Mervyn Mitton Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 Whilst not exactly a Police subject - none-the-less Fire and Ambulance are part of the Emergency services - and in my humble view - have a right to be included with us. Apart from that, I've only got this one subject to post ! Durban Fire Department (in South Africa) was formed in 1898 and serves a community of some 400,000,today. There have been a number of changes since 1992 when Mandela came out of prison and the items I am showing here are basically pre 1992. The helmet is an officer's and the brass 'S' at the top of the helmet plate is for the rank - in this case Station Officer. The two pips go with this rank. The epaulette with the bar is for a Senior Fireman and the helmet badge with crossed axes is for a fireman. The shoulder title - in enamel - is typical of South Africa for that period. They are now mostly pressed plastic and these early ones are going to be a collectable field quite soon. The nicest item is the helmet - clearly marked for an officer, with the red band - it has a very nice leather helmet plate with brass details. This belonged to Father and then his Son and was first issued in the 1960's. The Father retired as a Divisional Commander. Today, helmets are plastic - but, this is one of the earlier type of fibre glass. The helmet is in exceptional condition - despite being worn for nearly 40 years on active duty. One thing that did surprise me was the brass fittings on the badge - I always thought anything that could attract electricity was kept off the work uniform ? Finally , the son's (his name is on the front of the helmet) two long service medals - 5 and 10 years are shown. DFD stands for Durban Fire Department. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted February 15, 2010 Author Share Posted February 15, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted February 15, 2010 Author Share Posted February 15, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted February 15, 2010 Author Share Posted February 15, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted February 15, 2010 Author Share Posted February 15, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted February 15, 2010 Author Share Posted February 15, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted February 15, 2010 Author Share Posted February 15, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireMedals Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Mervyn, An excellent family grouping that is always difficult to find together. Usually the helmet, insignia and medals all go in different directions. If you have a photo of the two men it's about a perfect a grouping as I could wish to find. Thanks for sharing. FireMedals Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Wolfe Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 (edited) Hi Mervyn, An interesting post, albeit non-military. Since you have posted this and I figured I would never get to post this item I thought I'd better jump at the chance now. Too many years ago, in my distant past, I was a member of the Fire Department in Norwich Ontario and served as the Fire Prevention Officer. If the FP Officer is doing his (or her) work Fire Suppression (Fire Fighters) have little to do...or so the theory goes. Here's a photo of my badge. Sorry for the poor quality photo it is in a display with the other badges I've carried in my past lives. Regards Brian Edited February 16, 2010 by Brian Wolfe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Shepherd Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 Hi Mervyn, I agree an interesting post. I don't see why the fire and ambulance services can't be included in this section. Ian. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 Brian - that's a great personal badge to have. What do the initials after Norwich stand for ? Ian - I fully agree with you - there is a lot of interesting material out there - and of particular collecting value would be some of the early Insurance marks to go on buildings. An important part of our history, since the brigades turning out would only work on a fire if their insurance symbol was displayed. Unless anyone disagrees, then lets include both Fire and Ambulance. I don't suppose there will be a lot, however, if it gets excessive we can ask Nick to form a new sub-forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Wolfe Posted February 18, 2010 Share Posted February 18, 2010 Brian - that's a great personal badge to have. What do the initials after Norwich stand for ? Ian - I fully agree with you - there is a lot of interesting material out there - and of particular collecting value would be some of the early Insurance marks to go on buildings. An important part of our history, since the brigades turning out would only work on a fire if their insurance symbol was displayed. Unless anyone disagrees, then lets include both Fire and Ambulance. I don't suppose there will be a lot, however, if it gets excessive we can ask Nick to form a new sub-forum. Hi Mervyn, TWP = Township. Regards Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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