Firefighters.

This is coolbert:

Yet one more excellent video from Mark Felton:

"The D-Day Firefighters - Strangest Operation Overlord Unit"

British civilian fire fighters as assigned the Normandy invasion, 6 June 1944.

British National Fire Service volunteers the Normandy invasion WW2. Accompanying allied troops into France. Civilians BEST of the BEST for overseas duty in a fire fighting capacity while in a combat zone.

See the You Tube video. Courtesy the tip from Lorenzo.

Comments:

* NFS personnel specially selected already trained and with a whole lot of experience. Yeoman duty as performed by yeoman.

* British civilian NFS contingents only active in the U.S. Army 12th Army Group sector.

* Firefighting even in peacetime just about the closest [if not the closest] you can get to mortal combat without having an adversary trying to kill you. 

* NSF deemed for legal purposes as camp followers. NFS if captured by the German allowed prisoner-of-war status. That designation of camp follower in some circumstances pejorative. Not for NFS however. Yeomen at work and doing it well. 

coolbert.