WCoFF NEWS Desk

    Article Added: 28 Jan 2018

    Last week a plaque was unveiled to commemorate the deaths of two London firefighters, Jack Fourt-Wells and Richard Stocking from Clerkenwell, who died fighting the Smithfield Market fire on 23 January in 1958. There is an interesting documentary from 1996 dealing with some of the lessons learnt for the deployment of BA crews following this incident and the King's Cross tube fire. The pho ...

    Article Added: 28 Jan 2018

    Prompted by a question: “why should anyone confess to starting a fire that they hadn’t, and allow themselves to be hanged as a consequence?” renowned fire investigator and former London firefighter Dr Peter Mansi, conducted a cold-case review of the fire and its investigation at the time. His work was the catalyst for a book, contributed to by members of the Worshipful Company ...

    Article Added: 28 Jan 2018

    Badges of Extinction details the arm badges worn by firemen of the insurance company brigades during the 18th and 19th Centuries. Written by two former Chairmen of the Fire Mark Circle, the book is beautifully illustrated, with many rare photographs of the badges and a description of their symbolism. We have a copy of this hard-back book, published in 1989, in excellent condition, available for ...

    Article Added: 28 Jan 2018

    EXCELLENCE, innovation, leadership and exemplary service were celebrated at the annual Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service (CFRS) Excellence Awards. The annual event, which took place at the Huntingdon Marriott Hotel on Thursday (January 18), celebrated the achievements of staff from across different areas of the Service. It awarded the commitment, dedication and professionalism of staff wh ...

    Article Added: 07 Jan 2018

    The ex-London Firefighter John Nadal, known for his book London’s Fire Stations, has published two new volumes entitled London’s Fire Engines. With a total of 624 pages, copiously illustrated, the two volumes are a substantial contribution to documenting the history of London’s fire appliances. Volume 1 spans early manuals and horse-drawn appliances to machines in use at the sta ...

    Article Added: 05 Jan 2018

    The Order of St John, formally the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem and also known as St John International, is a royal order of chivalry first constituted in 1888 by royal charter from Queen Victoria. It evolved from a faction of the Order of Malta that emerged in France in the 1820s and moved to Britain in the early 1830s, where, after operating under a successi ...