Plan to honour Saltash firefighters killed in Devonport in WW2

A fundraiser has begun to refurbish the graves of six volunteer firefighters from Cornwall who were killed during the Blitz of World War Two.

The men, from Saltash, went to Plymouth to help put out fires from the Nazi German bombing.

On 22 April 1941, their vehicle went over an unexploded bomb in Devonport, killing them instantly. They were Francis Brooking, 44, Stanley Crabb, 26, Alfred Crapp, 33, Bernard Jasper, 27, John Stanlake, 28, and Leslie Tibbs, 31.

Neil Stanlake, whose uncle was one of the victims, said he hoped enough money could be raised to have new gravestones “done and dusted for the 85th anniversary” of their deaths.

Mr Stanlake said: “They were all young Saltash men who grew up together, served together, died together and sadly are laid to rest together side by side.

“My Uncle John was told he had to stay home during the war because his parents were farmers and farming was an essential issue.

“He wasn’t a happy bunny, he wanted to go and do his bit but he kept applying to go in the army and kept being rejected so he joined the local fire brigade.

“Their deaths were a massive blow for the then small, close-knit town of Saltash.

“Three weeks after Uncle John died, his call-up papers to join the army finally came through, which was very sad.”

The retired police constable said despite trying to look after his uncle’s grave at St Stephen’s churchyard, “three of the graves, you wouldn’t know who it is, there’s no markings at all”.

“We’re trying to put some continuity in, so we can have new headstones on the graves that have nothing,” he said.

“Stanley Crabb’s will be tidied up and re-engraved with the fire brigade motif put in, and Bernard Jasper’s will be levelled-up and cleaned.

“For personal family reasons, those two will look slightly different, but we wanted to do this very respectfully and with the total permission of the families and what they want.”

Mr Stanlake said the plans also included “a storyboard erected near to the site with photographs and names” so people visiting the churchyard could learn about their story.

The 73-year-old said he had been pursuing the passion project for more than three years and had “jumped through various hoops” to get the work approved by the relevant authorities.

“All six families have already donated, quite rightly, so we’re looking for about £8,000.

“In this country, we are very good at looking after our dead from wars and before I leave this planet I want to see these graves refurbished to a level that is befitting to these men’s memory and the sacrifice they made.

“These lads deserve better, it’s been a long time but we need to honour their memory for many years to come and what’s there now doesn’t do that.”