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Tozer Family.

Re: Birmingham Fire Brigade and the Tozer family

The Tozer family were indeed very important to the Birmingham Fire Brigade. A.R Tozer was headhunted from Bristol to take charge of Birmingham F.B as the brigade was thought to be inefficient after a fatal fire in Digbeth and the Central Library fire in 1879.
He was Superintendant ( Chief ) and when he died after catching a chill at the Hyman
Brothers fire in 1906 his son, another AR Tozer, took over and was in charge till 1941.
 
I am researching the TOZER family for a friend. Her grandmother was an Emily TOZER born c1874, London, according to the 1901 Census. Family stories say her father was a fire chief at Birmingham. I have found an Emily TOZER born c1869 daughter of Alfred Tozer and an Emily Tozer born c1886 daughter of Alfred R. Tozer. I would appreciate if anyone doing the TOZER family history has come across an Emily Tozer born 1874, with any sort of connection to the Fire Brigade. Sorry to be so vague, but thanks for any help.
 
Hi everyone I am researching the Tozer family tree and I am a great great great grandson of Robert Tozer the first fireman in the family. I have a good deal of information on the Tozer's but need some information from the fire brigade historians on whether it is true that the Tozer firemen were shown on a set of cigarette cards early in the 1900's. If it is true does anyone know which company issued the cards?

Roger
 
Welcome to the forum, Roger. I hope someone can answer your question.

As and when you dip your toe further into the water, will it be possible for you, on the basis of the other information you hold about this family, to add anything to the various discussions and questions which have arisen earlier in this thread? I'm sure a number of forum members will be interested.

(And welcome to Pollycat76 as well!).

Chris
 
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The old Harborne fire station in Rose Road Harborne has a fantastic stone bust of Tozer on the outside front of the building. Worth having a look at if you are passing. Not sure which of the Tozer's it is though.

Tony
 
Hi All,

My Dad was Charles William Lovelace Tozer G.M.

one of 10 children born to Arthur John Lovelace Tozer & Eliza Barnes

we had relations in the Birmingham & Coventry Fire service but not sure how they are related,.any family information would be appreciated:)

Dad was a tool maker at the start of the war so joined the home guard.

However when my granddad was killed by a bomb he joined the Royal Engineers
 
A warm welcome to the forum, calb.

Pipone's post earlier in this thread - #11 - gives a strong clue about where your grandfather Arthur might conceivably fit in, namely as the son of the first A.R. Tozer who seems to have started the family's domination of the Birmingham Fire Service.

Chris
 
Hi ChrisM,

Many thanks for your warm welcome. I find the site very interesting,
I think Pipone's post is for C.W. Tozer & not C.W. L. Tozer as I have a family tree started by my Dad. His grandfather was James Lovelace Tozer 1846 to 1929 married to Louisa Vick Davies 1841 to 1925. So still not sure on the Fire Service connection but I am sure there is one.
 
With reference to Calb's posting, does anyone know the birthplace and date of birth of the "first" London Fireman Robert Tozer. According to the Census he was born c1799, on the 1841 he is said to be NOT born in the County, when living in Marylebone, and on the 1851 gives Bermondsey, where some of his children were born, as his birthplace. Could he have come from Devon and did not know his real birthplace, as there is a Robert TOZER baptised in St Thomas, Devon in 1795 ? Just a thought but pure guesswork.

Pauline
 
it is nice to see this post as alfred tozer is my great great great grandad. we have carried the name lovelace on as it is a trust name and i am so proud to be in this family. i wish i knew more about him but its good to see people are interested in him aswell.
:)
 
postie said:
In my 1933 Birmingham Yearbook it states the following.

BIRMINGHAM FIRE BRIGADE

Chief Officer--- A.R. TOZER, O.B.E.
Second Officer---C.W. TOZER.
Third Officer-- A.R. TOZER, Junr.

So, as you can see they were indded a famous family.
Click to expand...
A.W. Tozer is a very famous writer
I have read a number of his books
but I think he was in Canada [till his passing, maybe in the 1960's], but I would not be surprised, one jot, if the family hailed from here, and was related to those above
such an unusual name.
 
Mark Ronald Arthur Tozer said:
it is nice to see this post as alfred tozer is my great great great grandad. we have carried the name lovelace on as it is a trust name and i am so proud to be in this family. i wish i knew more about him but its good to see people are interested in him aswell.
:)
Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum Mark. We are indeed interested in any families from this area especially those who gave so much to help the local people. The fire service where would we be without these brave men. I am pleased to read how proud you are to be a member of this family.
 
Re: Birmingham Fire Brigade and the Tozer family

ChrisM said:
Here are a couple of pictures of Birmingham Fire Brigade, dating from the 1920s.

The chap in the car is Bob Tozer. I understand that the Tozer family were very influential with regard to the Fire Brigade up to the outbreak of WW2. Bob was a good friend of my father and, in the custom of the age, tended to have himself photographed from time to time. I have portraits of him in Fire Brigade uniform (1916 and 1919) and in Army, possibly Officer Cadet, uniform (1919). I can post these if anyone is interested.

Can anyone tell me more about the Tozers and their role in the Birmingham Fire Brigade, please?

Chris
Click to expand...
I am a member of the Tozer family and have a full family tree dating back to 1799. Do you have any connections to the family?
 
Wendy said:
Welcome to the forum Mark. We are indeed interested in any families from this area especially those who gave so much to help the local people. The fire service where would we be without these brave men. I am pleased to read how proud you are to be a member of this family.
Click to expand...
T
This is also my great great great grandfather, I have a full family history and all my family have been in the fire brigade since 1799 and my daughter is still in Durham & Darlington Fire and Rescue Brigade. Do you have any information on the family?
 
This is one of my relatives, I dont know which one it is as I think some of it has eroded over the years. I have only seen internet pictures.
 
Re: fire service

Welcome to the Forum, JILLYCAT.

You asked: Do you have any connections to the family?

I have no direct relationship with the family. Apart from my general historical interest in the way in which the Tozers were involved in the life of Birmingham, I am interested in the Bob Tozer who was born in around 1900 because of the close friendship he had with my father. I strongly suspect that they were schoolpals, probably at King Edwards, Five Ways and possibly at KES, New Street. This thread (and others - try the Search function) has resulted in a lot of information about the contribution the Tozers made to the Birmingham Fire Service; but I am still interested to learn more about Bob's life. I wonder if you have more on the latter.

Can you post any photos to add to our knowledge of the family?

Chris
 
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My great Uncle Bill (William Tozer) was Chief Officer of Rangoon Fire Brigade and Director, Fire Services, Burma. Is this the same person as you refer to as Wilfred?

Margaret Tozer-Bancroft
 
I am a direct decendant of the Tozer dynasty dating back to Robert Tozer born in 1799 and am the 7th generation to continue in the service (my niece being the 8th). Both my father (William Tozer) and grandfather (Charles Tozer) were Deputy Chief Fire Officers in County Durham. I have a very detailed family tree with photos if you wish to view it.

Regards

Margaret Tozer-Bancroft
 
Hi Rob, I am a direct decendant of Robert Tozer. My father was William who was Deputy Chief Fire Officer in Durham. I was the Fire Control Manager until I left the service in 2008 and the 7th generation of serving Tozers. My niece Fiona is the 8th. I have a very extensive family tree if you wish to see it.

Regards

Margaret Tozer-Bancroft
 
Mark Ronald Arthur Tozer said:
it is nice to see this post as alfred tozer is my great great great grandad. we have carried the name lovelace on as it is a trust name and i am so proud to be in this family. i wish i knew more about him but its good to see people are interested in him aswell.
:)
Click to expand...

Hi Mark,

I think we may well be distantly related. My great great great grandfather was Alfred Tozer, I have a full and comprehensive family tree if you are interested and have lots of family memorabilia. It would be great to find another branch of the Tozer family, after all, it is a very famous family.....
Kind regard, Jill Tozer
 
Hello all, I came across this thread when I was telling my children something about the history of our house in Moseley. We were told when we bought the house (in 1996) that it had been built in 1906 for the then head of the Birmingham Fire Service whose name was Tozer. The house is called Rezot and the latch for pulling the door behind you is shaped like a fireman's helmet. I think the deeds are in the loft but I if I remember correctly it was an Alfred Tozer which would tie in to posts above.
 
Welcome to the Forum, MichaelMcD.

I imagine it's pretty likely that my father would have visited the house as a schoolboy, some time between 1911 and 1916.

Chris
 
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Hi Michael
My wife is a direct descendant of the Firefighting Tozers & most interested in their connection to the 'Rezot' house.Please contact her on [email protected] for a further exchange of information. Many thanks.
MichaelMcD said:
Hello all, I came across this thread when I was telling my children something about the history of our house in Moseley. We were told when we bought the house (in 1996) that it had been built in 1906 for the then head of the Birmingham Fire Service whose name was Tozer. The house is called Rezot and the latch for pulling the door behind you is shaped like a fireman's helmet. I think the deeds are in the loft but I if I remember correctly it was an Alfred Tozer which would tie in to posts above.
Click to expand...
 
Dear Dom,

Great to read about your research.

I am trying to trace my grandmother’s family tree. Particularly because I have been told they are Jewish, although non observant and I believe they kept this hidden for concerns of predjudice.etc. I am very keen to establish my Jewish heritage and to find out where the family originated before Manchester,

So far I know the following:
My grandmother born Dec 1892 in Prestwich, Emily Tozer Mckay and married Joseph Philip Ellis, Manchester area around 1910,( don’t have those details with me) Emily had a brother and sister.

Emily’s mother was Emily Tozer born in Manchester March 1868 and, I think, died Prestwich March 1912. Emily Tozer married John McKay in Salford June 1889.

Emily Tozer born 1868 seems to have had twin brothers born 1866, Charles W and Robert, but he died March 1867.
I am especially keen if someone can confirm that the Tozers were Jewish and the maiden name of Emily Tozer’s mother. Particularly as I am trying to establish where they came from in Europe before Manchester.
If anyone can help I would be very grateful. Please email me . Thank You very much.

Best regards
Emily
 

Dear Jill,

It would be great to get a copy of the family tree. Great to read about your research.

I am trying to trace my grandmother’s family tree. Particularly because I have been told they are Jewish, although non observant and I believe they kept this hidden for concerns of predjudice.etc. I am very keen to establish my Jewish heritage and to find out where the family originated before Manchester,

So far I know the following:
My grandmother born Dec 1892 in Prestwich, Emily Tozer Mckay and married Joseph Philip Ellis, Manchester area around 1910,( don’t have those details with me) Emily had a brother and sister.

Emily’s mother was Emily Tozer born in Manchester March 1868 and, I think, died Prestwich March 1912. Emily Tozer married John McKay in Salford June 1889.

Emily Tozer born 1868 seems to have had twin brothers born 1866, Charles W and Robert, but he died March 1867.
I am especially keen if someone can confirm that the Tozers were Jewish and the maiden name of Emily Tozer’s mother. Particularly as I am trying to establish where they came from in Europe before Manchester.
Please email me . Thank you very much.

Best regards
Emily
 
Hi Emily
Emily Tozer McKay's mother was Emily (born 1868) and her siblings were Jessie (1874-1957), Charles Wright (1866-1872), Robert (1866-1867), Joseph Rose (1869-1891) and Alfred Robert (1853-1906) the Superintendent of Birmingham Fire Brigade. Emily's father was Alfred Tozer (1831-1911) the Superindendent of Manchester Fire Brigade and her mother was Jessie Louisa Brown, born 1831 in Edinburgh & she died in 1900 at Blackpool. As far as we are aware there are no Jewish connections to the family but please contact me to discuss in more detail & for a copy of the Family Tree.
Kind Regards
Danny & Jill Wilkinson
email [email protected]

Emilybbrodie said:

Dear Jill,

It would be great to get a copy of the family tree. Great to read about your research.

I am trying to trace my grandmother’s family tree. Particularly because I have been told they are Jewish, although non observant and I believe they kept this hidden for concerns of predjudice.etc. I am very keen to establish my Jewish heritage and to find out where the family originated before Manchester,

So far I know the following:
My grandmother born Dec 1892 in Prestwich, Emily Tozer Mckay and married Joseph Philip Ellis, Manchester area around 1910,( don’t have those details with me) Emily had a brother and sister.

Emily’s mother was Emily Tozer born in Manchester March 1868 and, I think, died Prestwich March 1912. Emily Tozer married John McKay in Salford June 1889.

Emily Tozer born 1868 seems to have had twin brothers born 1866, Charles W and Robert, but he died March 1867.
I am especially keen if someone can confirm that the Tozers were Jewish and the maiden name of Emily Tozer’s mother. Particularly as I am trying to establish where they came from in Europe before Manchester.
Please email me . Thank you very much.

Best regards
Emily
Click to expand...
 
ChrisM said:
Birmingham Fire Brigade and the Tozer family

Here are a couple of pictures of Birmingham Fire Brigade, dating from the 1920s.

The chap in the car is Bob Tozer. I understand that the Tozer family were very influential with regard to the Fire Brigade up to the outbreak of WW2. Bob was a good friend of my father and, in the custom of the age, tended to have himself photographed from time to time. I have portraits of him in Fire Brigade uniform (1916 and 1919) and in Army, possibly Officer Cadet, uniform (1919). I can post these if anyone is interested.

Can anyone tell me more about the Tozers and their role in the Birmingham Fire Brigade, please?

Chris
Click to expand...
Hiya, Have you got the actual postcard of Bob Tozer? If so do you want to sell them? Ken W
 
Ken,

The answers are, respectively, yes, I have; and sorry, 'fraid not - they are part of my own family archive.

Chris
 
Tozer Family.

#1 Bob Tozer talking with The Duke of York
Bob Tozer meeting The Duke of York..jpg

#2 Bob Tozer talking with The Duke of York - Close Up.
Bob Tozer meeting The Duke of York - Closeup..jpg
 
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