Our history – a timeline
For more than 100 years, ambulances services have provided life-saving care to the people of London. From horse-drawn ambulances to the latest fully electric vehicles, this is our story.
Learn more about our proud history by visiting the Historic Collection webpage.
The beginning: horse-drawn ambulances to WW2
It may be hard to imagine today, but if you were injured in the 1890s, it was left to the police, firefighters and even taxi drivers to staff a fleet of wheeled stretchers, named ‘litters’, to take patients to the nearest hospital or doctor’s surgery. It wasn’t until just before the turn of the 20th century that a full-time ambulance service in London was formed.
Early on, the ambulance fleet was horse-drawn. The first petrol driven ambulance appeared in 1904 and could carry a single stretcher at up to 15mph. By 1930, responsibilities for the ambulance service to the county councils.
As the Second World War approached, an auxiliary ambulance service was set up as part of the Government’s civil defence service. Formed mainly of women, there are some incredible stories of bravery and extraordinary service to Londoners during this period.
Introducing the National Health Service
Post-war reorganisation led to the National Health Service Act of 1948. As part of this, for the first time, there was a requirement for ambulances to be available for all those who needed them.
By now, a more recognisable service was beginning to take shape. In the 1950s the London County Council’s ambulance service moved to Headquarters at Waterloo Road, but it was already clear this wouldn’t be large enough.
By the early 1960s it was agreed a new headquarters would be built further up Waterloo Road. ‘Londam’, the Service’s newsletter, described it as ‘the promised land’.
A London-wide service was created in 1965 when one ambulance service was formed in London from parts of nine existing services. It comprised nearly 1,000 vehicles and 2,500 staff.
Saving lives in the 1970s, 80s and 90s
Each decade at London Ambulance Service has seen huge change and innovation.
In the 1970s, we moved to our new Headquarters in Waterloo (where we still are today), which Queen Elizabeth II visited for the first time in 1975. The Bedford CF ambulance came into service which you can see at our Historic Collection. Ambulance services also transferred from council-run to the NHS. Mary Conway was the first woman to become a Station Officer at Kenton.
The 1980s saw the beginning of an accelerated shift in technology at our Service, with the first defibrillator in ambulances, the launch of the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service, and computerisation in our control rooms for call handlers to record patient information quickly and make dispatch more efficient.
The final decade of the 20th century saw further advancements to meet the needs of the growing population. We launched our first multilingual emergency phrasebook to improve services for Londoners, our Motorcycle Response Unit was created, and University of Hertfordshire starts first fulltime Paramedic course. By 1999, our Waterloo control room was the largest of its kind in Europe, dealing with 3,500 calls a day.
Moving into the 21st century
As we move into the 21st century, urgent and emergency care in London has evolved at an incredible pace. The modern ambulance as you know it today became yellow in 2003, and we also launched our Cycle Response Unit to provide life-saving care in the most congested parts central London and Heathrow Airport.
Control room technology improved with the Advanced Medical Priority Dispatch Service launching to help target those who need us most. For the London Olympics in 2012, we launched a new response car to meet the demands of one of the world’s busiest and most dynamic cities.
In the last 10 years, we have seen further innovations to help position LAS as a cutting-edge service for Londoners. In 2022, we launched our Dockside and Brentford Education Centres, and moved our Bow control room to Newham Dockside. The Service now answers more than 6,000 emergency calls on a busy day, and there are around 400 ambulances on the streets of London every day caring for patients, including a growing electric fleet. Learn more about our vision for the future.
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