Shanklin Fire Station – Old Library History
1866 – Although it is acknowledged that Shanklin Fire Brigade was formally launched by the town authority in 1886, twenty-years earlier a group of dedicated volunteers formed the town’s first actual fire brigade and purchased a manual fire-engine named ‘Nil Desperandum’ from funds raised by public subscription and kept at John Buckett’s Grocery Shop at Vine Cottage in the old village (which is believed to be the same building known today as the Village Inn).
1886 – A formal Shanklin Fire Brigade is formed following concerns over the efficiency of the voluntary brigade, no reference to the location of the fire station can be found.
1891 (January) – Fire station facilities established at an address in Sibden Road.
1891 (May) – Brigade take possession of their new premises – address not included in CP report – is this Sibden Road or another move perhaps to Victoria Avenue?
1907 – Shanklin Fire Brigade purchases their first steam fire-engine, it is known that the brigade was using the building in Victoria Road as the fire station by this time but unfortunately it’s not defined when they took up residence between 1891-1907.
1929 (May) – Chief Officer Cecil Matthews requests that certain modifications are made to the building following the acquisition of the town’s first motorised Dennis fire-engine.
1941 (August 18) – Shanklin Fire Brigade, like all other brigades, is merged with the Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) to form the National Fire Service (NFS) but the main station for the district remains at the Victoria Avenue Fire Station.
1942 (July) – The NFS move the fire station – vacating the Victoria Avenue premises and relocating to the Gloster Hotel.
1943 (January 4) – Following the devastating bombing of the previous day, the NFS hastily move the local unit back to the Victoria Avenue fire station.
1947 (February 2) – A plaque is unveiled at the Victoria Avenue fire station commemorating the lives of Shanklin fire-fighters lost during the war (this same plaque is now in the engine house of the current fire station).
1951 (September 28) – Shanklin’s firemen, by now of the IW County Fire Brigade (formed in 1948) finally clear out and depart from Victoria Avenue and take up residence at the current fire station.
