.png)
Featured objects from the collection
Archive and Library
Our archive and library are rich resources of documentation, books and photographs that illuminate all aspects of the emergency services: their institutional history, the incidents they deal with, their social history, their vehicles and technology, their people, and even their animals!
Records: ledgers, notebooks and printed reports from a variety of historic and extant emergency services.
Photographs: all aspects of emergency service work and life are represented including early police mugshots, vehicle and station photos, event photos and family photos.
Ephemera: including letters, postcards and scrapbooks; the personal archives of emergency workers.
Maps and architectural plans: including division maps and plans for fire and police stations.
Printed material: including educational posters, pamphlets and leaflets
Print media publications: including newspapers and magazines.
Training and instructional manuals: including vehicle and equipment manuals, training textbooks, and on-duty instruction guides.
Audiovisual material: Including oral history recordings, film and documentaries.
The Library includes: Secondary source books, Journals and newsletters.
Equipment and Technology
From 18th Century fire buckets and police truncheons, to the latest hi-tech medical technology, our collections include a vast array of equipment which the emergency services have used- and still use- to go about their duties. Examples include:
Manual equipment: including fire buckets, ladders, axes and hooks, police truncheons, ambulance patient care equipment (such as stretchers and bandages) and early Coastguard throwing canes.
Mechanical equipment: such as police cameras, handcuffs, and Coastguard foghorns.
Chemical equipment: including fire extinguishers- from early glass grenades to modern foam and powder sprays- breathing apparatus, and police forensics equipment such as fingerprinting powders and chemicals.
Electrical equipment: including paramedic kit such as defibrillators and respirators, police speed cameras, communications devices and modern robotic technology.
Social and Cultural History
Our collections reflect the lives of emergency service workers and allow us to explore how changes in society have affected them. From the role of women to the impact of war, there are objects that reflect the stories of services and individuals. The emergency services have also left an important cultural footprint in art, design, architecture and elsewhere, a legacy that continues to grow. Examples of items held include:
Art: including paintings, drawings and prints, vehicle art and design, graphic art, architectural designs (for fire and police stations), and artworks created by emergency workers themselves.
Decorative arts: including Fire Marks, station lanterns, signage, ornaments, plaques and furniture.
Medals and militaria: including civilian medals awarded to emergency workers, insignia, ceremonial weaponry and flags.
Models and toys: architectural models. Toys including scale model emergency vehicles, figurines and board games.
Public safety incidents collection: objects of all types representing the incidents that the emergency services exist to respond to. These incidents include crime and disorder (handled by the police), public health emergencies (handled by the ambulance service), fires (handled by fire & rescue) and natural disasters and terrorist incidents that require multi-service responses. Our collection includes items such as: historic criminal evidence gathered by the police, PPE used in the Covid 19 pandemic, and items damaged in fires.
Uniforms
From badges and helmets to the latest personal protective equipment, our uniform collection covers all the 999 and partner emergency services, including everything from early prototype female uniforms, through wartime innovations, to present-day riot gear. Component collections include headgear, duty and dress uniforms, personal protective equipment, and accessories such as buttons and service patches.
