February 2026

An enthusiastic audience gathered for our February meeting to hear Dave Needham talk on the Battle of the Flames. Dave is a retired firefighter and historian regarding the Nottingham fire service. The talk was based on his book about the bombing of Nottingham during the Second World War. The most famous part of this was the Nottingham Blitz over the night of 8th / 9th May 1941.

We were shown wartime pictures of various sites following bombing, together with recent photos of the same location. We also heard about some of the many civilians who lost their lives as well as firefighters from Nottingham – often fighting fires in other parts of the country. In some cases, Dave’s research had discovered how bombs had landed by interviewing survivors.

The talk encouraged many questions as well as anecdotes from the audience. We also had an opportunity to purchase his books – the latest being a history of Nottingham fire service during the 20th century.