Group    From 1865 

London Fire Brigade

Categories: Emergency Services

The London Fire Engine Establishment, formed in 1833 under the leadership of James Braidwood, was a private organisation funded by insurance companies, mainly aimed at saving material goods from fires. In 1865, following the Tooley Street fire and others, the publicly-funded and managed Metropolitan Fire Brigade was created, under the control of the Metropolitan Board of Works, later the LCC. In 1904 it was renamed as the London Fire Brigade.

From 1833 the first headquarters were at 68 Watling Street (see Beyond the Flames for some details and a photo), in the City of London. In 1878 moved into an old workhouse on Southwark Bridge Road, extended in 1883. 1937 moved into its Lambeth HQ. In 2007 it moved from there to 169 Union Street, Southwark, practically adjacent to its previous Southwark home.

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This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
London Fire Brigade

Commemorated ati

Dudgeon's Wharf explosion - red plaque

Unveiled on the 50th anniversary of the fire.

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Eyre Massey Shaw

Sir Eyre Massey Shaw, 1830 - 1908, first chief officer of the Metropolitan Fi...

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Fire Brigade HQ - Southwark

This stone relief was located above the main entrance to the former headquart...

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Great fire of Tooley Street

2021: This plaque has been replaced with a similar plaque, re-branded to prom...

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James Braidwood

What a great plaque. The inscription is inside a laurel wreath, in front of a...

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Show all 9

This section lists the memorials created by the subject on this page:
London Fire Brigade

Creations i

Dudgeon's Wharf explosion - oblong plaque

The unveiling of this plaque was reported in the East London Advertiser of 24...

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Sidney Street siege and fire

Our colleague Alan Patient decoded JEECS into ‘Jewish East End Celebration So...

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Stephen Maynard - steel plaque

Plaque erected on the 30th anniversary.

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Other Subjects

Keith Palmer

Keith Palmer

Police Constable 4157U, Keith David Palmer. From the Police Memorial Trust: "PC Palmer, though unarmed, stopped a knife-wielding terrorist from entering the Palace of Westminster during the 2017 W...

Person, Emergency Services, Tragedy

1 memorial
R. Connon Robertson, LMSSA, LSA

R. Connon Robertson, LMSSA, LSA

District Surgeon in the St John Ambulance Brigade, No. 1 District, 1920-1931. Officer in the Order of St John.

Person, Emergency Services, Medicine, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
James Braidwood

James Braidwood

Firefighter. Born Edinburgh where he formed the world's first municipal fire brigade. In 1832 he became the first Superintendent of the London Fire Engine Establishment, the precursor to the London...

Person, Emergency Services, Tragedy, Scotland

2 memorials
Leslie T. Healey

Leslie T. Healey

Fireman killed as a result of an air raid on Old Palace School, Bow, E3 on 20 April 1941. Our colleague Andrew Behan has kindly researched this man: Auxiliary Fireman Leslie Thomas Healey was born...

Person, Emergency Services

War dead non-military, WW2
1 memorial
S. H. Vilven

S. H. Vilven

Assistant Commissioner in the St John Ambulance Brigade, Metropolitan Corps, 1893-1925. Officer in the Order of St John.

Person, Emergency Services, Medicine, Politics & Administration

1 memorial