Plaque to James Braidwood, Tooley St, London, UK
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Team Sieni
N 51° 30.345 W 000° 05.139
30U E 702247 N 5710095
Memorial to James Braidwood, a pioneering firefighter from Edinburgh who helped to establish firefighting organisations in both Edinburgh and London and was killed in the Tooley Street fire in 1861.
Waymark Code: WM6GAV
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 05/30/2009
Published By:Groundspeak Regular Member GEO*Trailblazer 1
Views: 11
Download this waymark:
.GPX File
.LOC File
.KML File (Google Earth)

According to the London Fire Brigade website [1]:

"The fire at Cottons Wharf on Tooley Street, on 22 June 1861, was seen as the greatest fire since The Great Fire of London and took the life of James Braidwood.

Smoke was discovered at a warehouse storing hemp and jute, and within 30 minutes, the fire was raging, and spread quickly to surrounding buildings. This was mainly due to the fire resistant doors being left open in the haste of workmen leaving.

When the Fire Brigade arrived, there was a roar of fire and a wall collapsed onto James Braidwood killing him instantly. The fire lasted for 14 days.

James Braidwood was the first Superintendent of the London Fire Engine Establishment, and was chief officer of the LFEE for 28 years, from its inception in 1833. He was an experienced fireman from Edinburgh, where there is a statue of him in the Royal Mile which was unveiled in 2008 [3]. In Edinburgh he helped to found the world's first municipal fire brigade, and has been called "The Father of Firefighting".[4] He was formerly a surveyor and advanced a scientific approach to firefighting.

The stone plaque is in the form of a wreath topped with a depiction of a burning building, with a firefighting equipment (helmet, hose, axe) below. It is hard to read due to the angle of view and also due to erosion.

TO THE MEMORY OF
JAMES BRAIDWOOD SUPERINTENDENT OF THE
LONDON FIRE BRIGADE
WHO WAS KILLED NEAR THIS
SPOT
IN THE EXECUTION OF HIS
DUTY
AT THE GREAT FIRE
ON 2. JUNE ...

The inscription below is badly eroded.

More information:

  1. London Fire Brigade Tooley Street Fire
  2. London Fire Brigade James Braidwood
  3. Wikipedia James Braidwood
  4. The Scotsman Forgotten brigade pioneer's legacy lives on
  5. The Independent on Sunday site unseen : The James Braidwood Memorial, Tooley Street

Physical address:
33 Tooley St
London, UK
SE1

Memorial Website: Not listed
Visit Instructions:
A clear image of your visit.
A brief description of your thoughts and feelings.
NO copyrighted images.
Search for...
Geocaching.com Google Map
Google Maps
MapQuest
Bing Maps
Nearest Waymarks
Nearest Firefighter Memorials
Nearest Geocaches
Create a scavenger hunt using this waymark as the center point
Recent Visits/Logs:
Date Logged Log User Rating  
Seebär visited Plaque to James Braidwood, Tooley St, London, UK 10/17/2023 Seebär visited it
Benchmark Blasterz visited Plaque to James Braidwood, Tooley St, London, UK 07/20/2016 Benchmark Blasterz visited it
Master Mariner visited Plaque to James Braidwood, Tooley St, London, UK 01/02/2012 Master Mariner visited it

View all visits/logs