A view of 8 and 10 Durham Road, Wolviston c1976. (10 Sundial House Farm grade II listed).
Durham Road, Wolviston c1976
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Monthly Archives: November 2018
55 – 57 High Street, Yarm c1985
Dobson & Stokoe Ltd, Barons Antiques and Sunderland & Shields Building Society on Yarm High Street c1985.
ICI Billingham c1970
Imperial Chemicals Company (ICI) was founded in December 1926, from the merger of four companies: Brunner Mond, Nobel Explosives, United Alkali Company, and British Dyestuffs Corporation. This joint-merger was to enable the British chemicals industry to compete worldwide with DuPont Chemicals, USA, and IG Farben Chemicals, Germany. (I G Farben was dissolved in 1945/46) the new ICI company produced chemicals,explosives, fertilisers, insecticides, dyestuffs, non-ferrous metals, and paints. ICI played a key role in manufacturing Perspex, Dulux paints, polyethylene and Terylene, and in a joint venture with Courtaulds Ltd, they produced Nylon. The first trading year the turnover was £27 million. In the 1940s and 50s, the company established its famous pharmaceutical business and developed a number of key fabric products including Crimplene. In 1962, ICI developed the controversial herbicide, paraquat. Early pesticide development included Gramoxone, an efficient herbicide that apart from killing weeds also killed insects and worms. From 1982 to 1987, the company was led by the charismatic John Harvey-Jones. In June 2007, the Dutch firm AkzoNobel (owner of Crown Berger paints) bid £7.2 billion for ICI. The initial bid was rejected by the ICI board. However, a subsequent bid for £8 billion was accepted in August 2007. Completion of the takeover of ICI by AkzoNobel was announced on 2 January 2008. As we all know the main ICI plants were situated in Billingham and Wilton. At one time ICI industries employed 60 000 staff.
Details courtesy of Bob Wilson. Photo © Ben Brooksbank (cc-by-sa/2.0)
Mill Lane Juniors c1955
A photograph of children of Mill Lane Junior school in their final year before going on to senior school c1955. Who can you name?
Photograph and details courtesy of Ken Pitchford.
Johnny Longstaff of Thorpe Street, Stockton c1934
Here is a photograph of my father John Edward Longstaff from Thorpe Street, Stockton at the age of 15. It was taken two weeks before he joined the 1934 hunger march to London.
Photograph and details courtesy of Duncan Longstaff.
Scottish Union at Stockton Railway Station
This is a photograph of a Class A1 locomotive 60125 ‘Scottish Union’ at Stockton Railway Station with a Newcastle bound express, taken in the 1960’s. The recently built steam locomotive ‘Tornado’ is based on this design.
Photograph and details courtesy of Ken Kitching.
Billingham Town Centre, late 1960s
When I was a schoolboy in the early 1950s I remember the excitement of the new shops being built, initially where the photographer was standing was a road known as Queensway, there were only shops along the right hand side of this photograph, the building at the bottom was yet to be built, if you could have stood in the same spot in 1953 you would be able to see along the length of Roseberry Road as far as Wolviston Road/ Billingham Bypass, if you were to walk to the fence alongside the bypass and look across the open land you would see the “Russian’s” farm on Sandy Lane, the next village would be Thorpe Thewles, amazingly if you stood in the same spot now you would see the “Russians” farm is no more and the land is a golf course but there are still open fields, woodland and meadows as far as Thorpe, this area was my playground as I was growing up.
Photograph and details courtesy of Bruce Coleman.
Stockton Medal
Was this medal given to commemorate the Coronation of King George V and Queen Mary on June 22 1911? The back of the medal has ‘Councillor M. Robinson, JP Mayor of Stockton-on-Tees’.
Photographs courtesy of Val Waites.
Remembrance Parade, Thornaby 2018
Derek Brittain met Alan Huitson again! There was a good turn out for the Remembrance Parade led by the Billingham Silver Band on Sunday 11th November.
Photographs and details courtesy of Derek Brittain.
Stockton KGH Football Team
A photograph of the Stockton KGH Football Team (date unknown) with the Stockton Sunday League Cup after a 1-0 victory over Oxbridge Hotel to complete a League and Cup double.
Back Row: P. McAbe, D. Munt, S. Mallaby, P. Hodgekiss, ??, P. McDermotroe, T. Churchill, ??, P.Philips, A. Jones, A Kidd, ??. Front Row: S. Seymour, D. Smiddy, J. Louden, T. Smith and son, D. Wing.
Stockton Railway Sheds Home Guard
In the Second World War many places of work had their own detachment of the Home Guard and Stockton Railway Sheds were one of them. My grandfather Thomas Wybert Birtle spent most of his working life at the Stockton Sheds and he was made sergeant for their section. He’d served in the Great War finishing up at as a sergeant in the HLI (Highland Light Infantry) so they were making good use of his experience.
During the war years he was permanent nights running foreman which from all accounts was a demanding role.
Photograph and details courtesy of Martin Birtle.
Billingham South Infant School, 1953
This is a class photograph taken at Billingham South Infant School on Belasis Lane in 1953. Who do you recognise?
Photograph and details courtesy of Joe Pearson.
Shops on Stockton High Street c1985
The photograph includes the frontages of Callers-Pegasus, Pizzaland and the Leeds Permanent Building Society. Taken December 1985.
54th Searchlight Regiment, R.A., T.A. Norton Drill Hall, pre WW2
Photographs showing the 413 Searchlight BTY. My father Wm. Chas. Corner served.
Photographs and details courtesy of Malcolm Corner.
Haverton Hill From On High c1950s
This shot was taken somewhere in ICI from a lofty vantage point. The road running from left to right is Belasis Avenue. There appears to be a couple of cars parked in one of the streets and very little else, I think this dates it to the mid 1950s…
Photograph and details courtesy of Bruce Coleman.