MEMORIES of the great Avon factory fire in 1966 were brought flooding back as Melksham firefighters from seven decades were brought together.

The grand reunion was held at the town's fire station in Semington Road on Saturday, May 11, as old memorabilia and photographs were dusted off and put on show.

Melksham firefighters from the past 64 years turned up to the event including 82-year-old Ken Webb, who started his career in 1938.

Leading firefighter Pete Quadling, who was the driving force behind the reunion, said memories were rekindled and old stories retold.

He said: "The photos were dating back into the 1800s. There was one picture of Melksham firefighters battling a blaze at a mill in Bradford on Avon.

"Many of the older firefighters were talking about the Avon fire in 1966. Mr Webb served as a firefighter in 1938 that was the furthest we could go back.

"I remember the old style bells in the houses to alert firemen to a blaze. My dad had one in the house, which woke everyone up.

"Many of the older firemen said people used to congregate outside the station when the town siren went off. Now it is completely different as we all have pagers.

"Organising the event was very hard but I managed to track down the older firefighters through past log books.

"It was a bit of history and we might even make this an annual event."

Brass helmets, belt buckles, old house bells and photographs were among the pieces of history on show.

Most of the items were on loan from the Melksham Historical Society.

Melksham fire station was originally based in the Market Place, where the town council offices are now situated.

It was moved to a purpose-built building in Semington Road 36 years ago.

There are 12 retained firefighters based at Melksham station today.