Welcome to the Isle of Wight Fire Brigades Federation
The IWFBF was created on 31 March 1894 by Captain Charles Langdon of Ryde Fire Brigade.
Today the Federation is revived with charitable aims and to maintain awareness of our Island's rich and varied firefighting heritage.
In addition to being the focal point for the Island's borough, town and parish fire brigades for over five decades, the Federation also raised funds for what was then known as the Widows and Orphans Fund.
Today the revived IWFBF continues with that ethos, the beneficiary being the Firefighters Charity. Profits from the sale of IWFBF books and proceeds taken at IWFBF public speaking events and presentations are forwarded to the Charity without deduction.
This IWFBF website supports and adds to the work done in public presentations and publications. I hope you enjoy the website - if you do, and can, please drop a small donation into the Firefighters Charity donation page. Every penny will be wisely used and much appreciated.
For those looking for information about current Isle of Wight firefighting, please go to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service website or Facebook page.
Although I remain in service with HIWFRS, this website has no formal links or connection to the fire service of today or my role within it and any views expressed in this website are mine alone. Neither do I have any connection to the Fire Brigade Museum that has stated an aspiration to establish premises on the Isle of Wight, although I wish them well with their project and will be one of the first in the queue to visit when it opens.
Thank you
Damon Corr
Why research IW fire brigade history?
My interest in the history of Isle of Wight firefighting began within weeks of joining the service when a new colleague, now a long established friend, advised me to take a look at a small but important pile of documents that were retained from the old station at Ryde when it moved to the new facility on Nicholson Road in 1994. The bug got me when I began reading a diary written by a teenaged Ryde fireman of the war, describing events in places that I knew so well but in an unimaginable context. The diary ended suddenly, literally mid-sentence, and therein germinated the beginnings of a desire to know more which, after many years, resulted in the publication of eight books serialising the fascinating history of the fire services that have protected this garden isle.
The diary of that young man, Colin Weeks, to who I owe the many years of fascinating and at times heart-breaking research, is available to read online HERE.
The photograph at the top of the page features officers and men of Isle of Wight and mainland fire brigades that attended the annual camp and drill competition hosted by the Isle of Wight Fire Brigades Federation and the Southern District of the National Fire Brigades Union at Simeon Street Recreation Ground, Ryde, 25-27 April 1903. Inset to the bottom left corner of the photo is the original IWFBF badge, extracted from certificates issued by the Federation.