Ladder Collection

Derrick Floor of an oil rig, Iran
Derrick Floor of an oil drilling rig, Iran

Zazel / Human Cannonball
Zazel at the Royal Aquarium, London. " A beautiful Lady shot from a monstrous cannon." This is thought to be the earliest photograph of a human cannonball act

LCC-LFB Tooley Street fire station and its crews
Built in 1879, and located at 165 Tooley Street, this station remained operational until 1928 when the new Dockhead fire station was opened and the engines and crews transferred there

GLC-LFB Dennis diesel Compact Pump
Introduced into London in the mid-1970s, this narrow wheel base pump was not a dual purpose fire engine. It could only carry an extension ladder and not the 50 foot wheeled escape

Interior Decorator with his brushes, ladder and pipe
Interior Decorator (Terry) with his brushes, ladder, pipe and blowtorch! Date: circa 1950s

Woman police officer attending an accident where a man appears to have fallen off a ladder. She is speaking into her hand-held radio. Date: circa 1970s

View from the harbour, Dartmouth, Devon. Date: circa 1950s

Consequences, illustration by William Heath Robinson
Consequences -- How the thoughtlessness of a butterfly seriously affected a bishops corn, illustration by William Heath Robinson. Credit must appear as: Courtesy of Mrs J. C

Blitz in London -- St Bride Street, Farringdon Street, WW2
Blitz in London -- St Bride Street and Farringdon Street, with firefighters at work in a smoky atmosphere and pedestrians walking by

LCC-LFB Shoreditch fire station, City of London
Built in 1895, station B27, Shoreditch fire station, was located at 140 Tabernacle Street, near Old Street, City of London. The stations spare escape ladder is parked on the station forecourt

Middlesex Fire Brigade in the London Fire Brigade area
Mutual assistance took place where a nearby fire brigade would attend a fire in the London Fire Brigade area, or vice-versa

The Ladder of Fortune. Industry and Morality bring solid rewards. Idle schemes and speculations yield poverty and ruin. Date: 1875

Ramon Llull (1235-1316). Breviculum Codex. Miniature. Baden
Ramon Llull (1235-1316). Breviculum Codex. Miniature. Llull preaching. Parchment 92. Page 5r. Baden Memorial Library. Karlsruhe. Germany

Self-Help in War Time by Heath Robinson Building a Bungalow
No III - Building a bungalow: Now, having made a good start with your music-room, place your piano in position

LCC-LFB Fire display at Brigade HQ Southwark
The London Fire Brigade encouraged, for very many years, a good public image by opening its doors to the public to special fire brigade displays

LCC-LFB Serious house fire in Notting Hill
Firefighters using the 50 foot wheeled escape ladder to gain access to the upper floors of this terraced house affected by a serious blaze in Notting Hill, West London

LCC-LFB Recruit fireman training at Brigade HQ, SE1
During the 1950s recruit firefighters were trained at the Brigade Headquarters, Lambeth. Here a fireman is undertaking a hook ladder drill on the stations nine-storey drill tower

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

House carpenter planing a board on a bench. His workshop contains carpentry tools such as saws, hammer, chisel, as well as finished products such as a door, rafters, ladder, etc

18th century fire engines
Various early fire engines and firefighting equipment from the 18th century Date: 18th century

LCC-LFB enclosed pump at Lambeth fire station
Pictured at Brigade Headquarters, Lambeth SE1, an example of an 1930 enclosed London pump with carried breathing apparatus

LCC-LFB Euston fire station
Opened in 1902, and originally only having two engine bays, Euston fire stations appliances and crews pose for a photograph by the extended five bay station on its forecourt in the Euston Road

LCC-LFB Dual purpose pump escape at Lambeth HQ
A Dennis F7 pump escape at Lambeth HQ, a classic postwar fire engine newly in service in London

LCC-LFB Kennington fire station, Lambeth
Built by the London County Council, Kennington fire station was located in Renfrew Road, Lower Kennington, South London

GLC-LFB Fire in Lambeth Road, SE11
A Merryweather turntable ladder stands ready whilst fire crews wearing Proto oxygen breathing apparatus tackle a blaze in Victoria House & Victoria Mansions, South Lambeth Road, South Lambeth

LCC-LFB Leyland Metz 100 foot turntable ladder
Lambeths (D61) turntable ladder at its base station, displayed in the Brigade headquarters drill yard

LCC-LFB Lambeth fire station with appliances
Lambeth fire station (Brigade Headquarters) with pump-escape, pump and 100 foot turntable ladder. The station had three other appliances: an emergency tender, breakdown lorry and canteen van

LCC-LFB engines and crews, Whitechapel fire station
Located at 27 Commercial Road, East London, Whitechapel fire station opened in 1874. It was also a superintendent station (district headquarters) and was known as Station No 27

LCC-LFB Merryweather self-propelled Fire King pump
First introduced into the UK by Merryweather of Greenwich, SE London, in 1899, by 1907 twenty-one Fire Kings were in operational use around the country, including the London Fire Brigade

LCC-LFB Bishopsgate fire station, City of London
The pump, pump escape and turntable ladder, with their crews, on the forecourt of Bishopsgate fire station, City of London

LFB at 25 pump fire, warehouse in Fulham
LFB firefighters in action at a fire in Fulham, where 100 tons of paraffin wax ignited in a riverside warehouse

NFS 60ft hand-operated turntable ladder, WW2
An Austin K4-Merryweather 60 foot hand-operated turntable ladder (TL). A total of 50 such appliances were built and mounted on Austin K4 chassis for the Home Office between 1942 and 1943

LFB wartime emergency appliance and trailer pump, WW2
A Fordson Unit and trailer pump at the London Fire Brigade headquarters, Lambeth. These were just some of the 2000 adapted vehicles utilised as AFS fire appliances

Police and Fire Brigade attending a fire at Chelsea FC
Metropolitan Police and London Fire Brigade attending a fire at Chelsea FC

Jacobs Ladder / Bunyan
Jacobs dream of a ladder to Heaven. (From the book of Genesis)

Art / Hogarth / The Times
THE TIMES 1 of 2 a satire on political rivalry between the Pitt and Temple factions

Fishing boats in the harbour, Fowey, Cornwall
Fishing boats in the picturesque harbour at Fowey, Cornwall. Date: circa 1980s

LFDCA-LFB Vintage fire engine at Clapham fire station
A former Middlesex Fire Brigade pump escape at Clapham fire station. Middlesex was absorbed into the enlarged London Fire Brigade in 1965 with the creation of the Greater London Council

GLC-LFB - Dual purpose pump fire engine
The GLC-LFB was created on 1 April 1965. A series of photos was commissioned of each type of fire engine, either within or absorbed into the enlarged London Fire Brigade

The Brewer 1827
Brewers sweat and toil as they stir and brew beer and haul heavy barrels up and down a ladder next to the sweltering heat of a kiln

1st Petrol Fire-Engine
A combination fire-fighting engine, with chemical fire extinguishing apparatus and a fire-escape ladder. This model was the first petrol motor fire-engine in the world

GLC-LFB - Dual purpose pump fire engine
The GLC-LFB was created on 1 April 1965. A series of photos was commissioned of each type of fire engine, either within or absorbed into the enlarged London Fire Brigade

Glasgow Fire Drill Competition, Scotland
The Springburn team of firemen participating in a fire drill competition in Glasgow, Scotland. circa 1911

American firefighters in London WWII
American soldiers on duty with the London Fire Brigade practice British Fire Fighting techniques including climbing up steel turn table ladder

To the Girls in Navy Blue by William Barribal
A wren climbing up a ladder in a harbour revealing stocking tops in the process

Girl on Library Ladder
The girl on the library ladder

Manual Fire-Engine / 1885
Factory Pattern Manual Fire- engine constructed by Merryweathers for the use of factory fire brigade

Merryweathers Engine
Merryweather Three-in-one Motor Fire-Engine, with a Fire Suds apparatus producing a semi-fluid substance which floats on burning liquids and smothers the flames

Travelling Charlady
A travelling charlady, up a ladder, cleaning a front door, her motorcycle with its Stop Me For Cleaning, No Job Too Small sign, parked behind her!

LFDCA-LFB Volvo dual purpose diesel pump ladder
Pictured on Blackheath in SE London, the pump ladder from Greenwich fire station

LCC-LFB Bishopsgate fire station, City of London
Opened in 1910 at 162 Bishopsgate, the new Bishopsgate fire station replaced the former one built in 1863 which stood at 23 Bishopsgate. The spare escape ladder stands to the side of the station

Joan of Arc at the fortress of Tourelles, Orleans, France
Joan of Arc at the English fortress of Les Tourelles, during the Siege of Orleans, France, 7 May 1429. 1429

"Appleton - either the Admiral routes the convoys further south
" Appleton - either the Admiral routes the convoys further south

Stationery, Alfred Beer of Bristol, Ladder Manufacturer. 1891

Freemason seal of the 19th century with different symbols as the Seal of Solomon or Star of David. Metals. FRANCE. Ό E-DE-FRANCE. Paris

Fire in Danbury Street, Islington, N1, with people trapped, on 25 May 1958

Firefighter during hook ladder practice. Date: 1967

Major fire in Wandsworth Road, Clapham SW8
London firefighters and the London Salvage Corps (in the long coats) at the scene of a fire involving shops and dwellings in Wandsworth Road, Clapham, SW8, on 9 September 1959. Date: 1959

St Helena - Jacobs Ladder (699 steps), Jamestown. In 1829, the Saint Helena Railway Company built an inclined-plane cableway on Saint Helena

GLC-LFB ERF diesel pump-escape fire engine
The ERF pump escape attached to Millwall fire station, the latest addition to the Brigades appliance fleet

NFS-London Region 50ft wheeled escape ladder, WW2
An Ajax style wheeled escape ladder, wound out in its carriage, from Fire Force Area 34 Acton fire station (E1Z) located at 24 Gunnersbury Lane, Acton, West London

Father Cmas / Chimney / Car
Father Christmas stands on his rope ladder among the snowy rooftops and drops a toy car down a lucky childs chimney

Omani Outside Broadcast truck
Salalah Sultanate of Oman. Omani Cameraman sitting on top of the green and orange Outside Broadcast truck. Small ladder leaning against van. Grey car park next to the van with Omani signage Date: 1977

Soho, London - 8 Newburgh Street W1 - Deja Vu, a painted psychedelic shop front viewed from Lowndes Court. 1973

Gerald Road Police Station, Belgravia, London
Gerald Road Police Station (left), Belgravia, London. Date: circa 1910

Bomb damage in Sidney Street, East London, WW2. Both sides of the entire street were shattered by two bombs. Date: 1940

Station 28, Whitechapel BA pumps crew
Firefighters from Whitechapel fire station posing with their Proto Mark IV oxygen breathing apparatus sets with their open Dennis dual purpose appliance which could carry either an extension ladder

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

LCC-LFB Kensington fire station, SW London
Located in Old Court Place near Kensington Church Street, Kensington fire station retained a horse drawn turntable ladder until 1921 when it was finally replaced by a motorised version

Hendon Fire Brigade (later part of Middlesex FB)
In 1855 a fire brigade was established in Hendon, renamed the Hendon Volunteer Fire Brigade in 1866, and a manual fire engine was kept in a building near the church

GLC-LFB Warehouse fire, Herring Street, London
A serious warehouse fire in riverside wharfs and a turntable ladder at work in the distance

LCC-LFB - North Kensington fire station
The firefighters from North Kensington fire station, Faraday Road, W10, pose on the station forecourt on their pump escape and pump

Major fire in Wandsworth Road, Clapham SW8
London firefighters and the London Salvage Corps (in the long coats) at the scene of a fire involving shops and dwellings in Wandsworth Road, Clapham, SW8, on 9 September 1959

LCC-LFB Recruit firemen training at Brigade HQ, SE1
During the 1950s recruit firefighters were trained at the Brigade Headquarters, Lambeth

West Ham Fire Brigade
A manual horse drawn fire pump belonging to West Ham Fire Brigade with a Victorian fire crew

LCC-LFB in action at warehouse blaze
Two turntable ladders brought into action at a major warehouse fire with an LCC ambulance standing by in the foreground

LCC-LFB Magirus (screw) 100ft turntable ladder
An example of the Dennis Morris Magirus turntable ladder in its fire station appliance room

LFB turntable ladders in use at Hackney fire
Firefighters in action at Messrs Woolf, a furniture store in Hackney, East London

London Salvage Corps at work with salvage sheets
The London Salvage Corps were financed by the Insurance Companies and were not part of the London Fire Brigade

Fire station drill, hook ladder and 50 foot escape ladder
Regular training continued at all London fire stations during WW2, though it was unusual for a sub-station to have a drill tower

Blitz in London -- rescue workers in bombed street, WW2
Blitz in London -- rescue teams and building workers (not firefighters) searching and making safe houses in Sydney Street, East London, after a bombing raid in the East End

Government supplied NFS pump escape and trailer pump
A grey pump escape and trailer pump prior to having its NFS station identification number painted on the side. Seen here at the London Fire Brigade headquarters in Lambeth

Superstitions
An interesting instance of the popular aversion to walking under a ladder

Joseph Yates Ltd - 33 Vauxhall Bridge Road
Joseph Yates Ltd - Timber Merchant - 33 Vauxhall Bridge Road, Pimlico, London

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