London Fire Brigade’s Lambeth Memorial Hall
Inside Lambeth fire station is London Fire Brigade’s Memorial Hall commemorating Firemen and Firefighters lost on duty and those lost whilst serving in the military during World War One and World War Two.
Within the Memorial Hall, there are six memorials.
- The Insurance Company Fire Brigades
- The World War One memorial
- The memorial to those (predominately) lost in peacetime
- The World War Two memorial
- Plaque commemorating the loss of Lee Baisden in the London bombings of 7th July 2005
- The 1666 Great Fire of London mosaic
Updates
- This post is a work in progress, first published 01-Nov-2023
- 02-Nov-2023: Added two 360 degree virtual tours
Public Access To The Memorial Hall
The Memorial Hall is occasionally open for public viewing in conjunction with events such as London Open House weekend. Outside of those opening times, it is only accessible by special permission due to it being located in a busy, operational fire station.
Photography Notes
Some pictures of Gilbert Bayes’ stone carvings are shown in black and white with exaggerated contrast to emphasise the definition of the work.
The Memorial Hall at Lambeth Fire Station
The two pictures with red borders are virtual tours of the Memorial Hall which work like Google Street View.
The Insurance Company Fire Brigades
Latin: “The beginnings of all things are small”
Saint Florian, patron saint of Firefighters.
Gilbert Bayes’ 1938 sculpted reliefs of Insurance Company Firemen at work.
In the centre of the memorial, two leaves open to reveal three illuminated scrolls, describing the Insurance Company Fire Brigades and illustrations of their badges.
The World War One Memorial
During the blitz of World War One a single Fireman was lost due to enemy action whilst on duty. His name was Alfred Vidler of Whitechapel Fire Station.
This gave no warning of the losses London Fire Brigade was to face in World War Two.
The Peacetime Memorial
Latin: “The end crowns the work”
The World War Two Memorial
The most recent major addition to the LFB Memorial Hall was the memorial to the Firemen and Firewomen lost during World War Two. Most of the name listed were people lost whilst serving in the Fire Brigades of London, the Auxiliary Fire Service which later combined into the National Fire Service for the duration of WW2.
The memorial, less the sculpture which was added later, was unveiled in 1956. A picture can be seen here. The sculpture is by Ray Mills which was scaled up to be used on the Firefighters Memorial by Saint Paul’s cathedral.
Lee Baisden Memorial Plaque
1666 Great Fire of London Mosaic
Building Opening Plaque
