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 10

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

Oliver James Steele

Oliver James Steele

Auxiliary fireman killed in the bomb attack on Henry Cavendish School, Balham. Andrew Behan has kindly carried out further research: Auxiliary Fireman Oliver James Steele was born on 11 July 1912....

Person, Emergency Services

War dead non-military, WW2
1 memorial
Denis Gerald Fitzgerald

Denis Gerald Fitzgerald

Auxiliary Fireman Denis Gerald Fitzgerald was born on 20 June 1912 in Croydon, Surrey, the son of William Fitzgerald (b.1886) and Mabel Annie Fitzgerald née Theobald (1887-1958). He was baptised on...

Person, Emergency Services

War dead non-military, WW2
2 memorials
J. T. Bowles

J. T. Bowles

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
H. S. Swain

H. S. Swain

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
Kenneth J. Bowles

Kenneth J. Bowles

Auxiliary Fireman Kenneth John Bowles was born on 15 October 1910 in Beckenham, Kent, the second son of Alfred Edward Bowles (b.1879) and Minnie Bowles née Bear (1877-1946). The 1911 census shows h...

Person, Emergency Services

War dead non-military, WW2
1 memorial

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