Long and winding road of transport revolution

Charabancs crammed so full with people they look ready to topple over; a man and boy messing around on a bicycle; and the vehicles used by the emergency services all feature in the latest exhibition that Mr Black is putting together.

He has built up an impressive collection of images and his latest project sees him focus on transport from the penny farthing to space travel.

“Some of the images have very interesting stories to tell,” Mr Black says. One image features Wakefield’s own fireboat, the Salamander, converted from a ship’s lifeboat in the 1930s, for use on the River Calder. It was transferred to the National Fire Service in 1941.

“How many people realise that Wakefield had a fireboat, the Salamander?” Mr Black said.

“Its just so interesting. The little snippets of stuff that come out are amazing, like the Salamander.

“There was also a fire station where they had to have an agreement with the lady opposite that she would open her window so that they could swing round so the ladder could go through her window and they could get out because it was a narrow street.

“If she was not in they had to break her window and repair it later,” Mr Black added.

Mr Black, 70, from Wakefield, who is behind the website www.a-window-to-your-past.com is putting together an event at Davie Fine Art Gallery, in Tickhill, Doncaster, which will feature more than 80 photographs, featuring different modes of transport, original art and memorabilia.

It takes place between September 9 and 24 and will support the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and on September 9 and 10 will support the Heritage Open Days weekend.

Other images in the collection include police cars and motorbikes, fire engines, with officers stood proudly by their vehicle’s side. They provide a fascinating insight into the changing face of the emergency services.

When the West Riding Police decided to buy its first vehicles it opted for a Crossley, which was used by the county’s chief constable and a Morris Cowley, owned by the assistant chief constable.

In the 1920s, police chiefs bought 20 motorcycle combinations, used to deliver letters and information between different stations and departments.

Another snapshot features a vehicle pulled up outside a trade stand for the Yorkshire Post and our sister paper, the Yorkshire Evening Post. Men are gathered around as a billboard offers lunchtime cricket scores for the Yorkshire match.

Mr Black believes it dates back the 1920s and could possibly have been snapped at the Great Yorkshire Show.

He worked in marketing before his retirement, and has always had a keen interest in local history. He estimates he has close to a 1,000 photographs in his collection, but he also has links with other local enthusiasts and museums who help him out.

One man even donated a box, crammed full of old images, to Mr Black.

He said: “I do think that photographs are an important thing and the people in them are only just a small part of it. You get so much because you can physically see the buildings, the companies, all sorts of things, and let’s face it, people could be laughing at the type of transport that we are riding around in the future.”

He hopes his evolving collection and his website, when it is completed, may be of use to schools and future generations to help them learn a little about the past.

There is very little known about some photographs and he hopes in future people may be persuaded to write one or two notes with pictures, bearing in mind they may be of interest to future historians, and old images still have a real pull for members of the public keen to know more about the past.

“You do find at every exhibition people will come in and say ‘oh that’s my granddad or that’s so and so’.

“People are absolutely fascinated with old photographs,” Mr Black added.

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