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

Auxiliary Fireman Christopher Edward Seymour Hartwell

Auxiliary Fireman Christopher Edward Seymour Hartwell

Auxiliary fireman from Banstead killed in an air raid on Poplar. Christopher Edward Seymour Hartwell was born on 21 July 1898 in Chapel Brampton, Northamptonshire, the son of Elizabeth Annie Hartw...

Person, Armed Forces, Emergency Services

War dead non-military, WW2
1 memorial
Major A. C. Tunstall, MD, FRCS (ED)

Major A. C. Tunstall, MD, FRCS (ED)

Medical Board in the St John Ambulance Brigade, Metropolitan Corps, 1890-1915. Officer in the Order of St John.

Person, Armed Forces, Emergency Services, Medicine

1 memorial
Keith Blakelock

Keith Blakelock

Beaten and stabbed to death by a mob during large scale rioting. Posthumously awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal. From an article in the Guardian: Constables Blakelock and Coombes were attacked ...

Person, Emergency Services, Tragedy

1 memorial
Henry J. C. Carden

Henry J. C. Carden

Auxiliary Fireman Henry John Clifford Carden was born on 23 December 1911 and his birth was registered in Bromley, Kent. He was the fourth child of John Henry Clifford Carden (b.1876) and Emily Jan...

Person, Emergency Services

War dead non-military, WW2
1 memorial
A. J. Perry

A. J. Perry

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

Previously viewed

Royal Doulton / Doulton Potteries

Royal Doulton / Doulton Potteries

Ceramic manufacturing company. Began with a factory at Vauxhall Walk, Lambeth. Initially a partnership of John Doulton, Martha Jones, and John Watts, Jones left in 1820 leaving the company name as ...

Group, Craft / Design, Industry

39 memorials
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

378 memorials
Bell Street School / Rutherford School

Bell Street School / Rutherford School

From Local History: 1870 "The newly formed London School Board was searching actively for sites, so a block of dilapidated houses in Lisson Street, next to an existing Ragged School, must have been...

Building, Education

1 memorial
Bdsm. John Heritage

Bdsm. John Heritage

Killed by the IRA Regent's Park bomb - not killed outright but was mortally wounded, dying 12 days later, aged 29 years. 

Person, Armed Forces, Tragedy

1 memorial