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

Auxiliary Fireman Mervyn James Taylor

Auxiliary Fireman Mervyn James Taylor

From the Sub Fire Station 6W, Cheyne Place. Died in a fire which took the lives of seven firemen, known as "The Wednesday".

Person, Emergency Services

War dead non-military, WW2
1 memorial
Sir William MacCormac, Bart. KCB, KCVO, MD, FRCS

Sir William MacCormac, Bart. KCB, KCVO, MD, FRCS

Notable surgeon during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Strong advocate of the antiseptic surgical methods proposed by Joseph Lister and he served in conflicts such as the Boer War. An...

Person, Emergency Services, Medicine, Politics & Administration, Ireland

1 memorial
L.Fm. Jack Bathie
War dead non-military, WW2
1 memorial
Jack Bauer

Jack Bauer

Member of the ARP/Civil Defence Services - stretcher bearer. Andrew Behan has kindly provided this research: Jack Bauer was born on 14 March 1907 in Stepney, a son of Louis and Leah Bauer who were...

Person, Emergency Services

War dead non-military, WW2
1 memorial
Fm. Daniel Michael O'Donovan

Fm. Daniel Michael O'Donovan

Attending a ‘Person Shut in Lift’ at Moelwyn Hughes Court, he fell from the flat roof while making his way to the lift motor room. Aged 25. O'Donovan was brought up in Harrow and was an avid sport...

Person, Emergency Services, Tragedy

1 memorial

Previously viewed

World War 2

World War 2

Sorry, we've done no research on WW2, it's just too big a subject. But do visit the picture source web site - it has a fascinating collection of maps.  And we enjoyed these photos of current WW2 ev...

Event, Armed Forces, Tragedy

376 memorials
H. Harwood

H. Harwood

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
County of London

County of London

This covered the area we would now call Inner London.  It was run by the London County Council. 

Group, Politics & Administration

1 memorial
London County Council

London County Council

Prior to the LCC London matters were run by church parishes. The LCC was the first directly elected strategic local government body for London. Replaced by the Greater London Council, covering a la...

Group, Politics & Administration

279 memorials
Carlton Hotel, Haymarket

Carlton Hotel, Haymarket

Designed by C. J. Phipps. The picture is taken from Cockspur Street. The building was badly bombed in 1940. Compare and contrast this ornate building with New Zealand House (1963) which is there now.

Building, Commerce

2 memorials