11 / 28
Page 11
Follow us on twitter @LondonFire1666
The Massey Shaw Annual Dinner is held in
honour of Sir Eyre Massey Shaw, who was the
first Chief Fire Officer of the Metropolitan Fire
Brigade. This year, the dinner was held in the
amazing Armourers Hall on Wednesday 9th
March. The Armourers have had a hall on their
site in Coleman Street since 1346 and the Hall’s
striking interior features 16th and 17th Century
armour, weapons and paintings. The Hall was
one of the very few to escape destruction in the
Great Fire of 1666, which was checked a few
yards short of it. The Company ismuch indebted
to an unknown fireman who, during the blitz of
1940, seeing the curtains of the Court Room
ablaze, broke into the Hall and extinguished
the flames. Although his identity may never be
known, his quick thinking undoubtedly saved
the Hall. The venue was a superb, historic and
unique location.
Invited guests included CFOA President for
2015/6, Paul Hancock of Cheshire FRS and
Master of the Worshipful Company of Hackney
Carriage Drivers Colin Evans. The guest
speaker was Mr. Vincent Hayes, the Owner of
theBrick LaneOldTimeMusicHall, who brought
his wonderful eclectic style of entertainment
to great use in his talk, highlighting the efforts
made by his Music Hall charity to bring cheer
to disadvantaged communities throughout the
East End of London.
Upper Warden Bruce Hoad introduced
the principal guests and set the scene for
the Company’s annual award recognising
endeavour and expertise in the world of
firefighting. CFOA recommended this year that
the award should be made to Evan Morris,
MBE, former head at Community Safety with
Cheshire FRS, for his pioneering work in
enabling all English FR Services to better target
safety interventions towards elderly people. In
this work he has worked closely with the NHS
and Age UK.
THE MASSEY SHAW ANNUAL
DINNER 2015
Sir Eyre Massey Shaw
(1830-1908)
Members and Guests at The Armourers Hall enjoying the evening
FORMAL EVENTS