Heald Street Fire Station, Garston, 1906 in 2013 by Keithjones84, on Flickr



I love messing around with old shots like this ans trying to combine the old and new in one image.

The original 1906 shot was quite a close up shot of the proud fireman and his vehicle, but contained lots of elements that interested me. Apart from the grand buildings, it interests me to see how people dressed, worked, and the vehicles they used in bygone days but I'm also interested in why particular shots were taken.

I'm assuming this is a fire brigade photo just showing off a new vehicle or recording an image of an important or new member. There must be almost no comparison with the equipment used by firefighters used today but this must have been state-of-the-art for its time.

The garage in which the 'truck' was parked has been demolished, and it looks as if the fire station is now a private residence, but it and the police station on the same street (still a police building but unmanned, I believe) are marvellous buildings with great character, I think, and I am glad they are still there.