Exeter in Devon, England, United Kingdom — Northwestern Europe (the British Isles)
Philip Freeman/Friedman Wartime Firewatcher
Photographed by Jerry Klinger
1. Philip Freeman Firewatcher Marker
Jewish Exeter Wartime Firewatcher
Age 67
Who was killed in the German bombing raid, 4 May, 1942.
Till 2022, his grave was unidentified
Hebrew Acronym v (Samuel, 25:29, May his soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life.)
Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation, U.K. Branch, Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women
Erected 2022 by Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation (JASHP).
Topics. This memorial is listed in this topic list: War, World II.
Location. 50° 43.688′ N, 3° 30.449′ W. Memorial is in Exeter, England, in Devon. It is on St. Marks Ave.. Located in Exeter's Higher Cemetery. Section ZD Number 0250. Touch for map. Memorial is in this post office area: Exeter, England EX1 2PX, United Kingdom. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this memorial is in South West England. Globally, it is on the Atlantic Ocean, in the North Atlantic Region, in Europe, in Atlantic Europe, on one of the British Isles, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere. Historically, it
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Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 13 kilometers of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Cathedral Yard (approx. 1.8 kilometers away); Exeter and the Wesleyan Revival (approx. 2 kilometers away); St Nicholas Priory (approx. 2.1 kilometers away); Catacomb (approx. 2.1 kilometers away); Alexander Cavaliι Mercer (approx. 2.2 kilometers away); Crediton Station (approx. 11.6 kilometers away); Joseph Locke 1805-1860 (approx. 11.6 kilometers away); The building and opening of the Crediton to Exeter trainline (approx. 11.6 kilometers away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Exeter.
Regarding Philip Freeman/Friedman Wartime Firewatcher. Philip Freeman was too old to enlist in the regular British Armed Forces yet, he felt compelled to do what he could. Freeman or Friedman, his is spelled both ways in records, lived in very modest housing at 131 Magdalan Road in Exeter. He father was Hyman Freeman of Leeds.
Freeman was a patriotic, Jewish Englishman. He volunteered to become a Firewatcher. Firewatching was an extremely dangerous and exposed job as the German Airforce were firebombing British cities with a focus on those without any military value. Exeter was selected for saturation bombings in April and again in May 1942 specifically to target English cultural and historical centers. The German High Command selected Exeter from cities mentioned in a "Baedeker's" Travel Guidebook.
The bombings became known as the "Baedeker Raids."
Freeman's job was to rush to sites of German bombings and attempt to put out fires and rescue the living even before Fire Fighters could arrive. The regular Fire Fighting service was stretched thin. Firewatchers were very poorly equipped. It was imperative to prevent fires from spreading as soon as possible. The job fell to volunteers on the ground, like Freeman, arriving as soon as possible and at the most dangerous moments during and after bombings.
Freeman's health was not the best. He volunteered anyway. Freeman suffered a heart attack trying to save others. He was taken to the city hospital. The fires and terror of the bombings reached the hospital that Freeman had been taken to. The rescuers were unable to evacuate the hospital in full. 18 patients died. Freeman was one.
He was buried in Exeter's Higher Cemetery in an unmarked grave. Unknown except to God. His only family far away in Leeds.
Martin Sugarman, Archivist for the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women, and Director of the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation's U.K. Branch, discovered his unmarked and forgotten gravesite. He arranged through JASHP, to fund a marker of memory to one of the heroes of those terrible nights, during the inhuman Nazi air attacks.
Philip Freeman/Friedman is unknown, forgotten, no longer.
Additional keywords. Jewish Volunteer, sacrifice, Patriotism, Loyalty, Duty
Credits. This page was last revised on December 13, 2022. It was originally submitted on December 6, 2022, by Jerry Klinger of Boynton Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 233 times since then and 18 times this year. Photo 1. submitted on December 6, 2022, by Jerry Klinger of Boynton Beach, Florida. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
