My Dad was in the Fire Service in NW London, but spent much of 1940 and 1941 in Central London and the City. Hardly ever talked about his experiences, but did show my brother and me his fireman's belt and tin hat, and an inert German incendiary bomb. He must have seen some horrific sights on a day to day basis, and endured some pretty awful conditions. I suspect that, and Woodbines, led to his early death at not quite 65.
After Mum died we found even the few photographs he had shown my brother and me had disappeared, although another copy of one was shown on Tony Robinson's "Blitz" series on TV a few years ago - six appliances in a row at the kerbside, all burned out. Dad's appliance was one of them, that was the day he was posted "missing" three times in 24 hours.