Disclaimer This blog is about the graphic design of burglar alarms and has no connection with the companies featured. Most photos show vintage sounders and are not the latest products of the firms under discussion. For up-to-date info on any company, please visit their official website.
Burglar Alarm Britain
Where vigilante culture meets vernacular design
Tag Archives: Surrey
“AIJ Security Centre”, Dorking: pipework
Posted by on January 18, 2013
“AIJ Security Centre” burglar alarm, Dorking • The designer’s had great fun drawing up an AIJ monogram in the form of some groovy etiolated pipework – but what on earth does it stand for? • Spotted: Town centre, Dorking, Surrey, RH4, England, 2006 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Mole Valley
“Ambassador”, Old Coulsdon: dog-head
Posted by on August 26, 2012
“Ambassador” burglar alarm, Old Coulsdon • More cockles, and a dog prancing on someone’s head. Loads of these heraldic alarm shields have helmets on top, and this is a bit like Hadleigh – maybe they all copied the same piece of clip art. They all look like logos for local government rather than burglar alarms, anyway – I could see this over the entrance arch of an LCC council estate. Heaven knows what LPC stands for here, or how it relates to an ambassador. • Spotted: Court Avenue, Old Coulsdon, Surrey, CR5, England, 2010 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Croydon South
“Bastion Protec Systems”, Dorking: defensible space
Posted by on July 22, 2012
“Bastion Protec Systems” burglar alarm, Dorking • One of the very few “defensible space” sounders without an image on it, the name Bastion helpfully sums up all the alarms in this section. A bastion is literally a pointy bit of fortification that pokes out from castles and the like, but figuratively means a stronghold of some kind. As it happens I really like this logo: 1970s disco it may be, but it’s sensitively designed in classic style, and looks like it was done by a professional. • Spotted: Town centre, Dorking, Surrey, RH4, England, 2006 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Mole Valley
“Knight Installations”, Dorking: thrusting sword
Posted by on June 12, 2012
“Knight Installations” burglar alarm, Dorking • This is brilliant – 1970s type framing a triumphal image of a knight in ceremonial armour, complete with plumed full-face visor, cloaked warhorse, St George’s Cross jerkin and massive thrusting sword. So very Dorking, and so much more effective than a guard dog. • Spotted: Town centre, Dorking, Surrey, RH4, England, 2008 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Mole Valley
“Ram Security”, Reigate: angst-ridden
Posted by on September 9, 2011
“Ram Security” burglar alarm, Reigate • A depressed-looking ram found on an old-skool corner cafe (actually called Corner Cafe, which is my idea of a proper name) in one of Reigate’s less prime areas. Maybe it’s protecting them from battering rams. Or maybe they sell battered rams. OK, it’s a crappy joke. I wonder if the security firm’s owner decided a ram would be a superb logo, so came up with the name “Reigate Alarm Master Security” (RAMS, surely) to match it? Or if the less-than-catchy name came first, then the boss thought, “Eureka! This calls for some clip art of a frowning uncastrated male sheep on my bell box”? I went back recently and the alarm’s still there, but it’s now so yellow and tattered that the ram looks positively angst-ridden. • Spotted: Dovers Green Road, Woodhatch, Reigate, Surrey, RH2, England, 2002 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Reigate
Above: a real ram (photo by Martin Stoltze)
“Panther security.co.uk”, Reigate: Countdown
Posted by on September 8, 2011
“Panther security.co.uk” burglar alarm, Reigate • Not quite as impressive a design as yesterday’s stencilled panther, though it does fall into the popular category of “vision”, which I have yet to explore on this blog. For years I had a photo of a rectangular version of this alarm reading “ANTHER”, because the left side was obscured; I couldn’t work out what the name meant, and it only recently dawned on me that there was a letter “P” in the eye, and so the full word must be Panther. Then the other month I stumbled across this, proving myself correct. But clearly I would be crap on Countdown. • Spotted: High Street, Reigate, Surrey, RH2, England, 2011 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Reigate
“ASS”, Dorking: truly asinine
Posted by on August 19, 2011
“ASS Security Systems” burglar alarm, Dorking • Ass. What can I say? This is even stupider than Ape. There are really no good connotations to this: it either suggests a beast of burden, a silly fool, or some American buttocks. Also, is it actually meant to read as “Ass Security Systems”, or is the logo some infinitely looping attempt to represent “A Security Systems” – or even “AASS Security Systems”? And if so, what does the big A stand for? Ass? Good grief. There’s a picture of one below. • Spotted: Town centre, Dorking, Surrey, RH4, England, 2006 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Mole Valley
Above: a real ass. (Photo by Hans-Peter Scholz)
“Key Alarms”, Old Coulsdon: urine-hued simplicity
Posted by on July 2, 2011
“Key Alarms” burglar alarm, Old Coulsdon • We now move from visual keys to verbal keys, and this is as basic as it gets: the ragged urine-hued simplicity of Key Alarms, yet another aged specimen from the half-timbered land of superannuated security systems that is Old Coulsdon. • Spotted: Coulsdon Road, Old Coulsdon, Surrey, CR5, England, 2010 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Croydon South
“Lockstock Alarm”, Old Coulsdon: stylish shape
Posted by on July 1, 2011
“Lockstock Alarm” burglar alarm, Old Coulsdon • Along with Radam, this unusual vintage alarm is another locksmithery winner: the highly stylised key logo wouldn’t look out of place on a 1960s Scandinavian boutique. The nearest I can find to such a shape in real life is the so-called paracentric key, which has a slot up the middle and complicated teeth – however not as spiky as these. The name “Lockstock” presumably derives from the phrase “lock, stock and barrel”, meaning “the whole lot”; however although it sounds plausibly lock-related, the saying in fact refers to musket parts. • Spotted: Coulsdon Road, Old Coulsdon, Surrey, CR5, England, 2010 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Croydon South
“Peter Weare Ltd”, Dorking: new town verbiage
Posted by on June 28, 2011
“Peter Weare Ltd” burglar alarm, Dorking • This is the most wordy alarm in my collection, stopping just short of giving the engineer’s shoe size. Slotted within the essay is a key, and even that contains verbiage, with a “W” decorating the handle. The key itself is of the grand medieval type associated with castles and cathedrals – in poignant contrast to its distinctly humdrum place of origin, the unlovely post-war “new town” of Crawley. That’s not to say Crawley is without interest: there’s someone posting as ~notes and also *notes on Flickr who takes fascinating architectural photos of the area, including old burglar alarms such as Protectall. • Spotted: Town centre, Dorking, Surrey, RH4, England, 2008 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Mole Valley
“SDT Securities”, Dorking: awkward acronym
Posted by on June 22, 2011
“SDT Securities” burglar alarm, Dorking • Another alarm featuring a literal depiction of a key, this time with an awkward unexplained acronym squeezed in. I like the way the screw caps are popping off and casting their own little shadows – they look like tiny alien eyes. I featured a wide-angle shot of this device in the “Beautiful Decay” category – it’s on a wire-swathed wall that’s even more olde worlde than the alarm. But that’s Dorking for you. • Spotted: Town centre, Dorking, Surrey, RH4, England, 2008 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Mole Valley
“SDT Securities”, Dorking: old-skool wiring
Posted by on May 13, 2011
“SDT Securities” burglar alarm, Dorking • Another old Surrey wall, this time from the town of Dorking, an attractive place despite its dorky name and supposed boringness. The wall is festooned with cut-off wires and bird poo, and the alarm’s logo features the old-skool device of a key – very passé these days. • Spotted: Town centre, Dorking, Surrey, RH4, England, 2008 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Mole Valley
“AIJ Security Centre”, Reigate: wonky lichen
Posted by on May 12, 2011
“AIJ Security Centre” burglar alarm, Reigate • Despite having ancient roots, the prosperous Surrey town of Reigate is dominated by undistinguished architecture, a legacy of philistine planning. Yet amidst the sea of dullness remains the occasional interesting building, like this wonky old wall opposite a car park, melded in true Reigate style between two utterly suburban additions. Even the alarm box is growing lichen in protest. Older readers may be slightly interested to know that famed UK broadcaster Cliff Michelmore, who hosted the BBC’s Apollo Moon landings coverage, used to live in this street. • Spotted: Upper West Street, Reigate, Surrey, RH2, England, 2011 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Reigate
“Churchill Security Systems”, Old Coulsdon: faded flag
Posted by on April 27, 2011
“Churchill Security Systems” burglar alarm, Old Coulsdon • A couple of weeks ago I featured an older Churchill alarm in much better condition. And now, at the end of my World War II series, here’s a more recent Churchill sounder looking distinctly the worse for wear. It was found on that cliche of English suburbia, a half-timbered Tudorbethan villa (pictured below), always enjoyable in conjunction with overtly patriotic alarms. The flag still stands proudly, but the red of the Union Jack has faded away – much like the real Churchill, who was unceremoniously booted out of office as soon as WWII ended. • Spotted: Coulsdon Road, Old Coulsdon, Surrey, CR5, England, 2010 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Croydon South
Above: The flag-waving Churchill in its splendid Tudorbethan setting
“Blitz Security Alarms”, Old Coulsdon: shaky start
Posted by on April 15, 2011
“Blitz Security Alarms” burglar alarm, Old Coulsdon • OK, so it’s blurred, but I’d only just got my first digital camera (high-end at the time, £700 for three megapixels – how times change). I was actually photographing a parade of ridiculous half-timbered Tudorbethan convenience stores in deepest Surrey (see below), when I noticed the name on a tiny box located above a fascia. Blitz: a term powerfully associated in the British psyche with a brutal Nazi invasion attempt, and the “Blitz spirit” that survived it. The cod-medieval shops and cod-wartime security device seemed to meld into a parody of the traditional values supposedly espoused in this cosy and affluent Conservative heartland, but it still seemed a weird word to put on a burglar alarm. Intrigued, I started looking out for more wartime burglar alarm names, and soon discovered a Churchill and a Spitfire. They too were in Tory areas, so I started noting the political constituencies of all the alarms I photographed, to see if there was any correlation between subject matter and voting patterns – a project still in process. And thus an obsession was born. • Spotted: Coulsdon Road, Old Coulsdon, Surrey, CR5, England, 2001 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Croydon South
Above: the cod-medieval shops where I found the cod-wartime alarm
“CIA”, Hersham: the clumsiest spy
Posted by on January 25, 2011
“CIA” burglar alarm, Hersham, 2002 • Well may chummy duck – there’s a low-hanging “A” about to hit his head in this stunning merger of the “shadowy intruder” and “awkward diagonal logo” schools of burglar alarm design. In a poignant touch, two tiny refined details grace this three-fingered figure of otherwise elephant man-like clumsiness: a rumple at the back of the knee, and a stray flap escaping the waistband. • Spotted: Molesey Road, Hersham, Surrey, KT12, England • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Esher and Walton
“X Ray Alarms”, Hersham: an evil alien burglar
Posted by on January 21, 2011
“X Ray Alarms” burglar alarm, Hersham, 2002 • An unusual shape which combines several top burglar alarm tropes in one naive logo: shield, lightning bolt, dated technology, and a poorly-drawn running figure, sporting swag bag, unidentifiable stick, and what is presumably meant to be an eye mask (did burglars EVER wear those?) but looks more like a motorcycle helmet. Or maybe the burglar’s meant to be an alien. Or an evil radiologist. Hersham also spawned Sham 69 and Shakin’ Stevens, so it doesn’t seem impossible. • Spotted: Ambleside Avenue, Hersham, Surrey, KT12, England, 2002 • Politics: In the Conservative constituency of Esher and Walton
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