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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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

David Arthur Morton-Holmes

David Arthur Morton-Holmes

Member of the ARP/Civil Defence Services - stretcher bearer. Andrew Behan has kindly provided this research: David Arthur Morton-Holmes was born on 17 September 1909 in Belvedere, Kent, the second...

Person, Emergency Services

War dead non-military, WW2
1 memorial
Ada Lavina Wilson

Ada Lavina Wilson

Killed as a result of a 13 October 1944 air raid on Coronation Avenue. Our colleague, Andrew Behan, has researched this lady and found that she used a variety of names throughout her life. She was...

Person, Emergency Services

War dead non-military, WW2
1 memorial
E. G. Ladd

E. G. Ladd

Either lost his life, or gave distinguished service to the London Fire Brigade, and was buried in the Highgate Cemetery plot between 1884 and 1955.

Person, Emergency Services

1 memorial
Alan C. Barber

Alan C. Barber

Auxiliary Fireman Alan Charles Barber was born 15 May 1914 in West Norwood, Surrey, the son of William Charles Edward Barber (1881-1967) and Ethel Barber née Langton (b.1882).  His father was a Car...

Person, Emergency Services

War dead non-military, WW2
1 memorial
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

2 memorials

Previously viewed

Black Prince Road ceramics - plaque 02

Black Prince Road ceramics - plaque 02

SE11, Black Prince Road, Tunnel underneath railway bridge

These lovely ceramics plaques were installed some time in or before 2008. There are 12 oval ceramics of which 7 nos 1-7) are mosaic and r...

1 subject commemorated
Queen's Theatre - Long Acre

Queen's Theatre - Long Acre

WC2, Long Acre, Queen's Theatre

As the close-up picture shows, this corner boasts three plaques: a Mercers' maiden (see the Mercers' Company), an award from the 'Brick D...

3 subjects commemorated, 2 creators