Our firehouse beverage correspondent Angus Young explains the history of a hugely popular etching in the city.
In 1876 a Glasgow cordial drinks company called R. Paterson & Son received an unusual request. According to legend, the Gordon Highlanders regiment asked the firm to create a coffee drink that could be used easily on field campaigns in India. Regiment officers wanted an alternative to the time-consuming and complicated process of grinding and brewing coffee beans in military kitchens. Paterson’s came up with Camp Coffee, a liquid drink featuring an essence of coffee beans, chicory and sugar poured straight from the bottle.
Camp was promoted as the world’s first instant coffee and included a distinctive label depicting a seated Gordon Highlander officer being served the drink by a Sikh carrying a tray with the coffee on it. In later versions, the tray was removed in an attempt to avoid charges of imperial superiority by displaying the Sikh as a servant while the current label features the two sitting together enjoying a cuppa.
Despite the changes over the years, one aspect of the label has stayed the same – a tent in the background complete with a red flag bearing the slogan ‘Ready Aye Ready’. Which brings us neatly to the former East Hull Fire Station in Southcoates Lane because the same three-word phrase is carved in stone arches above the building’s main front entrances.
The station opened in 1932 but the slogan recalls the early origins of the fire service in Victorian times when it became the official motto of the Edinburgh brigade. In those days of horse-drawn fire appliances, the officer in charge would shout “Ready?” to confirm all his colleagues were on board before leaving the station. In response, they would reply: “Aye, ready.” The motto became universal among fire crews with Scottish-born volunteer firefighters in Western Australia even bringing it with them when they emigrated. Today’s modern fire service in the province uses the Latin phrase Semper Paratas – Always Ready. Later it also became the official motto of both the Canadian Navy and the Sea Cadets Corps here in the UK.
The inclusion of the eye-catching motto in the building’s design in East Hull makes it unique. There’s not believed to be another fire station – in use or not – like it in the country. Despite this, a 1932 newspaper report giving a progress report on the final stages of the building’s construction makes no mention of it.
The report says: “It will be a fine modern building when completed and, in addition to a spacious recreation room and a reading room, will contain three baths and a shower-bath. It will have sufficient space to house three engines. Behind the building, accommodation is being erected for a crew of 12 firemen, while at the side is a cosy and attractive house for the inspector.”
The station closed in 2018 when crews transferred to a new station at the nearby Jean Bishop Integrated Health Centre. Since then, planning permission has been granted to convert the building into flats but, as yet, work has yet to start. Sadly, the attractive cottages originally built for the station’s first crew have been demolished and replaced with new housing. If and when the old station does undergo a facelift, let’s hope ‘Ready Aye Ready’ remains in place. As it currently features on the city council’s local list of architecturally important buildings, conserving the feature should be a must.
