Drills Collection

Bedford Heavy Unit in the NFS (London Region)
About 1000 of the pumps were built on a Bedford chassis and most were capable of pumping water at 700 gallons per minute. Here a heavy unit and crew are undertaking hose drills at Lambeth

LCC-LFB Recruit firefighters training at Brigade HQ SE1
During the 1950s recruit firefighters were trained at the Brigade Headquarters in Lambeth. Here they are undertaking hook ladder drills on the stations nine-storey drill tower

Air Raid Drills at the Windmill Theatre
At the Windmill Theatre, London, the showgirls are given a crash course in fire-fighting and first aid. 1940

Wheelwrights making cart wheels
Wheelwrights or wainwrights making large wooden wheels in a traditional rural workshop. Painting by Malcolm Greensmith

LCC-LFB horse drawn 75ft turntable ladder (TL)
Shand Mason (Blackfriars) supplied the London Fire Brigade with this hand operated 75 foot turntable ladder on a four wheel horse drawn carriage

Jeweller at his bench with leather covers. His tools include files, drills, hammer, pliers, wire drawer and crucible. Handcoloured woodcut engraving from The Book of English Trades

Jealousy by H. M. Bateman
A dental patient sits prone in a the dentists chair with his mouth wide open while his dentist is momentarily distracted by the sight of workmen with much bigger drills across the road

Massey Shaw fireboat demonstrates pumping
Moored at its Blackfriars river station on the Victoria Embankment, the newly commissioned Massey Shaw fireboat demonstrates its massive pumping capacity by discharging a vast amount of water

WW2 Chicks And Hares
A WW2 childrens book illustration from The Blue-Eyed Cat. The image shows some hares and helmet wearing chicks performing training drills and excercises. Date: circa 1945

Dentist's equipment, dental drill parts Date: 1920

Volunteer mine-sweepers in training, Sept 1939
A scheme to train fisherman as volunteer mine-sweepers began in 1938 and was used to allow the navy to concentrate elswhere

British soldiers marching in Britain, September 1939
Men in full uniform with guns and bags around their necks practicing marching in Britain. The Sphere comments on their new-found " soldierly qualities" thanks to the exercise

America - Americans Drilling
Americans Colloonists Drilling During The American War of Independence 1775

Prince Albert drilling - Hyde Park Locomotive Works, Glasgow
December 1919 - Prince Albert (later King George VI - 1895-1952) visits the industrial suburbs of Glasgow, Scotland - pictured here drilling a boiler at the Hyde Park Locomotive Works. Date: 1919

And no wonder! H. M. Bateman cartoon
" And no wonder! THE DEAR OLD LADY (as the recruits march by): Dear me, how the fine weather does bring the young fellows out to be sure

LCC-LFB Metz 100 foot turntable ladder at drills
A Metz-Leyland 85 foot turntable ladder at drill at the Headquarters station, Southwark SE1

LCC-LFB rescue drills at Brigade HQ
Two escape ladders and two hook ladders at work on the Headquarters main drill tower and firefighters performing rescues by carrying down and lowering by line using live casualties

LCC-LFB Brigade HQ Annual Review hook ladder drill
These coordinated hook ladders drills were a popular feature during the annual displays at Lambeth Headquarters. With one firefighter on each side of the drill tower and at every window

LCC-LFB Massey Shaw fireboat, Blackfriars, London
Tied up at her Blackfriars moorings, the Massey Shaw fireboat gives a demonstration of her fire power from her Merryweather pumps

LCC-LFB fireboat Gamma II with monitor in use at drill
The counter-weighted monitor of a London Fire Brigade fireboat in use whilst the fireboat is moored near Hungerford Bridge on the River Thames

LFB fireboat Beta II at Cherry Garden Pier
LCC-LFB fireboat Beta II (the sister craft to fireboat Beta) moored off its fire station at Cherry Garden Pier, Rotherhithe, SE London

Two man hook ladders drills at Lambeth HQ
Four London firefighters performing two-man hook ladder drills on the Brigade headquarters nine-storey drill tower

Wartime drills at the London Stock Exchange, 1940
With the threat of German invasion looming, workers at the London Stock Exchange receive basic military training on the trading floor

Women WW1 Work Carpenters
A group of women working as carpenters making ammunition boxes or wooden storage cases. Most hold tools such as drills, planes and hammers

Parisian Street Hardware salesman - Paris, France. Date: circa 1930s

French Seed Drill
French seed drill modified from Tull and Duhamel Date: 1760

Boys Brigade Drills 19C
Boys in the Boys Brigade practising first aid drills Date: 1891

Drill-dodging: The new exercise, H. M. Bateman cartoon, WW1
" Drill-dodging: Everyone can test it gratis: the new exercise for onlookers in the park." This World War One cartoon jokes that the sheer quantity of volunteers to the British Army by 1915

Drilling an Oil Well - Boring by Turbine. Liquid mud is pumped at high pressure through a non-revolving pipe to a turbo drill (shown in the inset enlargement) at the bottom of the well

Firefighters taking part in a hose training drill
Two firefighters taking part in a hose training drill

LFB water relaying drills, Hyde Park, London
LFB water relaying drills taking place in Hyde Park, London, on 12 February 1938, watched by mothers and their children. Date: 1938

Firefighter taking part in a hose training drill

Trainee lowered from tower during exercise drill, WW2
National Fire Service trainee being lowered from a tower during exercise drill. Date: 1940s

Firefighters taking part in a hose training drill, WW2
National Fire Service firefighters taking part in a hose training drill during the Second World War. Date: 1940s

Conscripts fail to impress their sergeant
WW2 - " I can see that you ve done this drill before - once." Conscripts fail to impress their sergeant with their drilling... Date: 1945

LCC-LFB motorised pump at hose drills, Southwark HQ
Working in the drill yard of the London Fire Brigade headquarters, Southwark, firefighters getting hose lines to work from a motorised fire pump

LCC-LFB Dennis motorised pump-escape
In 1910 the London Fire Brigade took delivery of the latest motorised fire engine from Dennis, the fire engine manufacturers in Surrey

LCC- MFB horse drawn escape cart and ladder drill
London Fire Brigade headquarters, Southwark SE1, with firefighters taking part in escape ladder drill, using an extension ladder to gain additional height

MFB (London) station ladder drill
Metropolitan firefighters taking part in ladder drill. Both large ladders are wheel escapes and the ladder on the right has an extension to give it additional height

LCC-LFB Knightsbridge firemen competition winners
The winning crew of the annual horse drawn and motorised pump escape competition with their station superintendent. Knightsbridge fire station was opened in 1907, and still stands in Basil Street

LCC-MFB Fire float and tug at drills
Prior to the MFB acquiring its first purpose made fireboat, a tug would tow a fire float (containing a steam fire pump) to the scene of riverside blazes and fires on ships on the Thames

LCC-MFB firemen at drill, Southwark HQ
Firefighters at Metropolitan Fire Brigade headquarters, Southwark, carrying out a drill in the yard

LCC-LFB fireboat Massey Shaw demonstrates pumping
Moored at its Blackfriars river station on the Victoria Embankment, the newly commissioned Massey Shaw fireboat demonstrates its massive pumping capacity by discharging a vast amount of water

Auxiliary London firemen at drill on a fireboat, WW2
Auxiliary London firemen (AFS) under instruction in the use of a rocket-line as part of their fireboat drills and training

LCC-LFB fire engine drills at Southwark HQ
The Metropolitan Fire Brigade was renamed the London Fire Brigade in 1904, with much of its former equipment still in regular use. Self-propelled fire engines were being introduced by 1904

Auxiliary firefighters at drill, Lambeth HQ, WW2
Auxiliary crews from station 75W (Shelborne Road School sub station in Holloway) getting to work with a trailer pump and jets in the drill yard of Brigade Headquarters

Firefighters tackle oil tray fire, Lambeth HQ
An item from the drill display where firefighters extinguish a blazing oil tray fire using foam from two gallon (10 litre) fire extinguishers

Fire brigade display preparations at Lambeth HQ
A mock-up of a domestic room setting being erected to show the dangers of fire at the regular drill displays conducted in the London Fire Brigade headquarters drill yard

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