Fire Engines Photos

Sorry Andy, i don't have any pictures of the Leyland TL.
As noted on one of the other Cheltenham pictures, there is some colour film of the Leyland
on youtube, Cheltenham municiple office fire.

Added by Bristol Bob on 03 May 2011.

Bob, never-mind, it was worth trying. The you tube vid is excellent isnt it. Great pics of yours Bob thanks for sharing.

Added by Andy Holtham on 07 May 2011.

Interested in the pic as I have similar machine NAD 753, ex. Cirencester and Stroud fire stations. Anyone know what type of bell was fitted and how it was mounted?

Added by William Staniforth on 16 March 2012.

The off side electric bell consisted of the clapper mechanism with a central bolt fastened on to two flat plates by a big domed nut. The bell motor was in the cab front roof in between the blinker lights and connected to the bell motor by a long spiral wire drive. The nearside bell was a hand bell connected the same way but with a leather strap hanging through a fore and aft rectangular slot. The bell strap was secured between a flat plate in the roof to stop it clanging accidentally.

Added by Ron Henderson on 17 March 2012.

Nice picture, Andy, now where was the Lansdown Rd fire station? I have a photo of a newly delivered Miles machine in the same spot as NDG. NDG later moved to Keynsham Rd where it ran as the ET. I also have a photo of the Beaver at Keynsham Rd.

Added by Mike Williams on 06 May 2012.

THis fire engine was designed by my father Deryck Waters, Technical Director of Alfred Miles. It is very similar to the one that was exhibited at the Festival of Britain on the South Bank in London in 1951.

Added by John Waters on 10 May 2012.

Well John, all I can say is your father must have been an exceptional person to have come up with this incredible design concept. But not for me to say anything further from New Zealand and Australia, I will leave that for our British brothers.

Added by Pav on 11 May 2012.

The old Cheltenham fire station was on the south side of Lansdown Road between Talbot Road and Thorncliffe Drive. There is a five storey block of flats on the site now.

Added by Dusty on 12 May 2012.

Hi John, Thanks for that info. I understand the designs were made in conjunction with the Gloucestershire Fire Service. I also own a Commer Miles, and ET, and met with William Jones, of Cheltenham, who did the drawings, sadly he has since died.

Added by Mike Williams on 12 May 2012.

Thanks for that Dusty, I'll have a look next time I'm in town. The building at the back of the appliance in Andy's photo is also behind one I have of the prototytpe Miles, KAD 765. Were there workshops there too ?

Added by Mike Williams on 12 May 2012.

Hi Mike, sorry about the delay in getting back, have been away. I also have 2 photographs taken by my father from the top of the drill tower at the Lansdown road station. The building behind the appliance was in fact the appliance bays! One of the drill tower pics looks down onto it.

Added by Andy Holtham on 13 May 2012.

I don't know where the workshops were Mike. There certainly looks to have been room at the rear of the fire station for them. The Headquarters of Gloucestershire Fire Brigade were at Merrodown also on Lansdown Road and they possibly could have been there.

Added by Dusty on 13 May 2012.

Thanks Andy, the info from you and Dusty has answered a few questions..the fact that the site was cleared didn't help !

Added by Mike Williams on 14 May 2012.

The Gloucestershire workshops WERE at the fire station/HQ, i have been told that Merrodown was the Police HQ.

Added by Bristol Bob on 14 May 2012.

Hi, Bob, intriguing as it goes on ! The police HQ is the building on Lansdown rd, now known as the White House because of its colour it was built on the site of the original police HQ which was also a large house, possibly even on the next corner to the fire station? I have it from another source that Merrowdown was the FSHQ.

Added by Mike Williams on 14 May 2012.

Hi Mike, i have no personal knowledge, like you, i got it from someone else.

Added by Bristol Bob on 14 May 2012.

Merrowdown was the address of the FSHQ from 1948. The house would appear to still exist, currently used as student accommodation. Its address is 23 Lansdown Road and is the first property to the east of the Andover Road junction, on the south side of Lansdown Road.

Added by Dusty on 14 May 2012.

Many thanks, I'll have a look!

Added by Mike Williams on 15 May 2012.

Dusty/Mike/Bob. Merrowdown I can confirm was FSHQ. I still have letters from the chief fire officer of 1956 to my father on headed paper stating 'Merrowdown' as HQ. Also fire brigade workshops 'proper' were actually in Winchcombe street Cheltenham, as confirmed in news feature cutting from the Cheltenham Chronicle of 1955, also in my late fathers collection. Hope this is helpful guy's..

Added by Andy Holtham on 20 May 2012.

Anyone know when Alfred Miles stopped trading?

Added by Bryan Davies on 13 October 2012.

Alfred Miles were acquired by Dennis Bros. in 1962.

Added by Dusty on 01 November 2012.

Are you sure? I had always understood that Miles was bought by Gloster Aircraft and that the fire engine manufacture was then amalgamated into Gloster Saro.

Added by John Waters on 01 November 2012.

I'm sure it was Dennis, hence the the later Dennis "M" range ("M" for Miles)these were often built on non Dennis chassis.

Added by Michael G on 02 November 2012.

The date for the take over of Miles by Dennis is about right. Miles had been building trucks at the Brockworth site for some time before and I believe that the Dennis 'M' trucks for Gloucestershire (1964-65) were built there. The site was taken over by Gloster-Saro/Hawker Siddeley Aviation who built road fuel tankers and later fire crash trucks there..

Added by Mike Williams on 03 November 2012.

OK. My information came from my father who had been Technical Director of Miles until 1957 and who stayed in the Fire engine business until he retired from HCB Angus in 1975. Could it have been that Gloster bought the business but then sold the design rights to Dennis subsequently?

Added by John Waters on 03 November 2012.

Like a lot of things involving business it becomes quite complicated. It appears that the Hawker Engineering Co. Ltd amalgamated with the Gloster Aircraft Co. Ltd. in 1934.

Then in 1962 it was reported that Dennis Bros. Ltd. had acquired the fire appliance business of Alfred Miles Ltd. (a member of the Hawker Siddeley Group). A few months later and Dennis Bros. were announcing that acquisition of the fire appliance section of Alfred Miles had been settled. This suggests that the non-fire appliance part of Alfred Miles had either been retained by the Hawker Siddeley Group or sold to another organisation.

Whether this answers the original question of when Alfred Miles stopped trading I don't know.

Added by Dusty on 03 November 2012.

That all now makes sense as Alfred Miles, when it was a private company, only operated from their original garage in Carlton Street (I have some pictures) and then the purpose built factory on the Tewkesbury Road in Cheltenham. Never from Brockworth which was Gloster Aircraft Site.

Added by John Waters on 04 November 2012.

I was a junior fireman at Keynsham Road fire station and hq from 1964 to 1966. When I became a full time fireman at Patchway. I eventually took my hgv driving test using one of these appliances and ended up driving them to fires until they were replaced by Ford HCBAngus appliances.

Added by Brian Hedges on 27 March 2020.

My father Peter Rees was MD of Miles and I grew up with the New Company (1946+) joined them as Trainee in 1957 and worked with Miles until the take over by Hawker Siddeley in 1959/60. I knew Derryk Walters and have a wealth of knowledge about Miles which I would be happy to share but is too much for this exchange.

Added by Roger Rees on 18 June 2020.

Hi, great photo and information from all contributors, I currently serve in Gloucestershire fire service so very interested in history. thank you

Added by [email protected] on 08 April 2022.

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