Vital Statistics
Birth: 1957
Marriage: N/A
Spouse: N/A
Death: 2022
Family Branch: Tiverton
PinsentID: GRO0816
Stephen Ernest Pinsent studied at Bosworth College in Desford, near Leicester, on leaving school and he swum, intermittently, for the “Bosworthians” in the mide-1970s. From there, he joined “South Yorkshire Fire Service”. Once he was employed, he found it increasingly difficult to train and swim competitively. Nevertheless, he swam for the South Yorkshire Fire Service at a “National Fire Service” meet at Stetchford, in Birmingham, in November 1975. He won the 100 metres freestyle event (Leicester Daily Mercury: 11th November 1975). Stephen switched to long-distance swimming and for several years represented the South Yorkshire Fire Service at the National Fire Service “National One Mile Swim” on the Thames at Reading. He was remarkably successful. He won the event in 1976, came second in 1977, 1978 and 1979 and won it again in 1980 (Reading Evening Post: Monday 18th August 1980). Not content with that, he also won it in 1981 and 1982 (Reading Evening Post: Monday 16th August 1982).
Stephen moved into fire prevention and safety side of the Fire Service and rose quickly. In 1991, he was the assistant divisional officer who worked with Peter Day in coordinating the Fire Service response to a simulated air crash at Fairoaks Airport at Ottershaw (Staines and Ashford News: Thursday 23rd May 1991). Presumably this helped the service establish protocols.
At some point in the 1990s, Stephen seems to have moved back to Leicestershire and he was on-hand to calm local fears when the Irish Republican Army (IRA) blew up part of the Docklands east of London and injured 100 people. At a news conference, Inspector Geoff King, of the Leicestershire Police force said: “We are always vigilant and mindful of possible terrorist incidents” and Stephen Pinsent, the Divisional Commander in charge of fire and safety for “Leicestershire Fire Safety and Rescue Service” said: “We will be carrying on with the procedures we have always undertaken” (Leicester Daily Mercury: Saturday 10th February 1996). I hope the public were mollified.
In fact, the Government upgraded its Corporate Workplace (Fire Precautions) regulations the following year and to forestall public confusion Stephen Pinsent, Leicestershire’s Divisional Officer in charge of fire safety said there would be no change until the new regulations were formally announced; however, “New fire extinguisher regulations have already come into force due to European Standards, but existing extinguishers need not be replaced until absolutely necessary” (Hinckley Herald & Journal: Wednesday 15th January 1997).
Stephen left the Fire Safety and Rescue Service and became the University of Leicester’s Fire Safety Officer in 2008. It was a position he held until 2017. According to the University’s obituary, Steve had served with the West Yorkshire, Wiltshire, Surrey and Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Services prior to joining the university. He was a valued member of its Safety Services Office.
Family Tree
GRANDPARENTS
Grandfather: Arthur Ernest Pinsent: 1899 – 1969
Grandmother: Lily Gallifant: 1900 – 1994
PARENTS
Father: Ernest Pinsent: 1926 – 2021
Mother: Florence May Goode: 1926 – 1987
Please use the above links to explore this branch of the family tree. The default “Next” and “Previous” links below may lead to other unrelated branches.