Seen these two vintage vehicles on Waterloo Road?
If you walk along Waterloo Road, south past the Old Vic towards Elephant, then you can't help but spot the gathering of fluorescent ambulances around the London Ambulance Service (LAS) building. Much less obvious are the pair of old-timer vehicles parked up on the plinth. You're quite welcome to go up and snap photos... so we did.
The oldest of the two is a 1949 Daimler DC27 (above). This beaut was busy saving lives when London was still scarred by bomb craters, and Clement Attlee was in Number 10. It came into service a year after the formation of the NHS in 1948. Note the LCC branding on the side, denoting the London County Council.
It's partnered with a 1965 Morris Wadsworth (above), with a symbolic registration plate of LAS1965. This was, in fact, the year in which the London Ambulance Service was formed, from the merger of nine smaller services. Its formation coincided with the abolition of the LCC and creation of Greater London, 60 years ago this year. Since then, the LAS has helped millions of Londoners and visitors, and saved countless lives.
Both vehicles carry bells on the front of the bonnet. These would ring to alert other road users, in the days before the familiar two-tone sirens were invented.
You can find the vehicles, along with a small display of other historic ambulances, in the forecourt of at the LAS headquarters, 220 Waterloo Road.
