Hey there 

Anyone seen or remember the EXIT signs in the UK  (or EU) that used incandescent lamps and the front "EXIT" bezel was with green letters on a black background?

FF96 

In Israel in the 70s we had something that was like the 8W Fluorescent versions with the Plastic cover, and was the right size for 8W Fluorescent (so i think the manufacturers already made or atleast planned to make the Fluorescent version at that point), but inside it were 2..4 Incandescents, i think 5W automotive lamps, and some electronic module that i guess took care of charging and on/off control

There were also emergency lighting lanterns (not signs) which were basically a GLS bulkhead with an electronic module (apparently containing the battery in it) and a couple of the automotive lamps instead of the standard E27

Here (at that time Czechoslovakia, but I guess it was very similar in the rest of the eastern bloc) the traditional emergency lighting consisted of a separate wiring and lights, with a central (usually 24V) battery. Up to 90's these were the most dominant systems in use.
The fixtures were then rather standard bulkheads from the time when the system was installed, they were just differentiated by a green stripe painted over the bowl. I think this technology originates way before WW2 and was used till late 80's.
In the late 80's the independent lanterns start to appear, they were quite weird designs using one or two small incandescent bulbs, two or three wet NiCd or NiFe cells (maybe the latest models start to use sealed NiCd's; SLA technology was not available here at all), but interesting was, all that was mounted in a transparent plastic case originally designed and produced as a home food container. These were most likely produced till early 90's and were in service maybe till the end of 90's (till the batteries died, replacements were not available anymore and the fluorescents took over). Sad I do not have even any pictures of these, it really looked like some DYI construction...
Then the generally common fluorescent start to dominate the new installation and generally the technologies become the same as elsewhere...

The centralised system here existed in buildings in the 50s, but apparently was dropped in favor of self contained units ith NiCd's allready by the 70s

In air raid shelters, the centralised system was still being installed up to the end of the 90s or so (in the 80s/90s in addition to the self contained units), using ordinary bulkheads and E27 24V lamps (most common) or automotive 12V or 24V lamps (rare)

Centralized batteru systems were most common as in small buildings it was not previously required to have any sort of emergency lighting. Most common was 24v but some bigger systems used 48v.

In last 10-15 years the coming of leds have made systems with fixture integrated batteries somewhat more common. There are also hybrid systems where fixtures are fed with back upped dc but still featuring fixture integrated battery. I think this is due to more strict regulations which demand things like how the system works in a situations like when building is on fire. Feed of emergency fixtures have to be done with fire resistant cable.

I visited a lighthouse near here a few years ago and they had 48 volt lighting in all the important areas of the building it was fed from a central battery bank in the main intake room also the main lamp and navigation lamps were doubled up with a battery lamp and mains lamp available

For a classic German "Ausgang" sign try this search engine link.

This is what UK regulations call Maintained Emergency Luminaires: They are always on and have to be. German regulations (I don't know if the situation in the UK is different in this regard) require them in places of assembly beyond the "exit" signs also for orientation lights, in particular on steps where these always-on lights can be one of the characteristics that distinguish a venue also with the auditorium unlit.

Such venues of course have also today a central power source for the safety lights. At a glance common voltages besides 24 V appear to be also 48, 60 and 216 V. From batteries of course, so always DC.

One of these would look very nice over our front door, pointless really but it would be great to have one.