“A PORTION of the Darlington Fire Brigade had an unusual experience yesterday in the sense that when they arrived at the scene of a supposed fire, it was found they had been victims of an extraordinary mistake,” reported The Northern Echo on June 4, 1904.

We are hugely indebted to Reuben Frankau of Low Row in Swaledale for bringing this extraordinary mistake to our attention.

The farce began to unfold at 8.35am when a telegram boy dashed from the North Road Post Office in Darlington to the fire brigade headquarters beneath the Town Clock and handed Captain John Uttley, who had come on duty at 8am, a message.

“I think there’s a fire at Richmond,” said the breathless boy.

The Northern Echo: Darlington's first fire engine, Southend, being put through its paces at the Tees Cottage Pumping Station shortly after it was given to the town by Joseph PeaseDarlington's first fire engine, Southend, being put through its paces at the Tees Cottage Pumping Station shortly after it was given to the town by Joseph Pease

Capt Uttley slit the envelope open and read the message: “Please forward machine to Mr Dowell, Richmond, Yorkshire.”

The captain later admitted he had some doubts about the message, but he presumed that “machine” was a mishearing of the word “engine” and he knew that Richmond only had a small machine. So imagining a big blaze taking hold, he leapt into action.

He sent runners to round up four horses and to rouse his men. The men had once been alerted by a fire bell rung in the clocktower, but this also alerted the townspeople to the drama unfolding in their midst. The practice was ceased after 1889 when the bell had drawn 3,000 to East Mount Road to watch the North of England School Furnishing Company on fire – a gable end collapsed on the crowd, killing five spectators.

“With all speed, Capt Uttley and seven men set off with No 1 steamer,” said The Northern Echo.

The Northern Echo: The Green Howards parade at the former barracks in Gallowgate, Richmond, 1912The Green Howards parade at the former barracks in Gallowgate, Richmond, 1912

This may have been the engine named Southend which was given to the town in 1870 by Joseph Pease – his mansion at the south end of Darlington (now Duncan Bannatyne’s Grange Hotel) was called Southend, and this was the principal pump until the town tested its first motorised engine in 1920.

As soon as it clattered out of the cellars, a fuzee, or large match, was dropped down Southend’s chimney, so that by the time it arrived at the fire, a good head of steam had been generated to pump water onto the flames - on a good day, the pressure was up in six minutes 54 seconds; on a bad windy day it took eight minutes 50 seconds before Southend could fight a blaze.

The Northern Echo: An 1867 steampowered fire engine on display at Darlington station in 1967 – whether this engine operated in Darlington is unclearAn 1867 steampowered fire engine on display at Darlington station in 1967 – whether this engine operated in Darlington is unclear

“The distance of 12 miles was accomplished in the splendid time of an hour and five minutes,” said the Darlington & Stockton Times. Owen Pease, a cousin of the railway-owning Peases, who lived in Frenchgate in Richmond, was motoring into Darlington and when he arrived, he reported that “the brigade was going strong when I passed them between Stapleton and Barton”.

The D&S said: “When the engine pulled up at the foot of Queen’s Road, the natives looked moon struck.”

The Echo said that the arrival of the engine had “caused some wonderment among the inhabitants of the picturesque borough”.

The Northern Echo: A 1960s picture of the brigade outside its Borough Road headquarters, with the firemen's houses on the left. The station is now the Hullabaloo children's theatreA 1960s picture of the brigade outside its Borough Road headquarters, with the firemen's houses on the left. The station is now the Hullabaloo children's theatre

There being no telltale signs of a large blaze, they asked for directions to Walter Dowell’s cycle shop, and found the engineer “safe and intact” inside, calmly conducting business with a customer.

“Nobody was more surprised than he when firemen in uniform trooped through his doorway and asked if he had wired to Darlington for the brigade,” said the D&S.

“This is Mr Dowell’s?” asked Capt Uttley.

“Yes,” responded Mr Dowell.

“Have you a fire?”

“No,” replied Mr Dowell.

The D&S said: “There was nothing for it then but to rest the horses, and an hour or so having been spent ins trolling round, the brigade started on the return journey.”

The Northern Echo: An Edwardian postcard showing a horsedrawn ambulance at the newly-opened Borough Road stationAn Edwardian postcard showing a horsedrawn ambulance at the newly-opened Borough Road station

Perhaps on the way, Capt Uttley remembered something that Engineer Wigham had mentioned when he had come on duty at 8am about a bike being left at the station overnight and a man calling to collect it.

At the station, he investigated further, and it turned out that at 2.15am, Engineer Naisbitt, who was on duty, took possession of a brand new bicycle with a badly bent front wheel. The well dressed cyclist, from Richmond, had got it caught in a tram track and a policeman had suggest he leave it at the fire station overnight while he booked himself into a hotel.

Engineer Naisbitt had told this Engineer Wigham when he took over at 6am, and Engineer Wigham had mentioned it to Captain Uttley at 8am. And the telegram which arrived at 8.35am was actually from the cyclist, who instead of getting a hotel had got a train to London.

The Northern Echo: How The Northern Echo reported the 1904 wild goose chase to RichmondHow The Northern Echo reported the 1904 wild goose chase to Richmond

When he said “Please forward machine to Mr Dowell, Richmond, Yorkshire” he was not asking for the services of a fire engine post haste but he was requesting that the bicycle be sent for repairs in Richmond.

Capt Uttley sounded indignant when he told the Fire Brigade Committee’s investigation into the incident: “In a fire station, a request for a machine is taken to mean a fire engine, or some fire apparatus, as it is a well known fact that a person telegraphing to a fire station for assistance would not expect a bicycle in return.”

A few days after the false alarm, Mr Dowell came to Darlington – presumably he cycled - in a state of alarm. He asked the fireman to hand over the bike because he now realised he had sold it on a hire purchase agreement to a soldier, Sergeant Fane, who had been the Sergeant of the Canteen at Richmond barracks.

And Sgt Fane – perhaps realising it was too hot for him in the area - had deserted, owing Mr Dowell £3 10s.

The brigade refused to hand over the bike as investigations were still continuing.

Capt Uttley told the investigating councillors: “I would suggest to this committee that the Police Superintendent be notified that this is not the first occasion that the police have sent both men and women to the fire station in the early hours of the morning to seek lodgings, or store articles, and it would prevent the possibility of a recurrence of such an unfortunate mistake as this one in the future.

“In the case of a call, our first thought is to do our duty as firemen, and not to attend to luggage left at the instigation of the Police force.”

He then sat down, noting that the total cost of the turn out had been £10 2s 4d.

It is unknown whether Mr Dowell got the bike back.

“Whether it remains at the fire station to this day, I have not yet ascertained,” says Reuben, who was researching something else when he stumbled upon this wonderful tale. “If you do a newspaper search, you’ll see that the story went viral, as we’d say nowadays – by June 11, 1904, it was in papers as far afield as Bournemouth. I doubt if the Fire Brigade Committee was pleased about that, either.”

THE first record of there being a fire engine in Darlington is 1757 when it was stationed in the south-west corner of St Cuthbert’s churchyard and the churchwardens were tasked with keeping it “fit for use on any sudden occasion”.

They, in turn, kept whitesmith William Jewitt on a 20-shilling annual retainer to take care of the engine. He was paid 10s for attending a fire and 2s 6d for a false alarm.

By 1803, the church bellringers had been recruited as firemen. They were paid 16s shillings per fire, plus they were given a bonus of 1s 6d, 1s or 6d in order of the speed of their arrival when summoned.

In 1825, there was a public appeal to buy a new engine, build a new firehouse and sink a deep well, but in 1837 a public meeting was called to discuss concerns about Darlington’s lack of preparedness. A manual fire engine – one pumped by hand rather than by steampower – was bought and stationed at a sewage works in Park Street (probably where the Royal Mail sorting office is today). The keys to the engine were kept a good sprint away, though, in the police station in Grange Road.

In 1863, the volunteer superintendent of the fire brigade was promoted to a £3-a-year full time job, and in 1870, Joseph Pease donated the Southend engine, which was stationed in the Covered Market cellars.

The Northern Echo: Joseph Pease, who donated the Southend engine in 1870. The engine was retired from active service in 1923. Picture courtesy of Darlington Centre for Local StudiesJoseph Pease, who donated the Southend engine in 1870. The engine was retired from active service in 1923. Picture courtesy of Darlington Centre for Local Studies

In 1902, the firemen turned professional and much to the council's delight proved to be cheaper than the amateurs. Between 1895 and 1900, the amateurs had been called to 37 fires at a cost of £488 11s 10d; from 1902-05, the pros put out 92 fires for just £228.

But the pros wanted a proper station, which was built for £4,000 in Borough Road in 1905. Adjoining were houses for three men and the brigade captain. There were stables for the horses, and the firemen had a recreation room on the floor with brass poles for them to slide down in cases of emergency.

However, the penny-pinching council couldn't afford a billiard table to go in the station’s billiard room.

The firemen remained stationed in Borough Road until new premises were opened for them beside the inner ring road on January 18, 1973.