SECREThistory
Sixty years of Wembley With seven cinemas, a grand ballroom, sustainable transport and affordable housing, the Wembley of the past almost sounds like the Wembley of the future. Words by PHILIP GRANT. Images from BRENT ARCHIVES. To commemorate their 60th anniversary the Wembley History Society takes us back to visit the Wembley we knew more than half a century ago. Back, in 1952 around 131,000 people lived in the borough of Wembley. Trolley buses, fuelled by electricity from overhead wires, ran along the high road, which was a top shopping destination for surrounding areas. Wednesday was ‘early closing day’, when shops shut at 1pm and only newsagents opened for a few hours on Sundays. Housing, much like today, was one of the borough’s top priorities following the Second World War. Prefabs provided temporary homes for 350 families and the council was rapidly building hundreds more
decent homes to rent. At that time, if you had the money, you could buy a house in Wembley for £3,000. Although Wembley Stadium was the home of football, local people knew it better for greyhound racing. The nearby Empire Pool (now Wembley Arena) was home to the Lions Ice Hockey team as well as spectacular ice shows in winter and a host of indoor sporting events. There were also seven cinemas, including the Majestic on the high road which housed a ballroom. Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953 saw many families buying or renting television sets for the first time. When ITV became Britain’s second TV channel in 1955, the studios for London’s weekday ITV company, Associated-Rediffusion,
opened at Wembley Park. In fact, Wembley 60 years ago had more industry than it does now, with major factories operating in the area including G.E.C.’s laboratory whose research in the 1950’s paved the way for computers and mobile telephones. But with exciting regeneration plans in action will the Wembley of today bear any resemblance to Wembley 60 years on? Find out more at the Wembley History Society 60th Anniversary Exhibition, at Brent Town Hall Library 25 February - 25 March or come to the Chatabout Wembley’s History event Tuesday 13 March at 11am, visit www.brent.gov.uk/libraries or call 020 8937 3500.
FEBRUARY / MARCH 2012
THE BRENT MAGAZINE
27