Green Goddess Royal Navy Fire Service Strike 1977/8

Green Goddess Royal Navy Fire Service Strike 1977/8

1:76 Scale model produced in finely detailed High Quality Diecast Metal. This model features lots of expertly applied details as based on the prototype.

Features

• 1:76 Scale Model
• High Quality Diecast Metal
• Authentic Royal Navy Fire Service livery, representing real deployment during the 1977–78 firefighters’ strike
• Highly detailed 1:76 scale diecast model, ideal for OO gauge railway layouts and emergency service dioramas
• Historic Green Goddess Bedford RLHZ design, accurately capturing a Cold War civil defence fire appliance

Details:

Model Details

The Oxford Diecast Green Goddess Royal Navy Fire Service (item 76GG010) is a highly detailed 1:76 scale model representing one of the most historically significant emergency service vehicles used in Britain during the late 20th century. Depicted in Royal Navy Fire Service livery, this model captures the famous “Green Goddess” fire engine as deployed during the UK firefighters’ strike of 1977–78.

Designed for OO gauge railway layouts and emergency service dioramas, this model brings powerful historical realism to Cold War era and modern British civil defence scenes.

Historical Background

The “Green Goddess” is the colloquial name for the Bedford RLHZ Self Propelled Pump, originally developed in the early 1950s for the Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS). Built on a Bedford military truck chassis, these vehicles were designed to provide large-scale water pumping capability during national emergencies.

Although originally intended for reserve civil defence use, the Green Goddess fleet was kept in storage by the UK government and maintained for emergency deployment. Their most famous modern use came during the 1977–78 firefighters’ strike, when military personnel and the Armed Forces operated the vehicles to provide emergency fire cover across the United Kingdom.

During this period, Green Goddesses were deployed across cities and rural areas to support firefighting operations when regular fire services were unavailable. Their distinctive appearance and military green livery made them instantly recognisable symbols of emergency resilience and civil contingency planning.