Daniel Durnford Ivall (1905-2000)

The following item appeared in the Harrow Observer dated Thursday 08 January 1959. My item https://ivall.blogspot.com/2012/05/daniel-durnford-ivall-obe-1905-2000.html (written in 2012) about Daniel on this blog contains more information about his life.

NATIONAL APPOINTMENT FOR MR. D. D. IVALL

In a week's time Mr. D. D. Ivall, Assistant Chief Officer of Middlesex Fire Service, will be leaving the county headquarters, Harrow Road, Wembley, to take up a Home Office appointment as an Assistant Inspector of Fire Services. Mr. Ivall has held his present rank since 1948, when the National Fire Service was divided. Mr. Ivall's son John. who was injured in Cyprus when a Services jeep struck a terrorist mine was allowed home for a few days at Christmas from the R.A.F. hospital at Halton, Bucks.

BORN AT FIRE STATION

Mr. Ivall could be said to have been born into the fire service, as he was born at Dulwich fire station, where his father was serving. He joined the London Fire Brigade in 1925, when he was 20, serving first at Cannon Street and later at the headquarters at Southwark. In 1934 he was moved to Camden Town, with the rank of sub-officer. After this he had 18 months at the Soho station. reputed to be the busiest in London, two years as sub-officer inspector in the brigade's training school, and spells of duty at Clerkenwell and Lambeth headquarters. Just before the war he was promoted station officer, in charge of training for the London brigade. When war came he was placed in charge of the Lambeth headquarters and was later promoted district officer.

TOURED AMERICA

For 12 months in 1940-41, Mr. Ivall and a group of colleagues toured 46,000 miles in the United States and Canada. In 145 cities and towns they gave addresses and showed films, paintings and drawings of the bombing of London. Ivall was accompanied at many meetings and official visits by Mr. La Guardia, the famous Mayor of New York. who was Director of Civil Defence. "Those were the days before Pearl Harbour," said Mr. lvall on Monday. "But when Americans were shown the fires and the ruins of London, and the way the fire service and Civil Defence went into action, with bombs whistling and crashing all around, I think we did our share in making them realize the meaning of war." On his return to Britain Mr. Ivall was appointed divisional officer and director of studies of the London officers' training school, No. 5 Region. Within six months came promotion to assistant fire force commander for an area of Middlesex including Edmonton, Hendon and Mill Hill, with headquarters at Highgate. Subsequently he was transferred with the same rank to the South- East London area. In 1945 he became a deputy fire force commander and in 1948, when the N.F.S. was disbanded, he received his present appointment as assistant chief officer of the county service, with 38 fire stations and ten ambulance depots in his area. In the Coronation Honours he was made O.B.E. He also holds the King's, the Defence, the Coronation and the Long Service medals.

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