Plaque unveiled in Motherwell for firefighters killed in Bellshill

On January 7, 1963, Lanarkshire Fire Brigade’s Assistant Firemaster Stanley McIntosh MBE and Station Officer Joseph Calderwood were visiting retained fire stations when a fire began at the nearby paint store of Colville’s Mossend steelworks in Bellshill.

They both entered the store to fight the blaze when a violent explosion led to the "instant" death of Stanley, 48, and left Joseph, 58, with injuries that he would succumb to a week later on January 14.

It was later learned petrol stored in the paint shed did not comply with government regulations and was not marked as dangerous.

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Joseph Calderwood (left) and Stanley McIntosh (right) (Image: Fire Brigades Union)

A plaque has now been unveiled at Motherwell Fire Station to commemorate them 60 years after their death as part of the Red Plaque Project.

The scheme was set up by the Fire Brigade’s Union during its centenary to commemorate firefighters who have died in the line of duty.

Members of both Joseph and Stanley’s families attended a ceremony to unveil the plaque on Wednesday, January 11, alongside pupils from Room 23 at Knowetop Primary School who learnt about the firefighters during their Forged by Fire: Burns Injury and Identity in Britain, c.1800-2000 history project.

The project was supported by individuals including Professor Shane Ewan from Leeds Beckett University.

Kay Calderwood, a granddaughter of Joseph Calderwood, says her last memory of her grandfather is on Christmas day shortly before he died.

She said it was an "honour" for her and her family to attend the event.

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Dave Forbes and Kay Calderwood (Image: Colin Mearns, Newsquest)

Kay, 61, said: "I’m thankful for all the effort everyone’s put in to commemorate it and for the Red Plaque Project as well because there were two children born after me and my dad didn’t speak an awful lot about it so it’s really nice it brings it all back to life.

"Professor Shane Ewan sent us reels of the funeral and things which I had never seen before, so it’s been absolutely lovely and a great honour."

"She added: “It [the plaque] means a lot.

"We’re very proud at the fact he’s been commemorated in this way after all this time."

Relatives of Stanley McIntosh at the left of the plaque and relatives of Joseph Calderwood to the right (Image: Colin Mearns, Newsquest)

Dave Forbes, a cousin of Stanley McIntosh, says it’s nice to know the community the men served still remembers them and their memory is being kept alive.

He also met a family member at the unveiling he hadn’t previously been aware of.

Dave, 57, said: "It’s an emotional experience.

"Even though Stanley died before I was born, I had discussed him with my dad who was close to him.

"So I did know quite a bit about Stanley but there were a lot of gaps in my knowledge and today has filled in so many of the gaps, especially with the work pupils from the school did.

"It’s really been fascinating for the family to put all these pieces of the jigsaw together and we’ve also found a new family member we weren’t aware of so it’s been a great experience."

Lilia Murphy and Luke Craig laid a wreath at the plaque on behalf of Knowetop Primary School.

Luke, 11, said: "It was really exciting when I got the news I was laying the wreath."

Lilia, 11, added: "We’re very honoured."

Luke Craig and Lilia Murphy (Image: Colin Mearns, Newsquest)

Pupils from Knowetop Primary School (Image: Colin Mearns, Newsquest)

The Red Plaque Scheme is fully funded by proceeds from the weekly Firefighters 100 lottery which has been able to create several plaques each year since it began in 2017.