Firefighter Brice Harkness of Lismoney, Cookstown, Co. Tyrone died on 8th April 1941 when a Luftwaffe Parachute Mine exploded in the Milewater Road area.
Auxiliary Fire Service Volunteer
Auxiliary Fire Service Volunteer Brice Harkness was a fatal casualty of the Belfast Blitz during the Second World War. He lived in Lismoney, Cookstown, Co. Tyrone at the time of the Luftwaffe attack on the city.
He was the son of the late Thomas Harkness. Brice Harkness died on 8th April 1941 aged 25 years old at Belfast Docks. Harkness’ crew was among those dispatched from Chichester Street Fire Station to deal with rapidly spreading fires in the Milewater Road and Duncrue Street area. They arrived just before High Explosive Bombs and Parachute Mines began to fall in the area.
Believing a Parachute Mine to be a Luftwaffe crew member bailing out, Harkness was one of those who ran towards the descending parachute. The blast resulted in the deaths of Harkness and his colleague Archibald McDonald of Percy Street, Belfast. A First Aid Party based at a nearby school recovered the bodies later that morning.