World War Two Photo Album Returned to Family

The relatives of a man who served as a firefighter during World War Two have expressed their astonishment at being reunited with photographs of him from that period. An album was discovered by employees at a scrap yard inside a vehicle slated for demolition, subsequently being forwarded to Kent Fire & Rescue Service. The service identified Albert Scrivens, known as Bob, as the individual in the photographs and located his family members. Mr. Scrivens served with the Herne Bay Auxiliary Fire Service in the 1930s, later advancing to a leading fireman position within the National Fire Service during World War Two. Beyond his firefighting duties, he also functioned as an official photographer for the service, frequently capturing images of emergencies and personnel. His grandchildren, Claire Hurton and Nick Scrivens, spent their formative years with their grandfather, who was employed at the family’s photography enterprise in Herne Bay. Ms. Hurton stated that she was aware of his photographic work during the London Blitz and the bombing of Canterbury, but she had not known he held the rank of leading fireman. She commented: “A lot of people in Herne Bay do know of him, because of the photography, but no one ever mentioned that he was a firefighter, so it’s been amazing to find this out about him. I’m really proud of him.” Nick Scrivens, his grandson, described it as “fascinating” to view the images and gain further historical insight, remarking: “We talk about the Army, the navy and the air force lots but we don’t talk about the fire service and what they did exactly.” Alex Pearson, who is Ms. Hurton’s daughter and the firefighter’s great-granddaughter, mentioned that she had been compiling her family’s historical records. She further stated: “I’ve spent the past year going through all of our family’s stuff and Albert took most of those photos so now there’s something of him to go in there.” The fire service indicated its belief that certain photographs within the album exceeded 100 years in age and were captured by Albert’s father, Frederick Scrivens, who established the photography business in Herne Bay. The album’s presence in the scrap yard stemmed from it being given to Ms. Pearson by her grandmother; however, before she could examine it, she was involved in a collision, leading to her car’s disposal and the album’s disappearance. “I’m amazed at how it’s worked its way back to us,” she remarked.