'Iron Men and Wooden Ladders' : A History of Oldham Fire Brigade, an illustrated talk given by author Mark Beswick

This talk is the regular, free, monthly meeting, of the Oldham Historical Research Group, on zoom.

All are most welcome.

" Mark Beswick is a retired fire officer who served in Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service for 31 years with almost half of those at Oldham Fire Station. It was there where he saw that previous fire officers had put up some old photos on the wall and it got him interested in Oldham Fire Brigade.

During his time at Oldham Fire Station he added many photos, artefacts and information to the walls for others to appreciate the history that surrounds them. Mark had collected such a lot of information from a number of sources such as retired firemen, Oldham Local Studies and Fireground the Fire Service Museum at Rochdale that he published a book entitled "Iron Men And Wooden Ladders" This is also the title of the presentation.

Before Greater Manchester was formed after Local Authority reorganisation in 1974 there were a number of local town fire brigades. These small Brigades were often the pride of the town having been formed over 200 years previously.

The amalgamation of ten local brigades into a huge Metropolitan Fire Service meant the loss of local identity. Mark has managed to cram all this history of Oldham Fire Brigade into a 45 minute presentation that shows the varied history of firefighting and how it has affected the way the town has developed over the years."