Original small tunic button from the tunic of the famous Robert Tozer of Hand in Hand Insurance Fire office and London Fire Engine Establishment! It came from the tunic which sadly perished in a fire in 2009 and the button has a repaired but original loop to the rear.

Robert Tozer was the first in a long line of serving Tozer family members within the British and Colonial Fire Services, throughout the Victorian era and up to the late 20th Century!

He was born in Bermondsey, London in 1799 and joined the Hand in Hand Fire Insurance Office in 1820's which changed to the London Fire Engine Establishment in 1832, he served at Baker Street and Marlebone Fire Stations and was the grandfather of Alfred Robert Tozer, another famous fire fighter.

Robert Tozer senior was present at the fire that killed James Braidwood the famous London Chief officer at Tooley Street in 1861.

He died in 1877 aged 78.