Vyse's was Britain's oldest straw hat firm and had been founded in 1765 by Thomas Vyse, an immigrant from France. By 1930 the firm had its headquarters in Wood Street, London and branches around the country as well as its factory in Luton.

On the 25 February 1930, a day which came to be known as Black Tuesday, a fire occurred at Vyse's hat factory in Bute Street, Luton, which resulted in the deaths of eight people.

The fire started when an employee heated a container of beeswax on a gas ring for use on the showroom floor and spilt some onto the gas ring which then caught alight. Charles Rawson, who was working in the basement where the beeswax was being heated, reported what he saw:

"Arthur Hare was preparing a pail of beeswax over a lighted gas ring...when some of the liquid spilt over and burst into flames. Hare screamed out that he was on fire, and rushed upstairs. Harvey and I ran, to another room, for some bowls of water...Then one flash went right across the basement, and in a few seconds the whole basement seemed to be one mass of flames and smoke."
(The Luton News 27 February 1930)

The fire spread rapidly up the stairs and lift-shaft and throughout the three-storey building. The building burnt quickly as it was made largely of wood and contained flammable hats and hat-making materials. The factory had no fire alarm, which meant that there was a delay in evacuating the building, and there were no fire extinguishers or fire escapes.

Despite the factory being such a fire hazard, many people did get out alive. Elsie Carter was working on the third floor when someone came in saying there was a fire:

"Miss McGeorge, the forelady, and Miss Gathercole told us to get our clothes and clear out of the room as quickly as possible. Miss McGeorge did not leave until we had all gone. We came down the stone staircase, and saw the flames shooting up the lift-shaft. There were eighteen girls and two foreladies in our room, and we all got out in safety."

(The Luton News 27 February 1930)

Others were not so fortunate. Doris Holt died while trying to escape through a window:

"I looked up again and saw the girls. They were still screaming, and two were holding on to another girl, who was hanging on a window-sill. Then the flames enveloped her, and she dropped and crashed through the glass roof of a lower building with an agonising shriek and disappeared into the flames."

(The Luton News 27 February 1930)

Doris' sister Lavinia made a lucky escape. The Luton News reported that:

"She was downstairs at the time of the outbreak, although, normally, her place would have been with her sister Doris, on the top floor. As soon as she realised what had happened, she ran upstairs, to see how her sister was faring, but at the top of the stairs she was met by another girl, who, fainting, knocked her backwards down the stairs. Both were subsequently picked up and carried to safety."

(The Luton News 27 February 1930)

Another survivor, Nancy Willis (nee Jones) also lost her sister in the fire. In 1980, on the fiftieth anniversary of the disaster, she spoke to The Luton News and recalled how her 21-year-old sister, Phyllis Jones, died that terrible day:

"Phyllis and I worked on the same floor, but in different departments. It was she who first told us about the fire. She came in and said there was smoke in the corridor. Then she went back to the millinery room That was the last time I saw her. The people in my department, including me, then went out into the corridor and down the stairs. Some of the girls in my sister's department did not dare go down the stairs which, by then, were filled with smoke. When I got downstairs and realised Phyllis was not there, I tried to go back to get her, but other people wouldn't let me. When I could not see Phyllis anywhere and she was not at the roll call, it confirmed my worst fears. It was a dreadful shock. Phyllis and I were very close and often used to go out together. She was a lovely girl and I never got over losing her..."

(The Luton News 21 February 1980)

The final death toll was eight. Six workers died at the scene, trapped in the building, and two others died later of their injuries:

• Mary Jane Betts, 75
• Grace Deller, 23
• Phyllis Jones, 21
• Doris Holt, 27
• Edward Hucklesby, 40
• Kenneth Soper, 25
• Amos Punter, 58
• Arthur William Hare, 42

In its report of the fire The Luton News commented:

"Never has such a disaster been experienced by the town within living memory, for the loss of life outweighs all financial consideration, and it is quite true to say that there is not a household in the town and district that has not felt the imminence of the Shadow of Death this week."

(The Luton News 27 February 1930)

After the fire the factory was rebuilt on the same site, and hat production continued there until 1956 when it moved to Hackney, East London. The company finally closed in 1977.