Captain Charles Langdon, born 11 May 1859, was to become captain of Ryde Fire Brigade, founder of the Isle of Wight Fire Brigades Federation, its first Honorary Secretary in 1894 and was serving as its final President when he passed away on 25 January 1944, the year before the Federation finally folded following the end of the Second World War.

After submitting what was needed to bring the brigade back to full efficiency, the Public Works Committee, who under Alderman Dashwood had seized ultimate power away from Captain Buckett in 1886, came under pressure for their lack of attention. A temporary sub-committee was formed to investigate Charles Langdon’s findings.

The sub-committee forged ahead and obtained quotes for resources and work necessary to appease Captain Langdon’s demands. They delivered their findings to the Council. £39 2s 6d was needed to purchase certain unspecified materials from Shand Mason and Co., and a further £13 7s 6d, was required to employ Mr Love to repaint the engine, hose reel cart, and escape ladder, and to repair the engine’s braking mechanism.

Under pressure from Council concerning the extent of the findings and associated costs, Alderman Dashwood disingenuously argued that the brake was never used except outside the borough, and aimed a pointed remark at the new captain, stating – We never had any complaint before we had this ‘new broom’, who seems inclined to sweep pretty clean, at all events at the beginning. Dashwood continued by suggesting that Mr Love’s quote for the painting was throwing money on sentiment.

The coffee shop fire was so brief and smartly dealt with using a hand extinguisher and water from the hotel’s own roof mounted tank that many of the patrons were unaware it had happened.

Two days later the brigade was called to a more threatening outbreak close to the Royal Pier Hotel at the Union Street hosiery operated by Mr A. Bevis. Passengers alighting the 04:00 mail boat, approached the town from the Pier and observed excessive smoke chuffing from the chimney. A 13-year-old boy named Norris was despatched as knocker-up to rouse the firemen and police.

Given the location of the fire, close to a ready water main and fire plug, and with the water turned on at the cock, the brigade attended with only the hose reel cart, leaving the engine at the station.

The IW Observer reported that the brigade – turned out quicker than they have done for a score of years. The remark is positive for Charles but could be considered insulting his predecessor. The truth is that the once indefatigable Henry Buckett’s health had been ailing for some time before his ultimate, but difficult, decision that he could no longer perform as head of the Brigade. In the months before making that brave and heartbreaking decision, his former fearless grip of his firemen loosened and to the men’s shame they allowed apathy to set in. The Observer’s suggestion that it had been the case for a score of years seems sensationalist and not matched by their own reports of brigade activity during the same period.

On 4 August 1889, barely eight months into his captaincy, Ryde firemen, and others, had set about a rick fire at Stainers (a location close to Ryde House) under Charles’s instructions. At the Town Hall on 3 July 1890, an arbitration case relating to the incident, was heard between Mr Stainer and the Norwich Fire Insurance Company.

Today hay is baled and placed in barns. If a fire occurs the modern fire and rescue service will generally adopt ‘Mode Defensive’ and allow the fire to burn itself out, providing hose and water only to protect other property or assets by preventing fire spread. In the context of the period in question prior to the mechanisation of baling or rolling, ricks of hay were huge constructions. To all intents they were complete and densely packed temporary structures in their own right, featuring trusses, floor structure and a thatched roof. Constructing them was the work of skilled men. Losing them to fire would present a substantial if not ruinous financial cost to the owner, and a lack of vital supplies to the district. Protecting ricks was a serious undertaking of rural life.

The protracted report of 3 July hearing goes into great detail concerning the cross-questioning of witnesses without specifying the nature of the arbitration. Between the lines it seems apparent that the Norwich office were keen to wriggle out of fully compensating Mr Stainer, the Fire Brigade, and others, for the loss of the hay and the work undertaken to salvage what they could. In particular they were dissatisfied that they were liable for the loss of two adjacent ricks, initially unaffected by the fire, which became involved due to alleged mishandling of smouldering material cut away from the origin.

Throughout the course of the hearing, which took many days and several adjournments before its conclusion in mid-October, Charles was pulled to pieces by either side. He was questioned concerning his decision making, statements he made concerning decisions made and instructions given by others, including Mr Brooks the Borough Inspector of Nuisances and Mr Ratcliffe the local agent for the Norwich office, both of whom refuted Charles’s evidence in order to avoid any culpability. The scope and depth of the hearing, and the vast numbers of persons subpoenaed to give evidence, emphasises the critical value in late-Victorian society placed upon so basic a commodity.

All parties had to wait until early January 1891 for the concluding award of the umpire, Mr E.B. Squarey of Salisbury. His award was made in four parts. In the first Squarey agreed that the fire in the rick of origin was a matter of natural or spontaneous combustion. In the second, he determined that two other ricks – were damaged through protecting them against the said fire to the said large rick… and that the Society (Norwich) is liable and shall pay that sum to the said Daniel Stainer…

Reading the third part would have been tough for Charles to stomach – I do award, order, and determine that, from the evidence which has been brought before me by the said parties, the said Fire Brigade, in proceeding to extinguish and extinguishing the said fire and dealing with the salvage occasioned thereby as aforesaid, caused considerable unnecessary loss and damage to the unconsumed hay in the said large rick, and thereby greatly reduced the value of the salvage which might have been obtained by the said Daniel Stainer. However, Charles could take relief from the continuation of Squarey’s award – and that the said Fire Brigade were persons acting under the orders of the Society through its agents, and that the Society is liable to pay the said Daniel Stainer for such loss of salvage.

The award appeared in the IW County Press, not verbatim but as abridged by the editor for maximum sensationalism. Mr Stainer, in support of Charles and the Brigade (in addition to pointing out the failures of the arbitration system) felt compelled to write a letter to the IW Observer, published on 17 January – Allow me to apologise for troubling you again, but I think it only fair to the Ryde Fire Brigade, as the umpire’s award appears to throw all the blame for damage on them. That is not so. The greater part of the damage was done after the brigade had left. The umpire finds the company did take charge.

The Corporation made no provision for their insurance in the event of injury or death, and not being members of the National Fire Brigades Union (yet), the brigade had no access to the Widows and Orphans Fund. When 33-year-old Fireman Frederick Thomas Passmore Jones suddenly died on 21 February 1891, Charles was quick to identify the plight of his widow Sarah Jane, and children Annie (12) and Frederick (9) by opening with his own money and arranging a subscription to support them.

Three months later the annual horse and carriage show was held. Again, the brigade failed to live up to Charles’s hopes for staging a drill competition. The local matter was exacerbated by the attendance of Shanklin Fire Brigade, formed only five years earlier, with their smart engine and well-equipped firemen, according to the IW Observer.

No doubt Charles began to consider his men’s reluctance and the reasons for it. The lack of any kind of insurance for the men had come to the forefront in the aftermath of Fireman Jones’s death, albeit there was no connection between his duties and his demise. In addition, they were put in the shade by Shanklin’s turnout in their own town’s horse and carriage procession. Charles decided it was time to go into battle for his brigade.

He submitted a letter to the Public Works Committee, by then chaired by Mr Riddett, although Alderman Dashwood remained a member. In reading the letter Mr Riddett recommended to the committee members that it be agreed.  Charles wrote an appeal rather than a demand – I now beg to ask you if you will equip the members of the brigade that they may be able to discharge their duties with as little risk as a fireman can expect. You are doubtless aware that the brigade consists of fifteen firemen and myself. They all have very good helmets and a loose serge jacket, and six have belt and axe. The serge jackets are not waterproof, and at fires since I have been appointed it has been necessary to send two or three home immediately the fire was got under. The men show a great interest in the brigade… some have started a boot club and obtained top boots, for as you know it is impossible to keep a dry foot at a fire in ordinary boots. I have not officially applied to you before, knowing the large expenditure for appliances which I have recommended, the amounts for which I am pleased to say you have always granted me, and I trust you will now equip the men as follows.

15 waterproof tunics

15 pairs trousers

15 pairs top boots

15 brass numbers

9 axes and belts with lifelines

6 lifelines for present belts

The estimated cost of which is from £55 to £60.

I also beg to ask you to consider the desirability of insuring the members of the brigade against accident and death, whilst performing a duty so dangerous to life and limb, and to point out to you that a large number of brigades are insured, some of which belong to considerably smaller boroughs than ours. I enclose you a prospectus showing that the brigade can be insured at the small premium of about £3 10s.

I am Gentlemen, your obedient servant, Charles Langdon.

The letter reached sympathetic ears, with supportive remarks from all sides of the chamber bar one, Alderman Dashwood. What motivated Dashwood, a long-time supporter of the brigade during the majority of Henry Buckett’s tenure, to suddenly flip to the negative is difficult to define. I am always sorry to have to object to any recommendation that came from a committee of which I am a member. Why should we tie our hands in the matter, when there is no greater emergency in the matter now than there has been for the past 20 years? I do not say that a man could extinguish a fire more expeditiously and effectually with a pair of top boots and an umbrella than with ordinary attire, but we have not got the money. I condemn the system by which improvements are carried out which were not included in the estimates.

Mr Ellery spoke next, taking the Alderman to task for introducing umbrellas into the equation – Reorganisation of the brigade and appliances has never been gone into in a proper manner. We have never properly fitted them out for cases of emergency as it is our duty to do. Umbrellas were not included in the list, and the fire brigade men would not shrink from getting wet if there was any probability of saving property from ruination. I can hardly realise a brigade without axes, belts, and lifelines, if I had not seen it in my native town. By complying with the request we would encourage the men, who devote a great deal of time for little remuneration to look as smart as their neighbours who we have lately seen at the show.

In 1870 Charles’s predecessor Henry Buckett earned the respect of the town for his decisive action at the George Street Congregational Church fire that many feared would spread throughout the entire block. That fire was referred to in the IW Observer when reporting a fire that occurred in the High Street in the early hours of Saturday 13 February 1892.

On Saturday morning, the most serious fire which has occurred in Ryde, since the George Street chapel was burned down, occurred in High Street, and resulted in the destruction of the Liberal Club.

Although the fire broke through into a neighbouring workshop, Charles sent his firemen in to the thick of the smoke in a three-point attack from the side, the back and a staircase leading off the High Street. A protracted period of firefighting in dire conditions ensued, requiring the rotation of those in the smoke with those on external branches to allow a degree of recovery following bouts of unavoidable smoke inhalation.

Despite their efforts substantial damage was caused, compelling the Observer to include in its report – In the opinion of some who were early at the fire the disaster has demonstrated the necessity for a change in the Fire Brigade arrangements. They think the hose, fire escape, &c., ought now to be kept at the Police Station instead of the Town Hall. At the Police Station there is always someone on the alert… It is also suggested that an extra bonus might be given to those firemen living in the immediate neighbourhood of Brunswick Street, so that they might be called out immediately. We also hear that the new hose did not answer very well. Some of the lengths did not join properly, and when it was desired to lengthen one portion, it could not be done.

Given their efforts the Brigade may have been miffed by the tone of the report that offered no appreciation. However, Mr J. Watkins, whose business suffered damage in the fire, but whose residential quarters was saved, bypassed local press, and submitted a letter to the Portsmouth Evening News which may have encouraged the firemen – I shall be glad to avail myself of your space to acknowledge the skill and promptitude with which the Ryde Fire Brigade under their captain, acted on Saturday last. The fact that so serious a conflagration was confined to one part of my premises, and that I was enabled to open my shop in a few hours, as soon as the assurance company’s consent was wired, speaks for itself. I thank the Brigade, through you, most heartily for their services.

Charles’s aspiration to hold a fire brigade drill competition over the previous two years had involved the contribution of finances from local fire insurance offices. Charles provided receipts and as accorded by the Council, forwarded the funds to the Corporation for accounting purposes. When it emerged in April 1892 that a deficit was present in the account, Charles didn’t refrain from asking the difficult question it posed.

‘I collected from my own office’, stated Charles, ‘they (the insurance offices) will want to know what has been done with the money.’

The Secretary rebuffed with avoidance tactics, ‘There was no fire brigade competition because your men objected to compete.’

‘It does not matter about my men’ Charles retorted.

‘It was two years ago,’ continued the Secretary.

‘That does not matter either. If the money was collected for a special object it ought to have been kept for that object. I ask you what you have done with it?’

The Mayor intervened, ‘The money was accounted for two years ago.’

‘Then you have got it in hand?’ Charles’s statement was more question requiring confirmation.

‘No’ replied the Mayor, ‘it was swallowed up in the Horse and Carriage show’.

Charles was furious, ‘What am I to write and tell my people – that the money is still in hand, or that the money has been spent for another object?’

‘We have never been able to spend the money because we could not get up a competition,’ said the Secretary, adding, ‘it has gone into the general fund’.

At the point that Captain Langdon was possibly ready to explode, Mr Fowler mitigated, ‘We should make it clear that we are prepared to carry out the fire brigade competition as soon as he can get men willing to compete. I quite understand Mr Langdon’s position.’

In the following month at the recommendation of the Public Works Committee, Council ratified an agreement to insure the members of the brigade against accidents at a cost of £3 6s per annum with full benefits.

The fire was so great, the challenge of fighting it so hazardous, and the potential loss to a substantial proportion of the town so feared, that the date became an anchor in time and for many years afterwards Shanklin residents referred to memorable events as occurring before Daws or after Daws. The outstanding heroes of the hour were Captain Dore and the Sandown men, who amid the heat and smoke, entered the first floor and carried out a safe containing 90lbs of gunpowder disregarding their own safety to ensure a potentially devastating explosion didn’t occur. When Ryde’s councillors next met on 10 January, the Town Clerk read a letter received from his Shanklin counterpart remarking on the zeal and energy of Captain Langdon and his firemen.

Charles remained committed to organising a brigade drill competition. It was true that his firemen had lacked interest in previous years, but that wasn’t the case in 1893. Charles submitted an open letter to the Observer stating that his reason for again cancelling the event, was because the public had so many calls upon them recently that he felt it inadvisable to make yet another demand on their kindness. He closed with – We hope to revive the proposal next year and to be able at once to benefit a very important branch of the public service and to swell the funds of a valuable Island Institution.

Determined to achieve his goal, he invited the captains of brigades across the Island to attend a meeting at the Town Hall on 31 March 1894. This meeting was a critically important milestone in the history of IW firefighting. Not only did the captains collectively agree on a competition date and plan, but they also founded the Isle of Wight Fire Brigades Association (renamed Federation two years later).

Six weeks later Ryde Fire Brigade were second only to the marching band of the Rifle Volunteers in the procession that marked the annual Horse and Carriage Show, resplendent in full uniforms – gleaming brass helmets, serge blue tunics bearing brass numbers on the left breast, matching trousers, belts from which were suspended tightly knotted lifelines and sharpened axes, and keenly glossed top boots. Smartly and in time to rousing military compositions they swung their arms, stepped out and swaggered along the Esplanade.

Charles Langdon’s plan for the promotion and betterment of Ryde Fire Brigade was, against all the odds and a host of critics, finally coming together.

An Ambulance Drill open only to those men that held a St Johns certificate was judged by Dr J.D. Davis of Ryde. The competitive element ended with a rowdy tug-of-war competition won by a combined team from Newport and Cowes and the event closed after a massed display of fire extinguishing.

Colourised image of the group photo taken when the IWFBF drill competitions returned to Simeon Street, Ryde, in 1903. The quality of the original print, owned by Charles's great grandson David, is so great that an electronic scan allows for clear identification of individual faces when zooming in (resolution reduced for website upload).

The list of attending dignitaries was long and included Alderman Dashwood. Among the substantial list of benefactors that donated trophies and prizes were Mr Ratcliffe, local agent for the Norwich insurance office - both matters suggesting that Charles’ affable nature was capable of reforming good relations with former adversaries.

In the immediate aftermath the Carnival Committee were so enthused by the event and its fascinating new edge to the town’s big day, that on finalising the accounts the outstanding balance was forwarded to the IWFBA on condition that another competition was held the following year.

For the sake of positive communication from the committee and a nominal cost of two or three lengths of hose, Charles felt undermined and compelled to resign. I am tended to think there was more to the stance of the committee than the simple matter of a need for hose and that Charles’s ultimate abdication was engineered.

Despite playing no further active role in the brigade Charles remained at the forefront of the Isle of Wight Fire Brigades Federation until 1899. When rescinding his IWFBF role, Charles was to remain at the forefront of life in the town and remained so throughout his life, making countless contributions both in his profession and public office.

His passing leaves the town poorer, for he was always jealous for its welfare and contributed in no small measure to its wellbeing during a long and useful career.

Discovering the story of Charles Langdon, and particularly his substantial contribution to the development of IW firefighting by creation of the IWFBF, was a key factor that altered the course of my research – from that of Ryde Fire Brigade in isolation, to that of all Isle of Wight firefighters. This was not so much a conscious decision, but a natural evolution influenced, over one-hundred years later, by what Charles had achieved in the 1890’s. Such was his leadership quality that the influence of his legacy led me down many fascinating paths of research and discovery that might otherwise have been missed.

Charles Langdon was without a doubt, both within and without IW firefighting, a leader.