Chesham Fire Brigade

Giffard Newton & Sons Limited

In 1854 Giffard Newton & Sons Limited, one of Chesham’s sixteen boot and shoe manufacturers, was founded. Gifford Newton, whose factory stood on the site of WorkAid on Townsend Road, specialised in workers boots with steel toecaps and thick rubber soles. Though no longer based in Chesham, the company remains a global market leader in occupational footwear.

During World War I and II the factory manufactured boots for the British army and during the Second World War repaired the boots of the American forces. In 1957 Giffard Newton produced the boot worn by Dirk Bogarde in the film Tale of Two Cities. 1983 they provided boots for the BBC documentary on Shackleton’s Antarctic Expedition.

One of the most significant moments for Giffard Newton came in 1985 with their development of the ‘Tuffking’ brand. Giffard Newton became the first company to develop a leather fire boot manufactured to safety standards.

The Tuffking boot remains a crucial part of modern Fire Brigade uniform. In 2007 there were 65,000 fire fighters in Britain, of which 45,000 wore Tuffking fire boots.

References: 

Sue Gordon research 2008

Giffardnewton.com, bucksfire.gov.uk

Peter Hawkes ‘Chesham At Work in the 20th Century’

Giffard Newton, Tuffking Fire boot, manufactured between 1996 and 2006, donated to Chesham Museum by WorkAid.

Public information leaflets No. 1 and No. 5, issued 1939, donated to Chesham Museum by Mrs Jean Sabatini.