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

Colonel Sir Neil Gordon Thorne OBE

Colonel Sir Neil Gordon Thorne OBE

Trustee of The Memorial Gates Trust. In addition to our Picture Source and his Wikipedia page, our research shows that Colonel Sir Neil Gordon Thorne, OBE, TD, DL, was born on 8 August 1932 the so...

Person, Armed Forces, Emergency Services, 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
G. W. Kendall, MD, BCH

G. W. Kendall, MD, BCH

Assistant Commissioner in the St John Ambulance Brigade, No. 1 District, 1911-1942. Officer in the Order of St John.

Person, Emergency Services, Medicine, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
George Alfred Hickey

George Alfred Hickey

Auxiliary fireman killed in the bomb attack on Henry Cavendish School, Balham. Andrew Behan found the photograph and has kindly carried out further research: Auxiliary Fireman George Alfred Hickey...

Person, Emergency Services

War dead non-military, WW2
1 memorial
Stn. O. Jack Fourt-Wells

Stn. O. Jack Fourt-Wells

Jack Fourt-Wells was born on 4 May 1911. He married Winifred Elsie Seward (1916-1993) and their marriage is recorded in the 2nd quarter of 1939 in the Pancras registration district. The 1939 Englan...

Person, Emergency Services, Tragedy

1 memorial