Celebrating female firefighters in Leeds

Shane, who is a Professor of History in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, held a series of drop-in workshops aimed at families with young children in which participants learned about West Yorkshire's first ever female firefighter Penny Rowntree. Penny joined West Yorkshire Fire Service in 1987 at the age of 18 serving at several fire stations, including Gipton Fire Station, before transferring to Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service.

Following a short lesson, children coloured in a postcard, on the reverse of which they wrote a personal message to Penny. Messages ranged from thanking Penny for her service to praising her for inspiring other women and girls to pursue a career in the fire service. These will be shared with Penny and on social media.

Shane explains what the next phases of the project will be: "I will be working with Leeds Beckett History students to research and share stories of women who volunteered to join the Leeds Auxiliary Fire Service at the start of the Second World War, alongside key figures who went on to senior roles in the National Fire Service, when it was formed in 1941.

"Women performed multiple roles in the fire service during the war, including as motor and despatch riders, motor mechanics, mobile canteen workers, telephonists and clerical staff. These will be published as open access StoryMaps in early 2025."

The Heritage Lottery funded project is being led by arts and social change charity Space2 working in partnership with Leeds Beckett University. Over the next three years they will work with local volunteers to uncover women's stories within the fire service. They will uncover the heritage of Gipton Fire Station and the role women played both as firefighters and as the relatives of the firemen who worked there. The end result will be a series of online story maps which people can click on to discover artefacts, facts and figures, photos and stories of women's role within the fire service in Leeds.