The first Fire Brigades were raised locally on an ad hoc basis. These were volunteer organisations, usually with a small professional staff in command or administrative roles.
Initially the only Medals available to these Fire Officers were either locally designed and administered, or from the ‘Society for the Protection of Life from Fire’ (formed 1836). The latter was a charitable organisation – one of many in existence at the time – which aimed to recognise outstanding contributions by groups or individuals towards the prevention of deaths by fire. This could be a monetary award to those developing new fire-fighting equipment, or a Silver of Bronze Medal to recognise an act of bravery. As such the awards were open to the general public and not just those belonging to a Fire Brigade; an unusually high number of awards were made to women, recognising that most fires occurred in the home.
There was a general reluctance to form any kind of national, centrally controlled and funded organisation at the time; the ‘small state’ in action. However, serving Fire Officers saw the benefits of standardising equipment, conditions and procedures and the National Fire Brigades Union (NFBU) was formed in 1887 to help put this into effect. At the time there were over 900 local Brigades in existence. Only 71 of these initially signed-up the NFBU, but the number quickly increased as the benefits became clear. The new organisation soon became recognised as the national voice and advisory body for Britain’s Fire Brigades. It also established rules and standards for member Brigades, standardised organisation, equipment and training, and created specifications for new appliances that met national requirements. In 1890 it created a Widows & Orphans Fund for the dependents of Fire Officers.
The number of professional staff working as part of individual Brigades steadily increased as the size and complexity of the Brigades increased. In 1902, the Association of Professional Fire Brigade Officers of the British Empire (APFBO) was created to represent these. This complemented the NFBU and the two organisations generally worked well together.
Both the NFBU and APFBO introduced their own award system for members. These can be summarised as:
The Silver and Bronze Medals were, in effect, Long Service awards. Bars were awarded to each recognising further periods of service.
Somewhat bizarrely, Fire Officers were also eligible to receive the King’s Police Medal; instituted in 1909. The Medal could be awarded on a number of criteria, but broadly for both courage in saving life and property, and for especially distinguished service. However not until 1933 were the two criteria separated; from that time awards for gallantry had extra, red vertical stripes added to the ribbon. To maintain the award’s prestige, initially a maximum of 40 could be awarded in the UK each year. However, when the Medal was finally renamed the more appropriate King's Police and Fire Services Medal in 1940, this restriction disappeared.
In addition, Fire Officers were eligible for national civilian bravery awards. This initially meant the Albert Medal (instituted 1866), but also (from 1917) the various grades of the Order of the British Empire.
In 1918, a Trade Union was created for Firemen and the NFBU changed its name to the National Fire Brigades Association (NFBA) to avoid any confusion. Two years later, the APFBO became the easier on the tongue Professional Fire Brigades Association (PFBA).
In 1924, the NFBA absorbed the British Fire Prevention Committee (BFPC). This had been established in 1897 to improve the standard of fire protection in buildings.
The system of awards was continued under both the NFBA and PFBA, but the NFBA added a ‘Conspicuous Gallantry Medal’ which, as its name suggests, was for acts of bravery rather than recognising long and valued service.
As the threat of War increased in the late 1930’s, various measures were put in place to better prepare the country for the coming conflict. One of these was the creation of the Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) in 1938. This was largely made up of volunteers who were to supplement their local Fire Brigades and so meet the additional workload caused by enemy aerial bombing. From the outset this was a national organisation, centrally controlled and funded.
The demands of war placed operational efficiency above all other considerations and in August,1941 the country’s various fire-fighting organisations (including the AFS and the local Fire Brigades) were effectively
nationalised; becoming the National Fire Service (NFS). This was directly controlled and funded from the Home Office.
Neither the AFS nor the NFS issued Medals of their own, but members were entitled to claim the Defence Medal if they met the qualifying criteria.
The creation of the NFS effectively made the NFBA and the PFBA obsolete. They eventually amalgamated in 1949, becoming the British Fire Services Association (BFSA) which mainly serves industrial, corporate and private fire brigades.
The NFS was broken up in April,1948 and control of the country’s fire-fighting services placed back in local hands. This was in a much-modified format, however, with the number of Fire Brigades greatly reduced and controlled on a County and County-Borough level.
In June,1954, the Fire Brigade Long Service and Good Conduct Medal was established, effectively replacing all other such awards.
The medals and letter below belonged to Divisional Officer Andrew McMaster (1893-1976) who served with the City of Glasgow Fire Service for more than 25 years. These are part of a wider collection including World War 1 Medals owned by his Granddaughter Elizabeth (McMaster) Lynn.
King's Police and Fire Services Medal
Awarded in 1946 as had “exhibited conspicuous devotion to duty”.
City of Glasgow Fire Brigade Long Service Medal 20- and 5-year Bars were added to the Medal to indicate an Officer’s term of service. Andrew's had one 20-year and one 5-year bar indicating at least 25 years in the Brigade.
Professional Fire Brigade Association Long Service Medal This is a Bronze Medal (10-year’s service) with a Bar to signify an additional 10-year’s service, making 20 in all.
This is less than for the City of Glasgow Fire Brigade award since it only covers time as a professional (full time) Fire Officer.
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