I have something remarkable coming up on the blog tomorrow, a film I’ve been tracking down for a while, and thanks to the immense generosity and kindness of local history stalwarts Brian ‘Clayhanger Kid’ Stringer and the Young David Evans, I can present it here on the net for the community to share and debate.
I’m going to give you just a taste while I prepare this material for the blog. 30 minutes of cinefilm footage of Brownhills around 1960. There are canals. Kids at school. The Library. The High Street. Trains. Loads of things, all caught in colour amateur footage converted from celluloid film.
We need readers help. There are unrecognised places and faces. We needed to know more about this remarkable bit of history. Exactly who made it, how it came to be lost and found again So stand by to be astounded.
I’d particularly like to thank David who spent ages ripping and uploading this video to dropbox, which isn’t really his natural environment. What a star he is.
For now, I’ll leave you with some video stills; they’re not representative of the image quality, which is much better as video.
The very last moments of Middleton House Club – and later, some stunning images of members inside it’s replacement.
Mind how you go. A copper leaves the old police station in Church Road, his bike waiting.
I’ve wanted to see images of this for ages. The old bandstand, in Holland Park. as ugly as I remember. We sheltered from the rain in there as kids.
We think these kids are at Shire Oak School. Anyone you know? Lots of footage of woodwork, basket weaving, cookery and typing classes.
This is much better on video. A steam train rumbles through Brownhills station. How fab is this?