The Green Goddess is the familiar name for the Bedford RLHZ Self Propelled Pump, a fire engine used originally by the Auxiliary Fire Service as well as the British Armed Forces. Its introduction dates back to 1953.
This latest model is of the Coventry Fire Brigade version, Pump No. 7 in the Coventry fleet and it is highly unusual as it is not green but Coventry yellow, to be precise.
Coventry city was the pioneer of yellow fire engines for the practical reason that they could be seen more clearly at night under sodium street lighting. The vehicle was acquired from the Home Office in 1968 following the disbanding of the Auxiliary Fire Services. The surplus AFS machines were offered to local authority fire brigades. In 1974, the machine was transferred to the newly formed West Midlands Fire Brigade and later operated at Coventry Airport whose fleet of fire engines was also painted yellow. The Green Goddesses made another valuable contribution when they were called out in 1977 to assist during the firemen's strike.