Photographed in 1880 is Frederick Morton Wallis dressed in the full uniform of the Halstead Volunteer Fire Brigade. He is holding a whip as he was the driver of the horse-drawn fire engine. Formed by Lt. Col. Edgar Adams in 1878, the brigade was run vouluntarily by many if the town's business men. The rules stated that men attending a fire should receive 6d (2 1/2p) per hour. After 43 years of faithful service the brigade was taken over by the Halstead Urban District Council. As as matter of interest Mr F.M. Wallis was a local Veterinary Surgeon.
