found the album in a car that was set to be destroyed and sent it to the service.

With only a few details, the team at KFRS managed to identify the firefighter in the pictures and track down his grandchildren so it could be returned to the family at Herne Bay fire station.

Albert Scrivens, the man in the album, was part of the Herne Bay Auxiliary Fire Service in the 1930’s before becoming a Leading Fireman for the National Fire Service which was created in 1941 during World War Two. Some of the letters of service in the album include his official appointment as a Leading Fireman and being awarded a Defence Medal.  

As well as helping fight the fires, Albert was also one of the official photographers for the Fire Force and would regularly take images of the incidents and the crews.

Claire Hurton and Nick Scrivens are the grandchildren of Albert and grew up with their grandad working at the family photography business in Herne Bay. They had no idea he was also a firefighter until the album was given to them.

Claire said: “I knew Grandad had taken photos during the Blitz in London and photos of bombing in Canterbury, but I didn’t know to what extent.

“I didn't realise he was a leading fireman and that he actually put out the fires and took photos as well.

“A lot of people in Herne Bay do know of him, because of the photography, but no one ever mentioned that he was a firefighter, so it’s been amazing to find this out about him. I’m really proud of him.”

Nick added “One of the things that we don't think about too much from the war is the fire service. We talk about the Army, the Navy and the Air Force lots but we don't talk about the fire service and what they did exactly.

“If you look at some of the pictures in there, it looks horrific. It’s fascinating to see and to find out a bit more about the history.”

Claire’s daughter Alex Pearson, who is Albert’s great-granddaughter, has been documenting her family’s history and says she is happy there is something to include of Albert.

She said: “I’ve spent the past year going through all of our family’s stuff and Albert took most of those photos so now there’s something of him to go in there!”

It is also believed that some of the photos in the album are more than a hundred years old and taken by Albert’s father, Frederick Scrivens, who started the photography business in Herne Bay. 
 

Other notable pictures include the Town Hall fire in 1925, that was located right next to the fire station, and the Herne Bay pier fire in 1928. 

The mystery as to how the photo album ended up in a car scrap yard has also been resolved.

Alex recognised the album straight away as one that had been given to her by her grandmother. She’d put it in the boot of her car but before she’d had a chance to look at it, she was involved in a crash that resulted in her car being scrapped and the album lost.

Claire said: “I'm amazed at how it's worked its way back to us.”

Nick added: “It’s almost like Grandad wanted it to come back to us in a sense, he didn’t want it to be lost. He’d be laughing at us now looking at it.”