This medal was awarded to Henry C Newman of Eastbourne Fire Brigade in 1884. Henry was born in 1832 and lived in Old Town. He worked as a carpenter and volunteered with the Fire Brigade. The Fire Station he would have used was in Grove Road.
The first record of firefighting equipment in Eastbourne was a manual pump purchased by the Vestry in 1824. They arranged for volunteers to operate the machine and fight fires. By 1857 there was a definite need for a purpose built fire station and the Parish Engine House was built in Grove Road opposite Ivy Terrace. When the Local Board formed a Volunteer Fire Brigade in 1859, they continued using this station. When Eastbourne became a Borough in 1884, the Eastbourne County Borough Fire Brigade was formed.
Eastbourne's first purpose built fire station in Grove Road
