[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-main-header” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_font=”Open Sans|800|||||||” header_text_align=”center” header_font_size=”36px” custom_margin=”||5px||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-intro” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Open Sans|300|||||||” text_orientation=”center” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
As the London Ambulance Service celebrates a brace of milestone anniversaries this year, we get under the skin of the service and try out its historic fleet<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-byline” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Open Sans|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.3em” text_orientation=”center” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
Words<\/strong> Jesse Billington<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/03\/CCW-LEAD-Ambulances-1.jpg” title_text=”CCW-LEAD-Ambulances-1″ module_class=”fp-lead-img” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-h4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_4_font=”Poppins|700|||||||” header_4_font_size=”16px” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Policing started on foot and the early dawn of the ambulance service in the nation\u2019s capital started in much the same way. Compact stretchers ferried patients to hospitals, carried by two men; a small folding hood could be erected to cover the patient\u2019s head but that was about it. The stretchers were placed strategically about the capital in police phone boxes and public areas. The service was operated largely by the police force at the time.<\/p>\n An article in the British Medical Journal in 1907 wrote about the increasing demand for what it called \u2018wheel litters and hand stretchers\u2019, especially around the Charing Cross area. We\u2019ll report this ironically in a motoring title \u2013 the Journal entry states the growth in demand for these stems from the growing number of automobile collisions on the city\u2019s streets.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/03\/CCW-LEAD-Ambulances-2.jpg” title_text=”CCW-LEAD-Ambulances-2″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The building containing the London Ambulance Service\u2019s historic fleet (L-R) \u2013 1994 Renault B120 Emergency Equipment Vehicle, 1935 Talbot, 1987 Bedford CF2, 1977 Bedford CF1, 1967 Morris LD.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-h4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_4_font=”Poppins|700|||||||” header_4_font_size=”16px” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Unsurprisingly as the motor car\u2019s prevalence spread, the then-fledgling ambulance service adopted motorised options for patient transport. The London Ambulance Service as we know it today didn\u2019t exist at this point. Patient transport was still run under the Metropolitan Asylums Board who in 1902 introduced a steam ambulance in 1902 and then the first motorised one in 1904, with horse-drawn ambulances phased out by the September of 1912.<\/p>\n Eventually the 1909 Metropolitan Ambulances Act allowed London County Council to establish an emergency ambulance service in 1915. At this point, the service was just a sub-section of the fire brigade. Nonetheless it became the first public body to employ women drivers due to the number of men who\u2019d volunteered or been conscripted to fight in WW1.<\/p>\n By the 1960s, the growth and development of London, especially post-war, saw the service expand again, now alongside the nascent NHS. In 1965, the nine services that operated in the Greater London area were amalgamated into the London Ambulance Service.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/03\/CCW-LEAD-Ambulances-4.jpg” title_text=”CCW-LEAD-Ambulances-4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” hover_enabled=”0″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n The amalgamation of the nine services in 1965, with the crews and ambulances of the new London Ambulance Service in London.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Ambulance design and use continued to evolve and change over the following decades. Talbots and Daimlers had seen service as patient transport; the London Ambulance Service\u2019s historic fleet houses one of each \u2013 a 1935 Talbot and a 1949 Daimler. The Talbot\u2019s spacious rear was able to carry four patients, two stacked on either side, though the original vehicle upon which it was based was never intended to be an ambulance.<\/p>\n The Daimler that follows it historically bears the honour of being one of the first vehicles from a manufacturer who had the London Ambulance Service\u2019s very specific role in mind when designing it. The floorpan was set low in the vehicle and a composite concrete construction in the floor at the rear aided traction in the wet and balanced the whole vehicle down its length.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/03\/CCW-LEAD-Ambulances-5.jpg” title_text=”CCW-LEAD-Ambulances-5″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” hover_enabled=”0″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Head of historic collections \u2013 and the amazing fleet of classic ambulances \u2013 at the London Ambulance Service, Craig Henty.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-h4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_4_font=”Poppins|700|||||||” header_4_font_size=”16px” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n By the 1960s a shift had been made to more traditional vans like the Morris and LD. Vans remained popular choices for ambulances as the genre evolved. Bedford CFs became prevalent in the fleet with later DAFs and LDVs carrying the torch onwards. By the early 2000s the swap had been made to \u2018ambulance marques\u2019 we know today such as Mercedes-Benz and Renault. The van\u2019s ubiquity and practicality remained a key element of the ambulance being easy to drive, control, and maintain. The basic platform was easy to modify to take an ambulance body with the service\u2019s ever-changing demands as kit and personnel loads changed. Gone are the days when an ambulance\u2019s sole role was to simply take you to hospital \u2013 now they serve as mobile treatment rooms. No longer were you slung atop a canvas stretcher, hauled into the back of a van and simply rushed to hospital. The ambulance team\u2019s professionalism and role have shifted, too. While current vehicles are easier to pilot, the job is still demanding.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/03\/CCW-LEAD-Ambulances-3.jpg” title_text=”CCW-LEAD-Ambulances-3″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”0px|||||” hover_enabled=”0″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n From heavy woollen jackets to a more practical modern outfit, the London Ambulance Service\u2019s evolution is more than just vehicular.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Blue Light Heroes: How workhorses were turned into life-saversAs the London Ambulance Service celebrates a brace of milestone anniversaries this year, we get under the skin of the service and try out its historic fleetWords Jesse BillingtonSTRETCHERS ON WHEELSPolicing started on foot and the early dawn of the ambulance service in the nation\u2019s capital started […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":644,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"akindell","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=656"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":687,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656\/revisions\/687"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}STRETCHERS ON WHEELS<\/h4>\n
SPEEDING THINGS UP<\/h4>\n
LAUNCHING LONDON<\/h4>\n