Dragons on Brass Fire Helmets | Kent Firefighting Museum

The inclusion of a dragon motif on the comb of a brass fire helmet is believed to be derived from Anglo-Saxon mythology and later heraldic customs.

Hythe’s horse drawn Speedwell steam fire engine c. 1904

Ashford Fire Brigade Leyland & Daimler

Dartford steamer at flood

Dartford Merryweather c.1912

Kent Fire Office Maidstone c. 1844

Loose Dodge c. 1950’s

Sittingbourne Vulcan c. 1923

Typical Watchroom 1950's

Kent Insurance Fire Mark 1802

Tenterden Hand Pump 1893

Tenterden 1893

County Fire Office 1897

AFS Training Folkestone

NFS Austin Towing Vehicle

Bellows Breathing Apparatus

Braithwaite & Ericsson Steam Fire Engine 1880

Cliffe Fire Brigade

Leather Hose

Electrical damage to brass helmet

Faversham plaque

Faversham fire station

Fire Hydrant sign

Fire Hydrant Sign on Hough Green

Fire Hydrant Wood Main

Insurance Fire Brigade Fire Marks

Hand in Hand Insurance Fire Mark

Fire Plug sign

Keeling Hand Fire Pump c. 17th Century (London Museum)

Hand Squirt c. 1600

Great Fire of London 1666

Insurance Fireman 19th Century

Hogarth's drawing 18th Century

Insurance fireman c. 1720

Westminster Insurance fireman c. 1720

Hose cart Canterbury Cathedral c. 1600

Leather fire helmet 18-19th Century

Brass fire helmet 19-20th Century

WWI Victory celebrations Herne Bay 1918

Rural Horse drawn fire engine c. 1774

WWII Typical Bomb Scene

NFS Officers HQ Tovil

NFS Firefighters Linton WWII

NFS Firefighters

NFS Mobile Column

Kent Fire Brigade HQ Godlands

AFS Green Goddess c. 1968

Interspiro compressed air Breathing Apparatus

Invicta Fire Insurance - Canterbury Office

Kent Fire Brigade Canterbury Cathedral Fire exercise c. 1950's

Kent Fire Brigade Fire Bus Control Unit c. 1950

Lydd Fire Station plaque

Lydd Fire Station

Merryweather hand pump c. 1865

Newsham Manual Pump Lullingstone c. 1730's

Kent Fire Brigade Canterbury c. 1950's

Canterbury Fire Station Old Dover Road c. 1950's

Proto Oxygen Breathing Apparatus

Salvus Oxygen Breathing Apparatus

Compressed air Self Contained Breathing Apparatus

Sevenoaks Fire Station c. 1949

Smoke Helmet

Hythe Speedwell at Bentley Sussex Aug 2011

Sutton at Hone

Whitstable Horse Drawn Pump Norwich Union1867

Whitstable Museum

WWI Incendiary Bomb

Mythology in some cultures viewed dragons as evil creatures, but in others the dragon was a guardian spirit, a symbol of protection and strength. The heraldic symbolisms, which dated from the Middle Ages of Europe, were of nobility, leadership, wisdom, keen sight and courage. They were sometimes used as an ensign of war.

Dragons thus featured in many Coats-of-Arms of famous families, or important cities in England. The City of London adopted two upright facing dragons for its Coat-of-Arms in the 17^th century, but it was not the only city to use them.

Dragons took many different forms – some with wings, some without (Drakes), some with two legs (Wyverns, Cockatrices), most with four legs, some without any (Amphiteres), and multi-headed varieties (Hydras).

The dragon on the helmet is most likely to be a WESTERN DRAGON, with its four legs, wings and a long tail. They were regarded as a creature of valour and protection.

Thus, whilst the dragon would have been stylised somewhat to suit the space available on the helmet (usually they are depicted standing or upright), the heraldic implications as detailed above would have been the primary motive for its inclusion. Shaw’s intention with this helmet was to ensure that the Metropolitan Fire Brigade was seen to be superior to others in existence at that time.