The Brook Ambulance Station in Greenwich was one of six ambulance stations built and operated by the Metropolitan Asylums Board in the 1880s.
Following the Local Government Act in 1929, the London County Council was charged with providing an ambulance service. This meant that The Brook, along with its vehicles, passed control to the council in 1930, which continued to operate the station until the London Ambulance Service was formed in 1965.
When the station opened, all ambulances were horse-drawn; but by 1914, the horses had been replaced by petrol vehicles. The vehicles in this photograph stationed outside The Brook in 1957 include (from left to right) The Bedford ‘Stork’, a Vauxhall car, a Bedford CA Lancastrian, two more ‘Storks’ and a Daimler.
The Bedford ‘Stork’ was a unique design as the pod on the roof stored the stretcher. This helped to maximise the room inside—although, at the time, ambulances didn't carry much medical equipment, certainly when compared with the equipment carried today.
In 1957, the role of an ambulance service was basic first aid and transport—often referred to as ‘scoop and run’. We no longer ‘scoop and run’ patients to hospital but diagnose and treat at scene to decide the best place for treatment, as well as giving clinical advice and support over the phone. Nowadays, our vehicles are crewed by highly skilled clinicians and carry a variety of lifesaving medical equipment.