Welcome to aspecial publication to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Express &Star,astory that began in November 1874.
We cannot possibly recordevery twist and turn of those years here, but we hope to provide you an interesting snapshot of each decade and the news stories that defined them. And we also recordhow the Express &Star developed, from its first publication, to advances in technology and on to our current digital age.
It has been an honour for me to be connected to this newspaper for morethan 20 years. Over that time therehas been much change, but the influence of the Express &Star remains and we continue to strivetocoverour region responsibly, accurately and in an entertaining fashion.
The newspaper came about because of the vision of Thomas Graham, a successful young businessman with ataste for radical politics, and his friend Andrew Carnegie, who conveniently happened to be one of the richest men in the world and who wanted to dip his toe into publishing.
The Graham family fully controlled the paper for morethan 140 years, turning it into the biggest selling regional newspaper in the country.
In that time they brought in arevolution in publishing, including colour printing some 20 years beforeFleet Street caught up. In 1978, the Express &Star transformed the newspaper industry, with the arrival of the fully computerised newsroom, and it is nowembracing the digital age with awebsite that features video reports as well as words and pictures.
Today, the website has hundreds of thousands of online viewers each day and thousands subscribe to its premium Express &Star Plus service, which provides exclusiveonline material.
The futureisbright –and Ihope you enjoythis look back through the years.
While London borebrunt of air strikes in Blitz, the Black Country didn’t escape scot-free
1950-1960.................................PAGE 54
Marking the loss of a‘reluctant King’ and celebrating the Coronation of the new Queen Elizabeth
1960-1970.................................PAGE 60
FabFour’slow-key appearance in the Black Country beforeBeatlemania swept throughout the world
1970-1980.................................PAGE 64
Terrorism blasts that rocked the heart of Birmingham and changed the city for ever
1980-1990................................PAGE 69
On-field success followedbyturbulent times off the pitch for our major football clubs
1990-2000.................................PAGE 74
Heroic nursery nurse Lisa Potts badly injured defending infants from horrific classroom attack
2000-2010................................PAGE 78
Everlasting ‘girl in the mask’ image that came from the London bombings
2010-2020................................PAGE 83
Politics in chaos –four general elections, four prime ministers and three referenda
2020-2024................................PAGE 88
Death of Queen Elizabeth, the Coronation of Charles and impact of the Covid pandemic
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Railway workers present Sister Dorawithapony and carriage in June 1873, asignofthe loveand respectthe region had for her
TOWN FALLS SILENT FORSISTER DORA
FUNERAL BROUGHT TOWN TO ASTANDSTILL AS RESIDENTS MOURNED LOSS OF NURSE WHO PUT HER LIFE ON THE LINE TO HELP PATIENTS AMID THE GRIP OF CHOLERA EPIDEMIC IN TOWN
Itmay have been an exaggeration to say you could hear apin drop, but the town was certainly eerily quiet.
The factories fell silent. Thousands of hardened railwaymen and labourers struggled to keep astiff upper lip as they fought back the tears at the news of Dora’s untimely death. The hard-nosed Victorian industrialists, not normally known for allowing their workers to desert their labours, knew better than to crack thewhiponthis occasion
Thefuneral of Dorothy Pattison, or Sister Dora, as she was better known, was aspectacle unlike anythingWalsall had seen before.
After the official procession entered the cemetery,the gates were closed behind, but so desperate were the masses to see her last moments,that the masses who had been shut out broke them down. Despite this, it is said that they all
Sister Dorapicturedataround 1870
remained quiet and respectful as she was laid to rest.
In 1875, within months of thelaunch of the Evening Express, Walsall had been
gripped by acholera epidemic, and Sister Dora had put her life on the line to treat infected patients.
As the epidemic gripped the town, aspecial hospital was set up in the unfortunately named Deadman’s Lane –now sensibly renamed Hospital Street –where Sister Dora worked for six months, risking her own life to treat infected patients. Many credited her work during this time, and her obsession with cleanliness in particular,topreventing the town from being over-run by the disease.
But it was breast cancer rather than cholera which ultimately took Sister Dora’s life at the age of 46
Her death came as ashock to her thousands of patients, from whom she had carefully concealed her illness.
Her funeral, on December 28,1878, brought Walsall to astandstill as her coffin was carried through thetown.
Her personal life had been a
somewhat messy affair,marred by a controllingfather,a troubled family and a complicated love life in her youth
And some of the horrors she experienced during her 14 years as anurse at the height of the Industrial Revolution would have left many people traumatised.
Sister Dora arrived in Walsall in January,1865, called to replace another nun who hadbeen taken ill.
She initially went to work at Walsall’s first tiny hospital in Bridge Street, before later moving to the cottage hospital at The Mount.
Industrial accidents were very common at this time, and in Walsall railway workers in particular found themselves in need of hospitaltreatment. In her early days, many working-class men in the town were suspicious of the sisters, believing they would take advantage of the patients’ dependence on them to further their message.
But Dora proved adept at winning them over,demonstrating atolerance of their prejudices and areadiness to nurse patients in need of care, regardless of how they responded to her dress or beliefs.
She prayed for her patients as well as nursing them, butnever used the influence given to her to press her faith on them.
Acombination of Dora’soutstanding medical skills, coupled with hercheery but no-nonsense manner,led to her developing agreat bond of friendship with
many of her patients, and the railwaymen in particular
So great was their love for the nurse, that these modestly paid rail workers managed to raise £50 to pay for apony and open carriage so thatDora could more easily visit her housebound patients. Adozen of her former patients turned out in their best suits to present her with the carriage in June, 1873.
To begin with, Dora was not welltrained or knowledgeable, even by the standards of the day.But eager to know more, she took every opportunity to learn the latest techniques, and had no problem finding doctors willing to share their skills –and theirworkload –with her
Dora was notably skilled at removing foreign bodies from eyes, and ran alarge outpatient clinic where she dealt with many cases without reference to doctors.
She became, in effect, ahouse surgeon and was so competent that she was pressed by one of the doctors with whom she worked to move to Edinburgh where she could have trained as adoctor.
But, unwilling to tear herself away from the community she had grown to love.
The following year,aninfection closed the hospital at The Mount,around the same time as an explosion at an ironworks which left many men with horrificinjuries.
The hospital moved to temporary accommodation rented from the London
North-Western Railway in Bridgeman Place, overlooking the town’s station.
During 1876, Sister Dora attended 12,127 patients, and it is thought the workload which seriously affected her health. In 1877 shecontracted breast cancer
She continued to work, keeping the illness asecret, and when shewas no longer able to tend to the patients, she went to London to study Joseph Lister’s controversial new work with antiseptics which she was convinced would be the future of medical care.
She ordered that all these new measures, which are now basic medical practice, would be implemented in Walsall shortly before her death on Christmas Eve, 1878.
While the affection which the town held for Sister Dora was largely down to her bedside manner,that was not the full extent of her work.
She was also an extremely shrewd hospital manager and an adept politician. No doubt influenced by her austere youth, she was highly skilled at ensuring her hospital made the most of its limited funds.
Great use was made of student nurses, who not only worked very hard for the hospital, but alsopaid for the privilege of doing so. Relations were always strained between the doctors and the great-andthe-good in charge of the hospital, but Dora had aknackofstriking abalance
Police in Upper Bridge Street beneath Sister Doraarchfor unveiling of her statue
Sister Dora’ssimple graveatthe cemetery in Queen Street, Walsall. The working men of the town considered it too modest, and raised money for astatue; the order of service.
that kept both sides happy.But while the railwaymen, factory workers and shopkeepers turned up in their droves to pay their respects on acoldDecember day, one man was conspicuous by his absence.
Her elder brother Mark, who had been atower of strength to young Dorothy as she sought to escape the abuse of their controlling father,turned his back on his sister when she decided to become anurse –heconsidered such work to be beneath amemberofhis family.He refused to attend her funeral.
The working men who did attend her funeral saw things rather differently, though.
They decided that her modest gravestone was not a fitting memorial, and
began an appeal to pay for astatue in the town.
It took seven years to collect the £1,200 to pay for an 8ft white marble statue of Dora, most of the money coming in small sums from works collectingboxes. The statue, mounted on aplinth, was unveiled in 1886 –inaceremony which itself was asight to behold.
Each January,the town of Walsall marks Sister Dora’sbirthday with a service of thanksgiving at her statue in The Bridge.
The coronavirus may have led to ‘Clap for Carers’, but the truthispeople in Walsall have been doing it for decades.
Chance meeting of pair in train
Fresh from alively visit to the Liberal Club in central London, Thomas Graham clambered aboardthe train back to his adopted home town of Wolverhampton.
As he took his seat, he found himself sharing acompartment with afellow Scot, and the two got on famously from the outset. As they chatted on the journey north, they both shared their visions for adifferent Britain, rooted in progressivepolitics. And they both agreed that the most effectiveway of furthering their Liberal cause was through the emerging newspaper industry.
Thomas Graham, still in his 20s, was asuccessful and respected local businessman, having bought a bacon-curing business in Wadhams Hill, Wolverhampton, in 1862. Andrew Carnegie, six yearshis senior was the richest man in the world. He had movedtoPittsburgh in the United States as achild, had made his fortune in the steel industry, and became known around the world for his philanthropy. Herewas aman not merely interested in wealth,but also had aburning desiretouse hismoney to change the world order Graham, moreconsidered and moderate, had reservations about some of Carnegie’s ambitions, but the two nevertheless became firm friends. November 1874 saw the launch of the paper that would become the Express &Star,the Wolverhampton Evening Express. Suffice to say, it wasn’t to Graham’staste at all. Safe, cautious, and staunchly Conservative, it was the opposite of the radical vision that Graham had for anewspaper.But what would he do about it? He had the business nous, friends in high places, and afabulously wealthyally. All he needed nowwas aplanofaction....
The annual celebration of Sister Dora’sbirthday,pictured in January 1966
Andrew Carnegie
•
BEGINNINGS OF A FOOTBALL LEAGUE
MEETING IN THE BLACK COUNTRY SOWED THE SEEDS FOR THE FORMATION OF AFOOTBALL LEAGUE WITH SOME OF OURREGION’S TEAMS INVOLVED FROMTHE VERY START
Frustrated by the cancellation of his football team’s matches, a West Midland draper convened a meeting in March 1888 with the organisers of his rival clubs.
William McGregor,chairman of Aston Villa, could never have envisaged the impact this meeting would have on the game.
His proposal, that adozen clubs in the Midlands and North should form a formal league, with pre-agreed fixtures and acompetitivescoring system, paved the way for game’s transformation from an informal pastime for local church groups into amulti-billion global industry
The launch of this newspaper in 1874 coincidedwith the formation of the region’s two oldest professional clubs –Aston Villa and Walsall Town –and footballhas been at the heart of thepaper right from the start.
Wolves were formed three years later in 1877, followed by West Bromwich
Albion in 1878, putting the West Midlands verymuch at the centre of the emerging new sport.
The first meeting involved representatives from Villa, Albion, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers and Preston North End.
But ultimately the embryonic league would also include Wolves, Stoke, Accrington Stanley,Burnley,Derby County,Everton and Notts County
McGregor initially proposed the competition should be called the Association Football Union, but fellow members considered this too similar to the Rugby Football Union.
The name Football League was proposed by Major William Sudell, who represented Preston, and was quickly agreed by the other members.
The first season began on September 8, although the pointssystem was not agreed until November.The format was that each of the 12 clubs would play each
William McGregor,FootballLeague founder
The 1888-89 FA Cup runners up Wolves squad,who were yettowear old gold. They lost to Preston, who achieved the first double in English football.
other twice, home and away,with atotal of 22 games throughout the season.
It was initially suggested that clubs should get asingle point for awin, and nothing for adraw,but it was eventually decided that there would be two points for awin,and one point for adraw,a system that would remain in place until 1981. Goal average –goals scored divided by the number of goals conceded –would be used to separate teams that tied on points. Tenofthe 12 teams took part in the opening day of the season. No league table was published that day,but if there had been, West BromwichAlbion would have been the league leaders thanks to a 2–0 at Stoke in front of 4,500spectators.
Villa defender Gershom Cox was believed to have scored the firstgoal in league football, although it is not an honour he would have wanted –he scored an own goal in a1-1 draw with Wolves. There is some dispute about who scored the first intentional goal, with haphazard kick-off times making it hard to know exactly
England and Bolton winger Kenny Davenport is generally now credited with
Sightseeing tour led to birth of E&S
Aline-up of the West Bromwich Albion team that beat Aston Villa 3-0 to win
the accolade, scoring two minutes into a match against Derby County
The first league table was published in Cricket and Football Field on September 15. Since the pointssystem had not yet been introduced, the teams were listed in alphabetical order.The season ended on April 20, 1889, with Preston–who went the whole season without defeat –finishing the runaway leaders. Villa and Wolves –then playing in red and white stripes –took second and third places respectively,while Albion finished sixth. Stoke took the wooden spoon.
Preston also beat Wolves 3-0 in the FA Cup Final that season, notching up the first ‘double’.
The rules said that the bottom four teams would be required reapply for their membership at the league’s annual meeting, where they would stand for election against teams which wished to join. Stoke, Notts County,Derby and Burnley all retained their places at the first annual meeting, but the following season Stoke were replace by Sunderland. Stoke were readmitted two years ago when the league was extended to 14 teams.
They called themselves the ‘Gay Charioteers’. In June, 1881, Andrew Carnegie, and agroup of American friends, disembarked at Liverpool for an 18-day tour of Great Britain. They headed for Brighton, wherethey stayed at the Grand Hotel, and picked up ahorse-drawn coach that would takethem via Oxford, Stratford-uponAvon and Wolverhampton, and then up to Inverness.
They were joined by Thomas Graham, who had put the itinerary together For Graham, therewas an additional motive. Ayear before, afriend had launched the Midland Counties Evening Star,anew Liberal newspaper printed from Horseley Fields. He wanted Carnegie to buy both the Evening Star,and the Conservativesupporting Evening Express.
According to Carnegie’s biography: “His talks with Thomas Graham convinced Carnegie that ajournalistic venturesuchasGraham was promoting would not only be ideologcally gratifying, but would prove to be money-making as well’”.
Carnegie and Graham were pleased with the purchase they did make, finding aready niche in the market as sales quickly brokethe 10,000 barrier, and the pair revelled in the angry letters from readers horrified by the newpaper’sradical political stance.
In 1883, Midland News Association Ltd was formed, with Andrew Carnegie and Samuel Storey as its principal shareholders. The following year,it bought the Evening Express, now based from Queen Street, for the knockdown price of £20,000. The two titles were merged to form the Evening Express &Star.Andrew Meikle was appointed editor,arole he would hold for 37 years until his death.
the FA Cup in 1892
Thomas Graham had avision
LEEKES CONTINUING LEGACY OF COLE’S
For decades, Cole’s Home Furnishings was highly regarded for offering quality furniture and home furnishings by the local community
As amuch-loved, family-run business, Cole’s built its reputation on offering exceptional customer service, thoughtfully curated products, and its strong local connections. Fifteen years after Leekes purchased the business, we celebrate this milestone by exploring the rich histories of both brands and how their shared values andoffering continue to resonate with customers today
Cole’s
Home Furnishings
Founded in the mid-20th century,Cole’s Home Furnishings quickly established itself as ago-to destination for well-crafted furnitureand exceptional levels of customer service. The Cole’s founders believed in treating customers like family,ensuring that each visitor received personalised service. Locals would recall walking into the store to be greeted by name, with team members remembering details of their previous purchases.
More than just afurniture shop, Cole’s was an integral part of the community sponsoringlocal events, supporting charitable causes, and hiring locally,ensuring that its success benefited the broader region. These community connections, along with areputation for high-quality furnishings, made Cole’s amuch-loved institution.
The arrival of Leekes
When the time came for the founding family to retire, it was crucial that the new owners shared the same values. In Leekes, they found the perfect match. Established in 1897, Leekes is another family-owned business with along history of providing
premium products and excellent service to its customers. Originally starting as an ironmonger in the South Wales valleys, Leekes expanded into providing awide range of products for every room in the home in its award-winning home department stores.
The Leeke family shared the founders’ commitment to personalised service and deep community engagement. Like Cole’s, Leekes has built its business on providing home inspiration, supplying quality products from the best brands at competitive prices and the highest level of personal service to itscustomers. This alignment of values made Leekes the natural successor to carry on Cole’s legacy
What Leekes offers today
Leekes offers alarge variety of products to inspire you as you plan your home updates. Their vast furniture selection spans everything from classic to contemporary styles and leading sofa, dining, and bed brands such as Stressless, GPlan Upholstery,Ercol, Parker Knoll, La-Z-Boy, Sleepeezee,Tempur and more, ensuring that there’s something for everyone. In addition to furniture and carpets, Leekes carries an extensive range of home accessories, dining and cookware, and outdoor living products, perfect for homeowners looking to refresh their space.
Leekes is also known for itscustomerfocused services, including free design consultations to help you create the perfect living environment. Their experts work with you to find the ideal layout and design for your dream kitchen, bathroom, or bedroom. Whether you’re updating asingle room or furnishing an entire house, their expert team provides advice and design know-how and makes the process simple and enjoyable.
Visit Leekes
The legacy of Cole’s lives on through Leekes, abrand that has carried forward the same commitment to community and excellence. With an incredible selection of home furnishings and exceptional customer service, the Bilston team invites you to visit and experience first-hand the perfect blend of tradition and modernity.Whether you’re along-time local or new to thearea, ourhelpful experts are ready to help you create ahome you’ll love, so join us as we celebrate our 15th year of proudly serving the community
n Visit thestore in Great Bridge Road, Bilston, WV14 8LB or thewebsite at www.leekes.co.uk
providesthebestof Britishmadefurniture, o eringfantasticdeals throughouttheshowroom. Withareputationof providingcustomerswith ne ualityfurniture.
NEWSPAPER’S 20TH ANNIVERSARY COINCIDED WITH THE LAUNCH OF AN EXCITING NEW VENUE THATWOULD SHAPE THE ENTERTAINMENT SCENE IN THE AREA FOR DECADES TO COME
The autumn of 1894was a time of double celebration in Wolverhampton.Not only was the town’s premier evening newspaper marking its 20th anniversary, but Wolverhampton was also celebrating the launch of an exciting new venue that would shape the town’s entertainment scene for the next 130 years.
December 1894 marked the opening of Wolverhampton Grand Theatre.
And the longevity of theGrand is all the more remarkable for the factthatit was built without afoundation –literally
“Back then, the lifespan of atheatre wasjust 20 or 30 years,” says chief executive, Pete Cutchie. “They thought it wouldn’t last, or would maybe be moved elsewhere.
“There are foundations at the back of the building now,but there are no foundations under the front part of the building. It was built on demolished farm buildings –it’samazing thatwe’re still here.”
The Grand was the final piece of
what would today be billed as an ‘urban regeneration scheme’, but the PR wasn’t so slick in the1890s.
Over the previous decade or so, anew road had been laid linking Queen Square to the railway station, which was named Lichfield Street.
The town’s new art gallery had opened in 1884, followed by the Victoria Hotel in 1890.Then, in 1894,work began on the final piece of the jigsaw –a glittering new theatre that would bring some of the biggest names in the world to the growing industrial town.
The Grand was not the firsttheatre in Wolverhampton, but it was theone that would stand the test of time. Most Victorian-era theatres were built with an expected shelf life of 20 or 30 years, but the Grand still forms the cornerstone of Wolverhampton’s night life some 130 years later.
Wolverhampton NewTheatre Company was formed in February 1894 by Mayor of Wolverhampton Charles TMander,with prominent surveyor
and auctioneer TJBarnett also on the board. The foundation stone was laid by Mander’s wife, the mayoress, on June28, formingpart of back wall of thefoyer
Architect Charles Phipps had been broughtintodesignthe £10,000 building, and construction work was entrusted to localbuilder Henry Gough. It was completed at break-neck speed, the theatre being finished within six months and 11 days.
The Grand boasted an imposing 123ft frontage, including four shops, but the design was quite understated for by the standards of the 1890s, when flamboyant mock-Gothic architecture was all the rage.
Shortly before opening, areporter was taken behind the scenes for asneak preview by acting manager Mr Garrett, who declared ‘without fear or favour that the househas no superior in or out of London’.
The journalist praised the spacious dressing rooms, the stage machinery and the flytower that rose 56ft above the stage. He was also excited to learn that the
The Grand once had acapacityofmorethan 2,000 and soon became popular,withfull audiences for its shows after its opening in December 1894
first manager would be Mr EHBull, who had been involved with the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company for the previous seven years.
Bull certainly knew how to make the most of the occasion, staging not one, but two opening ceremonies.
The first, a‘tour of inspection’,took place on December 8, and attracted 400 visitors. But the real curtain raiser came on December 10,with D’Oyly Carte’s production of Utopia Limited by Gilbert &Sullivan. Queues stretched down Lichfield Street for the unreserved sixpenny seats in the gallery,with many customers being turned away.
Not so, the great and the good, mind. In those days, theatres were divided along class lines, with the grand circle seats reserved for the upper echelons of society, so there was no need to queue with the hoi-polloi. During the evening, Bull came onto the stage and asked everyone present: “Are you satisfied with this beautiful theatre?” “Weare!” was the boisterous response from the cheap seats, whilethe
gentry in the dress-circle expressed their approval with apolite nod.
However,everyone applauded when Bull read out atelegram from renowned West End actor and theatre manager Henry Irving, which said: “May every success attend you.”
The first night at theGrand attracted a2,151 capacity crowd, andrave reviews from thecritics.
“A brilliant first night, when representatives of all that is artistic and musical and intellectual, gathered together in apacked house for the first performance,” wrote areporter who attended the show.
Like most theatres, the Grand has had its lean years –itclosed twice during the 1970s and 80s, and at one point it looked unlikely to survive.
But while most of the surrounding theatres bit the dust along time ago, the Grand continues to pull in customers from all around the region. Like the Express &Star,the Grand has stood the test of time.
Carnegie starts to lose his faith
While Thomas Graham had finally achieved his dream of bringing the town’s two main newspapers together, his partnership with Andrew Carnegie was becoming strained.
The American was frustrated that his papers did not seem to be landing the political blows he hoped for,and also that they were losing money.
Graham, whose commitment to Carnegie’s firebrand politics was never morethan lukewarm, was also very awareofthe risksofalienating too many of the Conservative-leaning readers inherited from the Evening Express. Besides, the political tide in the UK was turning against radical liberalism, with Queen Victoria’s popularity at an all-time high. Gladstone’s Liberal government collapsed in 1895, and pragmatist Graham concluded that if the newspapers were to remain viable, they needed to appeal to awide crosssection of the population.
He had been happy to use the Evening Star to call for the abolition of the House of Lords, but any thoughts of backing calls for the abolition of the monarchy was clearly astep too far Carnegie began to question why he had put his money into the newspapers, and was particularly critical of Graham’sleadership.
“Carnegie had burned his fingers,” wrote long-serving Express &Star featurewriter Peter Rhodes in his history of the newspaper,The Loaded Hour
“He had misjudged the mood of the age and overestimated both the enthusiasm of the people for revolution and his owncharisma for bringing it about.” It was time to cut his losses, and get out.
Wolverhampton mayor Sir Charles Mander
The distinctivetheatre, with its safety curtain filled with colourful adverts from the day
EXPRESS &STARMARKED THE DEATH OF QUEEN VICTORIA WITH ASPECIAL EDITION FOR MONARCH WHO HAD VISITEDTHE CITY AFTER THE LOSS OF HER BELOVED PRINCE ALBERT
InJanuary, 1901, aspecial edition of the Express &Star carried the newspaper’s biggest news story to date –the death of Queen Victoria.
While the death of an ailing 81-yearold would not normally comeasa massive surprise, this was different.
Victoria had been on thethrone for almost 64 years, and at atime when the average life expectancy of aman was just 45 years, comparativelyfew people could remember atime before Victoria.
The death of the Queen, on January 22, sparked an outpouring of grief in an area where she was held in great affection.
Her celebrated visit to Wolverhampton in 1866 was her first public appearance since the death of her husbandAlbert.
And just nine monthsbefore her death, she had paid awhistle-stop visit to the town when theroyal train stopped at Low Level station.
The Express &Star, which hadbeen founded on the principle of abolishing the monarchy,had by this time softened
its tone. Victoria was hailed as the greatest Queen in English history,and reported ‘deep gloom’ in Wolverhampton as the nation mourned. Flags were flown at halfmast, and people dressed in black.
The new King, Edward VII, was proclaimed in Wolverhampton, Dudley,
Cannock and West BromwichonJanuary 26, and special church services were held throughout the region to mark her funeral on February 2.
Meanwhile, amovement to give women the vote was gaining traction, with aWolverhampton campaigner playing a leading role.
West Bromwich-bornEmma Sproson, who moved to Wolverhampton as achild, was among 61 women arrested as 700 members of the ‘suffragette’ movement made two unsuccessful attempts to storm theHouses of Parliament in 1907.
Mounted police were called to deal with the first riot in February,and Mrs Sproson was jailed for two weeks, having rejected the opportunity to pay a fine instead.
During her time in Holloway prison, she was buoyed by letters of sympathy from supporters in the town.
Abrass band played outside the jail as she and 28 other suffragettes were arrested on February 27.
Undeterred, she and Elizabeth Price
The West Midlands was saddened by the death of Queen Victoria. Large crowds gathered in public places to hear the proclamation of the death in 1901.
Queen Victoria
were arrested again following another attempted raid on March18, and this time she was jailed for amonth. Mrs Sproson would later go on to become Wolverhampton’s first female councillor
On alighter note, Colonel ‘Buffalo’ Bill Cody created astirwhen he brought his spectacular Wild West Show to the Black Country
Thousands were mesmerised by his spectacular shows in Dudley.They were ambitious affairs and featured 800 people and 500 horses that had been transported across Europe aboard four trains.
But his stay in the town was marred slightly when the showmanhad his prized jewels stolen.
On June 10, 1903, thenewspaper carried an advertisement for Buffalo Bill’s Wild West andCongress of Rough Riders of the World, “headed and personally introduced” by Colonel WFCody
The Colonel deeply impressed the Express &Star reporter
The newspaper article said: “He was wearing the large wideawake hat, from under which whitened locks tumbled like atinysea of foam about his broad shoulders.
“When he shakes hands well, he shakes, that’s all, and looks you full in the face, reading you as aman reads a barometer or amariner’s compass.”
It was described as the biggest show to ever hit town.
But on June 19 the Express &Star reported afresh twist to the visit.
“Buffalo Bill and Dudley –Enriched and Robbed,” was the headline in
the Express &Star.After athrilling description of the show –“Lance exercise by the British troops, sword-play by American cavalry,rocket exercise by a Yankee lifeboat crew”– the reporter told of arobbery
Cody’s jewellery,anintricatediamond encrusted pen –orpin,depending on accounts –given to him by the King, and £3 12s in cash –were stolen from his tent at The Parade Ground in Eve Hill, Dudley
The reputation of the Black Country was questioned but it later emerged it was not alocal, but one of the colonel’s own entourage who was responsible for the theft. The culprit was, it appeared, a Londoner
In between performances, ayoung man called Noel Greenway had taken a photograph of Cody with his secretary, Besse Isbill and his valet William Prizey, sometimes spelled as Puzey or Priney
Aweek later Greenway received a letter from Cody,asking him for the photographic plate, saying he urgently needed acopy of the picture sent to him.
It later emerged that Prizey had gone missing, and was prime suspect for the theft.
Prizey,21, waslater arrested in Chelsea, and brought back to Dudley where he was jailed for six months.
Cody did not appear to have been too distressed by the theft though.
The following day he appeared at Dunstall Park, Wolverhampton, where he appeared before adelighted and adoring crowd of 20,000 people.
New eraaspaper is run by Grahams
In 1902, Andrew Carnegie formally called time on his adventureinthe newspaper industry, some 21 years after taking overthe Evening Star
He handed control of his stakein Midland News Association to Thomas Graham, graciously accepting a promissory note for the sum of £5,000 –about £511,000 at today’sprices –in lieu of payment.
Thereis no recordofGraham paying off the debt, or of Carnegie pursuing it.
The millionairewould later described his time in newspapers as ‘one of the forms in which Imay be said to have sown my wild oats’.
Graham eventually bought out the other partners in the venture, leaving him in sole control, assisted by his sons Norval –known as Norrie –and John Douglas, who was known by his second name.
Douglas Graham painted apictureof anoisy, messy working environment not for the faint-hearted.
“The machine room contained not only two Marinoni open-delivery presses but also agas engine to drivethem and the stereotype foundry,” he said. When it was decided to replace the presses with electrically driven ones, the paper continued to be published beneath atarpaulin roof, while the press room was rebuilt.
As the population of Wolverhampton and its neighbouring towns grew, so did the circulation of the Express & Star,reaching about the 60,000 mark by 1910. Sport was an early success story for the newspaper,with Thomas Graham launching Britain’s first special football edition. In those days, the first edition was printed on white paper,the second one on pink and the final with the results on green.
Suffragette Emma Sproson, who would later go on to become Wolverhampton’s first female councillor
Thomas Graham’sson Norval Graham
OUR STORY
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REGION ROCKED BY TITANICTRAGEDY
IT WASTHE UNSINKABLE SHIP –AND THE LAUNCH OF TITANIC HAD LINKS TO THE BLACK COUNTRY
Hemust have been bursting with pride. The boy from the Black Country was about to entertain someofthe world’s movers and shakers, the rich and the famous, aboard theshipeverybody was talking about.
John Wesley Woodward had been chosen to play thecello on the maiden voyage of RMS Titanic.
He was literally the poster boy for the trip of alifetime, his pictureadorning the promotional material for the firstouting of the ship everyone was talking about.
The largest and most technically modern ship in the world, Titanic blazed atrail for British industry and technology
The vast liner included agymnasium, swimming pool, smoking rooms, fine restaurantsand cafes, aVictorian-style Turkish bath,and hundreds of opulent cabins.
Ahigh-powered radiotelegraph transmitterkept passengers in touch with the outside world, and advanced safety features, such as watertight compartments and remotely activated watertight doors, led to claims that the vessel was ‘unsinkable’.
Maybe it was this hubris which played arole in the inadequate supply of lifeboats aboard the ship.
Tragically,the Titanic’s maiden voyage would be its last, and Woodward was part of the orchestra that went down with the ship, playing Nearer my God to Thee.
On April 14, 1912,the ship that was supposedly unsinkable, sank.
The flagship of the White Star Line left Southampton docks on April 10 to cheers of euphoria, stopping at Cherbourg andQueenstown in Ireland, before heading west towards New York.
About 375 miles south of Newfoundland, the ship struck an iceberg, ripping ahole in five of the16 watertight cells –the ship wasdesigned to withstand damage to four of them. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers and crew aboard, more than 1,500 died, making it one of the worst shipping disasters ever
While the Titanic was built in Belfast
by Harland &Wolff,the giant 15-and-ahalf ton anchor had been made by Noah Hingley and Sons, in Netherton, Dudley The sight of dozens of horses pulling the huge iron casting along the two-mile route to Dudley railway station made for a spectacle that would become part of Black Country folklore.
Birmingham-based APrice &Cohad been awarded the prestigious contract to supply cutlery for the first-classdining rooms.
John Wesley Woodward, usually known by his second name, was born on September 11, 1879, theson of Joseph Woodward, an iron moulder and manager of aholloware factory in West Bromwich, and his wife Martha. The youngest of nine children, he lived in Hawkes Lane in the Hill Topareaofthe town
The32-year-old’s body was never recovered, but he is commemorated on his family’s headstone at Heath Lane Cemetery,inWest Bromwich. Also aboard the ill-fated liner were the Davies brothers from Harwood Street, West Bromwich,and their uncle, James Lester
Alfred Davies, 25, had only married the day before. His older brother had left seven years earlier to make anew life near Detroit and the family was so impressed with what he had achieved they decided they should all move to America.
Alfred, and his brothers John, 23, and Joseph, 17, decided they would head for anew life and were joined by James Lester,from the Sedgley area of Dudley, who had sold his furniture to finance the expedition.
Alfred’s new bride returned to live with her mother as she waited for her husband to become settled.
“The wedding took place at Oldbury Parish Church on Monday and the newly-wedded wife returned to live with her mother,Mrs Cartwright, at Brades Village, until her husband could send for her,” the Star reported.
The four men nearly missed reaching Titanic afterconfusionabout their train times, but they just made it in time for the train from Birmingham. The men wrote letters from both Southampton and Queenstown, where the ship had called,
Anchor of the RMS Titanic at Lloyds testing centreinNetherton,near to Hingley’sIronworks
saying they were enjoying acomfortable passage –and that was the last anybody heard from them.
There was such athing as agood trip on theTitanic, as Johanna Vardon testified.
Her grandmother Barbara LenoxConyngham and family,having visited relatives in Shropshire, boarded the Titanic at Southampton and got off at Cherbourg.
“My grandmother was avery shrewd lady and we were dreadful sailors in the family,soshe absolutely forbade any member of the family to go acrossthe English Channel in anything else but a liner,” said Miss Vardon, from Newport.
“So when she saw an advertisement for the Titanic’s maiden voyage, she decided that was how they would go to France. They were going to see the Bayeux Tapestry and go on to Paris.”
The family party,all with the surname Lenox-Conyngham, also included Barbara’s sister-in-law Alice, her 12-yearold aunt Eileen and Eileen’s 11-year-old brother Denis. All travelled First Class.
Miss Vardon added: “The captain saw the two children coming on boardwith their mother and aunt and said to one of the officers, ‘you see these two children –keep them out of mischief.Why don’tyou take them on acook’s tour?’
A‘cook’s tour’iswhenyou aretaken to see everything on the ship.”
And so it was that two young children had what may have been auniqueview of the opulence and grandeur of the magnificent but ill-fated liner in detail as they took their tour
Miss Vardon said: “I believe my aunt and her brother –and Ibelieve she thought this too–were probably the only persons in the world who had been around the whole of the Titanic on a guided tour before the Titanic was sunk.”
Other people from the West Midlands aboard theship include Tyrell William Cavendish, of Little Onn Hall, Church Eaton, near Stafford, and his Americanborn wife Julia. Mrs Cavendish survived but Mr Cavendish perished along with so many others, perishing in the freezing Atlantic waters.
Wing-powerused to get news first
The most commonplace method of transporting information on news was horse-drawn cab.
But when it came to getting the football results inbeforethe competition, the Express &Star pioneered the use of air travel.
Back in the second decade of the 20th century, therewas only one fastest way for Express &Star sports reporters to dispatch their match reports to the newspaper office –and that was to deploywing-power.
In the yearsbefore the First World War, it was normal practice for sports journalists to collect abasketful of pigeons from the Express &Star loft beforeheadingout to the big match.
While it was generally an effectiveway of getting the dispatches quickly, it had its pitfalls –itwas notunknown for vital sections of the match reports to end up in other countries.
But while the pigeons were all very well for the run-of-the-mill matches, the Express &Star well and truly pushed the boat out of when Wolves caused asensation by reaching the final of the 1908 FA Cup.
The Express &Star made newspaper history by booking atelephone line from the Crystal Palace to bring news of the clash against Newcastle United. Huge crowds gathered in Queen Street in aclamour for the papers. And thanks to the careful pre-planning, the result was known 140 miles away in Wolverhampton long beforeitwas circulated around the ground in the capital London.
Speed was all when it came to getting the papers to the sellers. Horse-andtrap drivers would race to-and-from the railway station.
Outside the offices, sellers would queue impatiently for their copies, and fights would often break out between customers.
“A pretty rough lot they were,” recalled Malcolm Graham.
Apostcardimage of RMS Titanic, aWhite Star Line ship that sailed from Southampton in 1912
Julia Cavendish survived Cellist John Wesley Woodward
The 1908 Wolves FA Cup Final squad
5
Cartmel
MASS GRIEFAFTER METALWORKS BLAST
DUDLEY PORT EXPLOSION SENT SHOCKWAVES ACROSS THE REGION AFTER VICTIMS REVEALED TO BE YOUNG GIRLS AGED BETWEEN 13 AND SIXTEEN EMPLOYED TO DISMANTLE CARTRIDGES
Ina harrowing account of her elder sister Gladys’s last hours, Mary Bryant described the agonyshe endured. “My dear sister was asking for adrink of cocoa,” she was quoted in the Express &Star
“My auntie said to the nurse‘why don’t you give it to her?’ The nurse replied that if she did that, it would just run out of her back.”
With the First World Warhaving ended less than four years before, Britain in 1922 was acountry that hadbeen pretty well hardened to bloodshed.
But the explosion at the LK Knowles metal works at Dudley Port –and perhaps the fact that the victims were all young girls –shocked many.Clive Wygram, equerry to King George V, wrote aletter of condolence on His Majesty’s behalf
The horrificdeath of Gladys Bryant was all the more tragic for the fact that it was very nearly avoided. Her mother Florence had –correctly –concluded that the Knowles metal works was no place for a14-year-old.
Four months pregnant, expecting her third daughter,Mrs Bryant marched
into the works and demanded that her daughter be relieved of her duties. Not aman known for his ethical business practice, her boss nevertheless agreed that Gladys could leave. As the pair headed for the exit, ahuge explosion tore through the building, blowing the roof off
Mrs Bryant was thrown to theground with huge force, leaving her with lifechanging injuries. Gladys was not so lucky.Asher mother spent thenext few minutes groping around on the floor in adazed state, frantically looking for her Gladys, the reality was that her daughter was already on her way to Dudley Guest Hospital with horrificinjuriesthatwould prove fatal.
Mrs Bryant was one of the few to survive the disaster.A total of 19 girls aged 13 to 16, all employed illegally by factory boss John Walter Knowles, died.
The blast took place at about 11.45am on March 6, 1922. Knowles, who lived nine miles away in Stourton, had secured alucrativecontract breaking up surplus riflecartridges left over from the First World Warso theycould be sold for scrap
The work had been subcontracted
to Knowles from Birmingham-based Premium Aluminium Company,which had been carrying out such work for some time under licence from theHome Office.
Fora fee of £500,plus ahalf-share of any profits made,Premium Aluminium handed Knowles 160 tons ofcartridges, and it fell to Knowles’ workforce to dismantle the cartridges, separating the copper casing from thelead bullets, and removing any trace of gunpowder so that they could safely be melted down.
But while Harry Andrews, chairman of PremiumAluminium, insisted his company only employed girls aged 18 or over and made sure the cartridges were broken underwater,Knowles was not quite so scrupulous.
Forthe Bryant family,itwas something that was rarely spoken about.
“I never knew athing aboutituntil I was 37,” says Mrs Bryant’s grandson John Bryant, who livesinthe Sedgley area of Dudley
By coincidence, John who was acivil engineer,was working on aproject in the same road as where thedisaster happened.
Shocked crowds assemble following the explosion at LKKnowles metal works at Dudley Port .The tragedy brought grief and trauma to an entireregion.
He will never forget the reaction of his father Ted, ahard-bitten veteran of the Second World War, when he discovered where he was working.
“One day in 1986 my dad asked me what Iwas working on, and Isaid Iwas working in Groveland Road,” he recalls. “He said ‘can’t you not work down there?’, and told me the story. He was 71, and hadnever said anything about it before. He was upset, and Imust admit that when Iwenttowork thenext day it was on my mind abit.”
The disaster left ahuge markonthe family,living in West Street, Dudley at the time.
Florence’s unborn daughter survived the blast, and was born in the summer of that year,given the name Elsie.
But the blast had caused severe injuries to Florence’s hands –leaving her unable to hold the baby.Florence’s husband Pharoah died 10 weeks after Gladys’s funeral, aged just 39, anditfell to theeldest surviving daughter Mary –herself just aged about 11 or 12 –tohelp bring up the baby
“The gunpowder was going
everywhere,” recalls John. “They were told to put it in abucket, and chuck it in the canal.
“There was astove alight, my grandmother said, when she went into the factory,she thought it was aspark from that which lit the gunpowder.”
According to reports, the girls were said to have been singing as they worked a few moments before the blast.
But when the Express &Star’s reporter arrived, it was ascene of total carnage.
Ebor Chadwick, the 31-year-old works manager,had brieflyleft the shop, and returned to see a‘veritableinferno’. To his credit, he did his best to save the girls.
“With great pluck he and others dashed round the room, putting out the flames with bags and the like, and dragging from the burning building the prostrate, or shrieking, panic-stricken girls,” the Express &Star reported.
“Some of these were scorched beyond recognition. The flying gunpowder had totally disfigured them, their clothing literally torn from their bodies.”
Bold futureand a balloon adventure
In 1921, 19-year-old Malcolm Graham boarded ashipfor Canada, for an experience that would change the direction of his life –and that of the Express &Star –forever
With £20 in his pocket, and atrainee reporter job at the Montreal Star secured, the young man headed across the Atlantic, wherehis eyes were opened to acompletely different world.
The Montreal Star routinely splashed big stories of the day across its cover. When Ireland was granted home rule –anissue the Express &Star had campaigned on for many years–the Montreal Star carried abold headline across the width of its front page. The Express &Star managed asingle column on page three.
YoungMrGraham was determined to drag the company into the 20th century. After first persuading his father and uncle to invest in amodern ‘Ludlow’ headline-setting machine, he then addressed the newspaper’s lack of photographic coverage. The Wolverhampton FlowerShowsaw him try his hand at aerial photography, by hiring agas balloon.
“It was quite an experience,” he recalled in 1989. “It wasn’t very pleasant going up because you were going into the smell of gas, but as soon as you started to go down, there was no gas.”
At least that was the theory. However, as the balloon descended overthe mining heartland of Cannock, the ropes became entangled with the colliery lights, and uprooted the lamp posts. The balloon pilot feared alarge repair bill, but the miners were so excited at seeing the balloon come down, they promised to fix it.
Ageneral view of 1920s Dudley Port, seen hereatHolcroft’s Portfield Iron &Galvanising Works
Malcolm Graham pictured in aballoon, hired in an effort to grab aphotograph
COMFORT AND LUXURY
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At Waters Edge, we offer short term respite stays, arespite breakcan be avaluable experience as it is achance for residents to meet new people, enjoy achangeofscenery and try out some new activities in pleasant surroundings. Respite breaks also give carers an opportunity to take aholiday or simply spend some quality time looking after their own needs.
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FIRE HERALDS IN THEHIPPODROME
DEVASTATING BLAZE AT OPERA HOUSEDESTROYED VENUE BUT PAVEDTHE WAYFOR THE BUILDING OF DUDLEY HIPPODROME, WHILE ELSEWHEREWAR WASLOOMING ON THE HORIZON
Just after 2am on November 1, 1936, Bob Kennedy did a final tour of the Dudley Opera House before locking up for the night.
The theatre hadjust hosted its final performance of Pleasures of the Night.
All the guests and staff had gone, so Bob –son of the theatre’s owner Ben Kennedy –headed home for some much needed rest.
Apoliceman walked past about 4.30am, and all appeared to be well. But an hour later,passer-by John Nicholls noticed smoke rising from thebuilding, and summoned the fire brigade.
The firemen only had to come ashort distance, from nearby Priory Street, but by the time they arrived the building was well alight.
The seat of the fire seemedto be around the auditorium, andproved difficult for the fire crews to reach. The fire appeared to have started in the gallery,
above the upper circle, and burning debris was crashingdown onto the area below
The height at which the fire was taking place meant it was difficult for the firemen to get at the flames.
Eventually amemberof the Kennedy family arrived on the scene, andled a group of firemen to theroof of the Plaza cinema next door,which they also owned, allowing the hoses to be directed down towards the fire.
By 7.30am, the fire was well under control, but the theatre was damaged beyond repair
Bob Kennedy pledged to rebuild the theatre, even if it cost £50,000 to repair,and expressed his sadness that the theatre’s staff of 30 would lose their jobs. He said awhole season of booked productions would now havetobe cancelled.
The Kennedy’s moved swiftly to replace the Opera House, submitting
plans for approval the following May,and with construction work starting three months later
Within 16 monthsof the fire,the grandiose Dudley Hippodrome was ready to open its doors on December 19, 1938.
With acapacity of 1,752, it was bigger than anyother theatreinthe region,and from its state-of-the-art air conditioning and heating, to its neon lighting, everything was ultra-modernand on a grand scale.
Dudley Joel MP declared the theatre open, having been handed agolden key Wimbledon champion Dorothy Round was also in the audience, along with deputy mayor Alderman JL Hillman, architect Archibald Hurley Robinson, andbuilder AJCrump.
There was also ayoung man called John Bullas, who recalled: “Despite the fact that it was abitterly cold night, the house was packed to capacity.
Dudley OperaHouse was destroyedbyfire in November 1936, just after it hadhostedaperformance of Pleasures of the Night to an appreciativeaudience
“Those fortunate enough to obtain a ticket for this momentous occasion will always treasure the memory.”
However,the opening of the new theatre would do little to mask themuch darker troubles simmering away in the background.
Tensions had been growing in Europe ever since Adolf Hitler’s National Socialist German Workers’ Party took control of Germany in 1933.
Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, along with his French counterpart Edouard Daladier,attempted to contain Hitler’s aggression.
In September 1938, the Birminghamborn PM returned from Munich to a hero’s reception, havingaverted warby strikinga peace treaty which ceded the Czech Sudetenland to the Nazi regime.
Hitler promised that the treaty had satisfied his ‘final territorial demand’, and that his regime could live peaceably in the
future with the rest of Europe. The fragile peace would not last even ayearand lives formany in Britain would change for ever
Hitler stunned the world by striking apact with Communist Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, which led to the pair invading Poland.
On September 1, Germany –supported by Slovakia –attacked Poland from the west, leading to an inevitable confrontation with Britain and France, which had both pledged their allegiance to Poland.
Chamberlain gave Adolf Hitler a final deadline of 11am on September 3to withdraw his troops, an ultimatum which the German leader ignored.
Fifteen minutes later,inasombre broadcast to the nation, Chamberlain delivered the sombre news that Britain was at war with Germany
Mixed views on a modern design
April, 1933, and the deputy mayor of Staffordwas not impressed.
“I havebeen areader of this paper for well-nigh 50 years, and thereforeI expect Ishall be accused of belonging to the old school,” he wrote.
“I am afraid that the news on the front and back pages will havethe tendency to makepeoplelose sight of many moreimportant items of news, news of an educational character,interesting and cheerful, on the inside pages.”
On April 3, 1933, the Express &Star saw the most radical shake-up in its history, and not everyone was pleased. If the 1920s had seen Malcolm Graham battling to bring the Express &Star into the modern age, the 1930s would be his big chance to put his plans into practice.
In 1932, the 31-year-old was appointed general manager of Midland News Association, with his 60-yearold father and 61-year-old uncle gradually taking back seats.
In April the following year,the dramatic revampsaw the Express & Star transformed along the lines of the newspapers Mr Graham had worked on in Canada.
It was designed with news on the front, sport on the back, and classified advertising relegated to the inside pages. The new-look paper also featured the day’sradio programmes, adaily women’s feature, aserial story and achildren’s picture.
The reactionwas mixed. Alderman J HTunnicliffewas not impressed, and therewerethose who thought that if The Times continued to carry adverts on its front page, why did aprovincial newspaper think it knew better?
But Wolves manager,Major FC Buckley was morepositive: “Frommy pointofview, and that of the man who wants to read theday’ssporting news Printing this on the back outside page is an excellent arrangement.”
Neville Chamberlain leaving Heston airfield for his ill-fated peace talks with chancellor Adolf Hitler
Artists impression of the Dudley Hippodrome, which finally opened to the public in December 1938.
At work inside the busy composing room at thechanging Express &Star newspaper
Grace Mary Estate in
with widespread destruction pictured after the bombing in November,1940.
DEFIANCE IN FACE OF WARTIME FEARS
WHILE LONDON BORE BRUNTOFAIR STRIKES, BLACK COUNTRY DIDN’T ESCAPE SCOT-FREE AS BUILDINGS FLATTENED
After calling time at The Three Swans pub on September 5, 1940, landlady Nellie Curtis told her 16-year-old twins Frank and Dorothy to bed down in the smokeroom at the back.
It was afortuitous decision. That very night, abomb landed right on top of the pub, and Frank’s bed ended up on the opposite side of the road.
Following the bombing of Buckingham Palace in the Blitz, the Queen Consort– later the Queen Mother –famously joked she could now ‘look the East End in the eye’.
Britain and France haddeclared war on Germany in September 1939, but it was Germany’s invasion of France in May 1940 which broughtthe conflict to Britain’s doorstep.
On July 16, Hitler ordered the preparation of Operation Sea Lion as a potential amphibious and airborne assault on Britain, to follow once the Luftwaffe had air superiority over the English Channel.
Despite the Luftwaffe outnumbering the RAFbytwo-to-one, Germany failed to achieve air superiority, and Hitler was forced to abandon Operation Sea Lion. It would prove to be acrucial turning point in the war
And while London certainly bore the brunt of the Luftwaffe’s attentions,the BlackCountry hardly escaped scot-free.
The Three Swans, in HighStreet, Dudley,was destroyed in the raid, and the family was taken in by the manager of the Regent cinema ncxt door.Tothis day, St Thomas &StLuke’s Church on the
The
Tividale,
The Blitz brought fear to families.
Demolition work was beginning at Trinity Presbyterian Church in WolverhamptonStreet, Dudley, when pictured in April, 1948. The 107-year-old building was ruined by abomb
The TantanyEstate, in West Bromwich, in a pictureshowing the damage caused by the German bombing
opposite side of the road bears the scars from the blast, with holes in its historic masonry
But this was only aprecursor to what would happen on the night of November 19. At 6.53pm, theair-raid sirens began to sound in West Bromwich, marking the start of the Black Country Blitz.
In Oak Road alone, 28 lives were lost, with afurther 24 fatalities elsewhere in the town. The Tantany and Stone Cross areas of the town suffered acute devastation. Haig Street in Tantany was reduced to little more than ahugecrater and the junction of Law Street and Shaftesbury Street had become apool. Ahouse in Clive Street was reduced to a tile-less roof
The bombers were probably aiming for the gasworks at Swan Village, at the time the biggest in the country,but didn’t hit the target. The gas showroom, on the other hand, was razed to the ground
John Brookes was 11 when his home in Lombard Street was flattened by the German bombs.
He was in the cellar with his mother, sister,and the family from next door while his father was out fighting fires caused by other bombs in the town.
Mr Brookes later told theExpress & Star “I never heard abang but Iremember the wall fell in around us. It killed my neighbour and his daughter and my five-year-old sister Vera suffocatedinmy mother’s arms.”
John Brookes’ house in Lombardstreet, West Bromwich, was destroyedbythe Luftwaffe
St Thomas &StLuke’sChurchinDudley in the aftermath of the raid
The West Bromwich gas showroom was destroyedonNovember19
The Grace Mary Estate, in Tividale, after the bombing in November,1940
He was rescued from the rubble with his mother,the dog and his next-door neighbour.
“It was very distressing for us but I can’t imagine how my father got through it,” he said. “He came home to change his clothes andthere was nothing left.”
The same night, Dudley came under renewed attack, with 10 casualties in the Oakham area after arow of houses was hit. There were also an unspecified number of deaths in Tipton.
Friar Park also suffered from bombs presumably aimed at therailway lines and marshalling yards at Bescot. Four days later,West Bromwich was hit again, although there were only two deaths on that occasion.
In Smethwick, one German bomber, aHeinkel 111, crashed into houses after
beingshot down by the RAF. The town was also heavily hit. The devastation was far worse in Birmingham and Coventry, which had much of its centre –including its cathedral –wiped out by the raids.
Wolverhampton, which hadalso been on Hitler’s hit-list, largely escaped the Blitz, possibly because the air defences had been improved by the Luftwaffe got round to targeting the town.
Having failed to bomb Britain into submission, Hitler turned his attentions eastwards, and launched an invasion on the Soviet Union –less than two years after forming an unlikely pact with Joseph Stalin.
Germany’s defeat, on May 8, 1945, was greeted with huge celebrations across the West Midlands
Huge challenges as war breaks out
The declaration of war in September 1939 presented the Express &Star with enormous challenges. Howcould it meet the soaring demand for news and newspapers, with a depleted staff and paper-rationing –not to mention the small matter of the Luftwaffe’sbest efforts to bring the country to its knees?
During the course of the war,72 members of staff were lost to the armed forces, and afurther 28 took on civil defence or munitions work. Anxious to avoid compulsory redundancies in the constrained times, staff were advised to takewar work if they could find it. Among those called up to war duty was Wilfred ByfordJones, who served as acaptain with the military intelligence department, but not beforehehad set up the Express &Star Comforts Fund. The initiativeraised aspectacular £160,000 –about £7million today –toprovide support for forces personnel during the course of the war When the war spread to Norway, paper was rationed to 30 per cent of its pre-war supply. Facedwiththe prospect of having to cut the paper down to just four pages, the Express &Star management took the bold decision to convert the paper to a tabloid format. It offered eight pages packed with condensed news stories and features. The readers lovedit, and within months the paper added 6,000 extracopies to its sales.
The Express &Star’sSpitfirefund raised enough money to pay for an aircraft in its first week,but the joyof this landmark was cut short by the capitulation of France to Nazi forces. As the war progressed, the paper supplies increased. But instead of going back to the old broadsheet format, the company used the extra rations to print extracopies as circulation rose to 137,780.
Three French officers buying aflag to help the Express &Star Comforts Fund
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CROWDS WELCOME QUEEN ELIZABETH II
SPECIAL EDITION OF PAPER MARKEDTHE LOSS OF A‘RELUCTANT KING’, BEFORE RESIDENTS TOOK TO THEREGION’S STREETS TO CELEBRATE THE CORONATION OF ANEW QUEEN
The King is dead. Long live the Queen. The death of King George VI on February 6, 1952, plunged the West Midlands into aperiodofmourning.
The ‘reluctant King’, who was just 56 years old, died peacefully in his sleepat Sandringham.
He had been ill for some time, and the previous September his left lung had been removed.
He had been well enough to open the Festival of Great Britain in May 1951, but in the months thatfollowed his eldest daughter Elizabeth had been playing an increasing role in royal duties.
The classic ‘spare’, Prince Albert of York had never expected to become King.
But the shock abdication of his brother King Edward VIII in 1936 saw
him plunged into the spotlight. Three years after his reign, Britain was at war
Indeed, the stress of the war was believed to have had amajor impact on his health, although he was also aheavy smoker
People across the region were plunged into grief,and aspecial edition of the Express &Star was produced to mark the momentous news.
Wolverhampton’s head postmaster Mr WCForsyth said that, unless instructed otherwise, the Post Office would remain open and communications would not be interrupted.
Aconcert by the London Philharmonic Orchestra at Wolverhampton Civic Hall was cancelled as amark of respect after the news broke. Flags on buildings throughout the
town were flown at half mast, and mayor of Wolverhampton,Councillor James Beattie, sent atelegram to the new Queen Elizabeth.
Messages expressing sympathy were also sent by thechairman ofthe councils in Cannock, Rugeley and Brownhills.
The King had visited the West Midlands on numerous occasions and was loved by many
While the nation mourned, it also embraced its new Queen and her elevation to thethrone was an excuse to throw aparty and look to the future with optimism.
The Coronation on June 2was also a special day for Muriel Bowen of Oldbury, who took charge of adetachment of female soldiers of the Territorial Army in the parade through London.
Queen Elizabeth II wearingthe Imperial State Crown, and the DukeofEdinburgh, in the uniform of Admiral of the Fleet, waving from Buckingham Palace
Captain Bowen, who had been with the Territorials for 11 years, was one of only five TA members of the Women’s Royal Army Corps to take part in the parade.
“It was the first time the WRAC had ever worn their new green uniform, so nobody knew who we were,” she said.
“Someone came over and asked me if we were from the Canary Isles.”
Wetweather couldn’t dampen the party atmosphere as the streets of the West Midlands were festooned with red, white and blue bunting.
A10ft portrait of the new Queen was displayed in Wolverhampton’s central arcade, and street parties were held across the region as neighbours celebrated together.Britain was entering into anew Elizabethan period which was to define our modern age.
Development of new technology
When the Express &Star celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1949, it had grownbeyond the wildest dreams of its founding fathers. By January, 1950, circulation stood at 190,000, and the staff had growntomorethan 300.
“However,”Malcolm Graham observed in the first edition of the company’s new in-house magazine Acorn, “the oak tree is not being allowedfull growth.”
Malcolm Graham was nowinfull control, following the death of his father JDouglas Graham uncle Norrie.
But the constraints of the family structure, not to mention the cost of paying the death duties, left the new man in charge with little choice but to float the company on the Stock Exchange.
Mr Graham himself admitted his regrets at having to change the nature of the company.
But the fast-changing media landscape left him with little choice but to raise morecapital.
The flotation was ahuge success, being immediately oversubscribed within fiveminutes of going on sale, raising £600,000.
Along with other newspapers, the Express &Star quickly found itself on acollision course with the Government overits decisiontoreimpose paper rationing. The paper was reduced from 16 pages to 12 in July, 1950, and then to eight in November
Dudley MP Colonel George Wigg took up the Express &Star’scase with trade minister Harold Wilson, saying the newspaper ‘has alocal tang, which is the very stuff of which our democracy is made’.
But while securing paper was a problem, circulation continued to rise, as did the use of new technology. In 1951, the Express &Star became the first newspaper to install ateleprinter capable of processing morethan 100 words per minute, compared to the moreusual 60wpm.
Party time in Boulton Square, West Bromwich
Coronation celebrations with fancy dress costumes at The Down School, near Bridgnorth, in 1953
Aviewofa Coronation party in astreet in Wolverhampton, although the actual location is unknown
Park Hall Road, Smethwick celebrating the Queen’s Coronation in 1953 with agroup photograph
The newsroom pictured in 1957
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FABFOURAND THE SWINGING SIXTIES
BAND MADE LOW-KEY APPEARANCE IN THE BLACK COUNTRY BEFORE BEATLEMANIA SWEPT THROUGHOUT THE WORLD
Mary ‘Ma’ Regan was known as ashrewd spotter of new talent. In 1962, Decca records declined to offer The Beatles arecording contract, saying guitar groups were ‘on the way out’ But the owner of the Old Hill Plaza, a formidable former schoolteacher,saw it differently,and booked the little-known group for anumberof appearances.
Their first appearance was arelatively low-key affair,the FabFour sharing a stage with Wolverhampton group the Montanas.
But when they returned in 1964, they were the biggest show in town. Mrs Regan always tied her acts down well in advance.
Ian ‘Sludge’ Lees, the late comedian from Cannock, recalled sharing abag of fish and chips with John Lennon atthe end of the show.Atthe time, Sludge was a17-year-old frontman of the Telstars,
which was supportingthe Beatles on stage. Sludge recalled: “John didn’t like travelling in the limo with the others, he liked going in the van with the roadie.
“Wewere packing up and he said, ‘will you do us afavour,have alook and see if there’s anybody outside?’”
Sludge ventured out into Old Hill’s normally busy Halesowen Road, and saw that the street was deserted.
“All the women had gone chasing after the limo, which had the other threeinit,” he recalled.
“John said ‘I’m hungry’, and Isaid there was achipshopnext door.
“Wewent there and got some fish and chips. The staff recognised John, of course, but there were no customers in there.”
They looked for somewhere to eat, and as it was areasonably pleasant evening, they decided to head across the road to Holy Trinity Church, an
American political activist Malcolm Xpictured walking in Marshall Street, Smethwick
The Beatles at WolverhamptonGaumont in November,1963. Their first appearance in the region was lowkey and came alongside the Montanas
impressive grey stone building with alow wall outside.
“Wesat out and chatted for abit, I can’t remember what about, but it would probably have been about groups and stuff.Itwas just by chance that Ifound myself spending my time with aBeatle –but it wasanexperience Iwill never forget.”
In between the appearances at the Plaza, the Beatles twice appeared at Wolverhampton’s Gaumont cinema, in March and November,1963.
They were pictured by former Express &Star photographer Geoff Wright, who recalled how Ringo Starr was sitting in the dressing room on his own, away from the rest of the group.
“When Iwentinthere, Ringo was having asulk. Ithink John Lennon had had abit of aspat with him,”herecalls. “They were happy to pose for the picture, but what Idoremember was that when it was all over,they justshot straight out the door,and into astretch limousine.”
Their second appearance at
Wolverhampton Gaumontcame on November 19, 1963 –three days before the shock of the assassination of John F Kennedy
In 1965, American Black Power leader Malcolm Xvisited Smethwick following the election of Peter Griffiths as the town’s MP,having campaigned on aracist slogan.
“I have come here because Iam disturbed by reports that coloured people in Smethwick are being treated badly,” he told the Express &Star. “I have heard they are being treated as the Jews under Hitler Iwould not wait for the fascist element in Smethwick to erect gas ovens.”
He took awalk down the notorious Marshall Street, where the council had been persuaded to buy empty houses to ensure they were sold only to white families.
He stopped for apint in one of the pubs which did not operate acolour bar He returned to New York, and nine days later he was shot dead.
Sixties adecade of sales growth
The swinging 60s opened in ablaze of glory for the Express &Star
On July 5, 1960, daily circulation topped 200,000 for the first time.
The newspaper celebrated the milestone with ahugebarbecue for all employees and their families.
While bigger,better-value papers, new technology and agrowing, more affluent population all played their role, the achievement was largely down to an aggressivesales drivewhich took the paper into head-on competition with the Birmingham Post &Mail.
Circulation boss Gilbert Jarvis later recalled: “For yearswehad struggled in the jittery 190,000s, touching 195,000 then dropping back because of aprice rise, reaching 198,000 and falling back for some other reasons.”
The solution was to recruitmore newsagents, expanding into areas wherethe paper had not sold before. Anew Kidderminster edition was launched.
“In particular,Kidderminster took us into the Birmingham Evening Mail area, wherewegot the full co-operation of all newsagents who were keen to break the Evening Mail monopoly.”
Papers were distributed from the Stourbridge office, Jarvis recalled how he and repFrank Knowles stole a lead on their arch rival by telephoning Express &Star head office from a phone box at the back of the Evening Mail office, to get the latest racing results.
They then hand-stamped them into the paper,inthe back of aCommer van,beforegetting them into the shops beforethe Mail.
Meanwhile, atwo-acreplot of land was bought for £12,000 in April 1963, and 18 months later the first edition of the ShropshireStar rolled off the purpose-built presses. The Express & Star continued to circulate alongside the new paper along the borderlands.
The Beatles on one of their visits to the West Midlands, posing with young fans 16-year-old Diane Wright, of East Park, Janet Boyd, 18, of Wednesfield, andGeoffreyClarke, 16 of HeathTown
Fans jostling to get aglimpse of the Beatles at Wolverhampton Gaumont in November,1963
Clem Jones, right, took over as Express & Star editor in 1960 from Brian Whiteaker
SCARS OF CITY PUB BOMBINGS REMAIN
ADECADE DOMINATED BY THE BLASTS THATROCKED THE HEART OF BIRMINGHAM AND CHANGED THE CITY FOREVER
The bells peeled out from Birmingham Cathedral, as they did every Thursday evening.
The city was packed, the bars starting to fill up with young people on anight out, just as office workers were preparing to go home from their afterwork drinks.
And then the city was rocked by a terrifying blast, and thingswould never be the same again.
Fifty years on from the Birmingham pub bombings, the scars still remain. Twenty-one people were killed, and 182 injured in what was, at the time, the deadliest terror attack to take place on mainland Britain.
At 8.11pm, aman with an Irish accent made telephoned anewspaper switchboard, giving the IRAcodeword ‘Double X’. He said two separate bombs had been planted in the Rotunda, and at the tax office in New Street.
Police rushed to theRotunda, and started checking the upper floors of the 25-storey office block. There was not time, though, to evacuate the packed Mulberry Bush pub, which occupied the lower two floors of the complex. At 8.17pm, six minutes after the firstcallwas made, abomb ripped through the pub, killing 10 people, including 16-year-old Neil ‘Tommy’Marsh, and his friend Paul Davies, 17, who had been walking pastthe building at the time of the explosion.
Among those injured were 21-yearold Maureen Carlin and her fiance Ian Lord. Maureen told Ian: “If Idie, just remember Ilove you”. Maureen’s condition was so severe that she was given her last rites, but she recovered from her injuries –the physical ones at least.
A‘muffled thump’ could be heard afew streets away at the Tavern in the Town, abar popularwith young people in the basement of New Street tax office But the crowds paid little attention, and carried on with their night out. Tenminutes later,a second blast ripped through the Tavern. The blast was so great that several people were blown through abrick wall,their remains becoming
wedged between the rubble and live underground electric cables that supplied the city centre. BrianYates, one of the first police officers on the scene, described the sight as “absolutely dreadful”, with several bodies stacked upon one another,others strewn aboutthe ruined pub, and several screaming survivors staggering aimlessly amongst thedebris,rubble, and severed limbs. Asurvivor of the atrocity described how the sound of the explosion was replaced by a‘deafening silence’ and the smell of burned flesh.
Ayoung woman who was in the Tavern at the time, fought back tears as she told the Express &Starwhat happened.
“I went over to thebar,and suddenly there was an almighty bang. The ceiling came down and the lights went out.
“I remember my boyfriend holding my face to his chest. If he hadn’t,itwould have been blown to bits.
“I saw agirl who lost her foot. It was terrible. Youjust can’t say how you feel. I thought Iwas dead.”
The following morning, Patrick ‘Paddy’Hill, Gerard Hunter,Richard
McIlkenny,William ‘Billy’Power and John Walker were arrested at Heysham Port in Lancashire,aspolice swooped on the train to the Belfast ferry.At10.45pm the same day,Hugh Callaghan was arrested at his home in Birmingham.
On June 9, 1975, the men –who would become known as the Birmingham Six –stood trial at Lancaster Crown Court before Judge Nigel Bridge. Each man was charged with 21 counts of murder and conspiringtocause explosions acrossthe Midlands between August and November 1974.
The trial lasted 45 days, and saw 100 witnesses testify on behalf of the prosecution anddefence.
On the afternoon of 15 August, having deliberated for over six-and-a-half hours, the jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts in relation to the21murder charges against the six men. Passing sentence, Judge Bridge told themen: “You stand convicted of each of 21 counts, on the clearest and most overwhelming evidence Ihave ever heard, of thecrime of murder.” They were all sentenced to life in prison.
Wreckage left at the Mulberry Bush pub in Birmingham following the bomb blast in 1974
The Birmingham Six vehemently protested their innocence, and submitted an application to appeal their convictions, which was dismissed by the Court of Appeal in 1976.
Doubts about the men’s convictions began to emerge in the 1980s, as journalist and Labour MP Chris Mullin carried interviews with senior IRAmembers whosaid the Six were not members. Conservative MP Sir John Farr cast doubts over the reliability of forensic evidence, which Home Secretary Douglas Hurd later acknowledged to be unreliable.
Much was made during the 1975 trial of theconfessions signed by Power, Callaghan, McIlkenny and Walker,but these were found to have been signed under extreme duress at thehands of police officers.
An appeal in 1987 was rejected, but in 1991 the men’s convictions were quashed by Lord Justice Lloyd, and they were allowed to walk free.
Since then, nobody else has been convicted, and nobody knows who bombed Birmingham on the night of November 21, 1974.
Elsewhere, the 1970s was adecade of strikes, power cuts, and four general elections –with asizzling summer anda glorious jubilee in between.
The 1970s will go down in history as adecade of upheaval and unrest, but will also be remembered for its colourful fashions, great television and vibrant music, when agroup of glam rockers from Wolverhampton decided to make music and stormed the charts as Slade.
Tory leader Edward Heath confounded the pollsters with his shock General Election victory in June, 1970, despite the polls giving Labour incumbent Harold Wilson an eight-point lead. But Heath’s attempts to crack down on union militancy brought him into a confrontation with the coalminers.Coal shortages led to electricity rationing with the infamous three-day week at the start of 1974, prompting Heath to callasnap election in February that year,and Wilson returned to office. Wilson stepped down in 1976, but hissuccessor Jim Callaghan was faced with the 1979 Winter of Discontent, and the election of Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government.
Growth and new age of technology
When the newspaper celebrated its centenary in 1974, it was the Queen and the Prime Minister who led the tributes. Harold Wilson sent a message of goodwill noting that: “The role of the Press in the democratic life of our country is nowheremore valuable than in the case of the regional newspaper.Her Majesty sent her best wishes to the newspaper ‘on this notable anniversary’.
The company also marked the occasion by commissioning Sir Charles Wheeler to sculpt the landmark statue of Lady Wulfrun, which stands on the steps leading up to St Peter’sCollegiate Church.
The opening of the new printing plant in Sandwell was announced by Malcolm Graham in March, 1975.
The investment paid off.When the Express &Star opened its first office in West Bromwich in 1963, it was selling about 20 copies anight in the town. By 1976, it was selling 10,000 in the town itself, and 30,000 in the wider Sandwell circulation area.
The company’snext foray into new technology would send shockwaves throughout the industry, and sound the death knell for Fleet Street as people knew it.
On January 26, 1978, Malcolm Graham sent off the last news pages for the newspaper ever to be produced by the traditional ‘hot metal’ method.
No longer would highly skilled compositors cast printing plates for each page in molten metal. From then on, the work would all be done by computer
The craft which dated back to the days of Caxton were nowfacing obsolescence, hot metal was making way for cold microchips.
Emergency crews struggling to work through the extensivedebris following the Birmingham blast
The exterior of the Mulberry Bush, after the Birmingham pub bombings, with emergency services
The statue of Lady Wulfrun, commissioned to mark the Express &Star’scentenary
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GRAY DAYS FOLLOW WOLVES CUP GLORY
ON-FIELD SUCCESS AND SUBSEQUENT TURBULENT TIMES OFF THE PITCHDURING THE 1980S FOR OUR MAJOR FOOTBALL CLUBS AS LOYALSUPPORTERS ARE MADE TO SUFFER
Atthe start of the1980s, it looked like the sky was the limit for Wolves’ ambitions.
‘King Andy’Gray appeared to have paid off ahugechunk ofhis British record £1.5million transfer fee when he scored thewinning goal in the 1980 League Cup final.
While his goal securedWolves a major piece of silverware and aplace in the following season’s Uefa Cup, manager John Barnwell said his sights were now set higherthanthat. He said Wolves should be looking to emulate Midland neighbours Nottingham Forest by winning the European Cup. His skipper Emlyn Hughes said Wolves could dominate English football in the 1980s the same way that his old club, Liverpool had
done in the 1970s. But things didn’t quite pan out that way.A series of financial calamities saw the proud club plunge to the depths of the Fourth Division, and for along time it looked as thoughWolves would not make it to the 1990s.
In truth, Wolves’ League Cup triumph masked deep-rooted problems at aclub who had been living beyond their means for some time.
Chairman Harry Marshall’s bold plans to redevelop the tired Molineux ground as astate-of-the-art £10 million all-seater stadium were certainly ambitious, but only one stand was completed before the club was plunged into severe financial troubles.
Wolves were relegated in 1982, and Marshall resigned as chairman,days
Wolves fans in protest at the takeoverbythe Bhatti brothers, just one of many that were organised during aturbulent time at Molineux
Doug Ellis arrives for his first day at Molineux
after narrowly surviving aboardroom coup as angermounted over the club’s soaring debts. He was replaced by former Aston Villa chairman Doug Ellis, who called in the receiver after just 14 days in charge. He returned to Villa the following November
The club was bought by aconsortium fronted by flamboyant ex-Wolves forward Derek Dougan. and the future looked bright as the clubwere promoted back to top flight at the first attempt.
The initial optimism quickly faded as it emerged thatDougan was merely afront man for brothers Mahmud and Mohammad Bhatti, two publicity-shy property speculators who had staked the club’s future on ascheme to redevelop land around Molineux. When the Bhattis’ scheme was refused planning permission, Wolves’ finances collapsed, the club suffering three successive relegations before receivers were called in again in
1986. This time it looked unlikely the club would survive to startthe new season in the Fourth Division, with awinding-up hearing scheduled to be heard in the High Court.
Talks also took place with theGM Vauxhall Conference about areformed Wolves swapping places in the football hierarchy with Enfield Town.
Wolverhampton Council leader John Bird led acampaign to save the club, backed by the Express &Star. After weeks of negotiations, adealwas struck, brokered by Birmingham City owner –and former Walsall supremo –Ken Wheldon.
The complicated agreement saw Wolverhampton Council buy the ground and surrounding land for £1.1million, with supermarket giant Asda paying off the remaining £1.8million owed by the club in exchange for building a supermarket behind the North Bank.
Wheldon, whose tangled involvement with different football clubs was causing concern among the football authorities, agreed not to involve himself in the dayto-day running of the club. His trusted lieutenants Dick Homden and Jack Harris were placed in charge of running the football operation.
The road back from the brink of extinction was far from smooth. But the appointment of new manager Graham Turner –and the emergence of talented young forward Steve Bull –saw Wolves begin their tentativejourney back to the top of the football food chain.
While Wolves had the most turbulent decade of any of the region’s clubs, there were plenty of ups and downs at their near-neighbours.
Aston Villa won theLeaguetitle for the first time in 1981, andthe following year went one better by winning the European Cup. But arapid decline in
Doug Ellis, Ian Greaves and Malcolm Finlayson
Doug Ellis, watched by Malcolm Goody and Malcolm Finlayson, announces the receiversare appointed
Support Wolves!New Wolves’chairmanDoug Ellis’srallying cry on taking over, with directors Malcolm Finlayson, Malcolm Goody and George Clark
fortunes saw them relegated in 1987, although they bounced back at the first opportunity under Graham Taylor
West Bromwich Albion finished fourth in the1980-81 season, earning a place in the following season’s Uefa Cup. However a4-1 aggregate defeat to Swiss outfitGrasshoppers saw them eliminated in the first round, and they failed to build on the momentum, suffering relegation to the Second Division in 1986.
ForWalsall, the high point was undoubtedly the 1983-84 League Cup campaign, which saw them knock out Arsenal in the early rounds, followed by avictory overRotherham United in the quarter final, and a2-2 draw at Anfield in the first leg of the semi-final.
Sadly,they missed out on aplace in the final after Liverpoolbeat them 2-0 at Fellows Park.
Wheldon’s departure to Birmingham City –hebrieflyheld control of both
clubs –was not greatly mourned, since he had alienated fans with proposals to sell Fellows Park and share Molineux with Wolves. But thesale of the club to flash racehorse owner TerryRamsden did not exactly put the Saddlers on astable footing.
Within 90 minutes of taking over, Ramsden sacked popular manager Alan Buckley –who hadbeenatWalsall since 1972 –and replaced him with littleknown non-league manager Tommy Coakley
The move appeared to pay off,with the Saddlers securing promotion to the Second Division in 1988, but Coakley was fired the following December after a10game losing run.
By this time, Ramsden’s business empire –not helped by him losing £58million betting on horses –had collapsed with debts of £100million. He would later serve time in jail.
UNION ACTION STOPS PRESS
On April 1, 1980, the unthinkable happened. The newspaper had survived two world wars, not to mention the 1926 General Strike, without losing asingle day’spublication. But, against the protestations of his two sons and editor Mark Kersen, Malcolm Graham made the decision not to print. The strike, by members of the National Graphical Association, had little to do with the Express &Star The union was demanding anational wage of £80 aweek, well belowwhat the Express &Star was paying. But Wolverhampton became afocus for the action, with flying pickets from Cardiff,Liverpool and Bristol.
The tactic was to shut down one newspaper for one day each month, but allowotherstocontinue, allowing those that did publish the chance to steal sales.
“It was an occasion when the trade union was very clever,”said Mr Graham. “The union made it very clear that any newspapers which defied the closureorders would be singled out for ahardtime.”
Tensions were heightened by the rivalry between the Express &Star and Birmingham Evening Mail. While an agreement had been struck that no newspaper would exploit the closureofa rival, Mr Graham said:
“When it came to our turn, Iknew that, although we could produce the paper without them, if we did, the trade unions would single us out and keep hammeringatus. And the Birmingham paper would, of course, takeevery opportunity of pinching our sales. Idecided Iwould sooner stop for one day than be in that position.”
The dispute ranuntil mid June, and while no other publication days were lost, output was affected and papers often appeared with columns of white space.
Support Wolves!New Wolves’chairmanDoug Ellis’srallying cry on taking overthe crisis-hit club, with directors Malcolm Finlayson, Malcolm Goody and George Clark
Wolves manager John Barnwell embraces popular player John Richards
Union members on the picket line
SUNLIT DAYBECAME LIVINGNIGHTMARE
HEROIC NURSERY NURSE LISA POTTS RECALLS THE DAYSHE WASBADLYINJURED AS SHE TRIED TO DEFEND INFANTS IN HORRIFIC CLASSROOM MACHETE ATTACK THATSHOCKED THE NATION
Itshould have been aday to treasure.
The sun was shining, andthe nurseryschoolgarden reverberated to the sound of boisterous chatter as agroup of three and four-year-olds enjoyed ateddybears’ picnic to mark the end of term.
At about three o’clock, acouple of mothers were chatting at the school gate, waiting to pick up their children from the party
Then in the corner of her eye, ayoung nursery-school assistant noticed aslightlybuilt man in his 30s running alongside the fence around the school.
“I didn’t think anything of it at first,” recalls Lisa Webb, or Lisa Potts as she was then.
“Then Icould see he was coming
quite fast towards the nursery.Icould see this man had aknife in his hand. At first Ididn’t think that knife was real, but then all of asuddenhe hit both of those parents across the head.”
The laughter of the children at St Luke CE nursery school turned to tears on the afternoon of July 8, 1996. Paranoid schizophrenic Horrett Campbell ran amok with amachete, inflicting horrible injuries onthree-year-old Ahmed Malik and Rhena Chopra and Francesca Quintyne, both four
Lisa suffered life-changing injuries as she shielded the children from the heavy blows, and three mothers were also hurt
Pictures of the scattered teddy bears and an abandoned pushchair became a poignant symbol of just how fragile life
Wolverhampton nursery teacher Lisa Potts pictured returning to her work at St. Luke’sChurchofEngland
PrimarySchoolinBlakenhall, in January, 1997
Paranoid schizophrenic Horrett Campbell attacked children at the school with amachete
could be. The attack lasted just eight minutes, but changed the lives of all involved. Forthe tiny youngsters who cowered under Lisa’s skirt for safety,their childhood innocence was shattered in a matter of moments. Forthe parents, there would be anervousness each time they dropped their children off at school.
The blows from Campbell’s machete left Lisa with severe injuries to her left arm, which still affect her to this day And when she returned to her job at St Luke’s the following January,she suffered flashbacks and nightmares, which made it impossible for her to continuework there.
The attack came less than four months after theDunblane massacre, which saw 16 children and one teacher killed when Thomas Hamilton opened
fire on aprimary school gym class. It later emerged that Campbell’s actions had been influenced by those of Hamilton and Australian serial killer Martyn Bryant, who shot 35 people in Tasmania.
Recalling the day in question, Lisa says it had been aparticularly joyous time until Campbell arrived.
“It had been ahappy day,the sun had been shining, and we had two picnics, one for the younger children in the morning, and one for the older nursery children in the afternoon,” she says.
She felt no pain when Campbell struck his first blow across her left arm.
She says: “I think the adrenalin was pumping round my body
“Francesca was right next to me because Ihad children around me and
holding on to my skirt in fear not realising what was going on. Iremember the knife coming down as if it was going to hit Francesca on the neck.
“I put my hand across her faceand he cut her straight across the face, neck and ear.Ahmed came running towards me with his sister
“I tried to pick him up, his sister was screaming, and as Ipicked him up Campbell cut me across the right hand and straight across Ahmed’s head.
“I grabbed Ahmed and pushed him inside the school with the other children. The man was behind me and in the doorway with me. Idid not realise Icould not shut the door because my right hand was so badly injured.
“His foot was in thedoorway.Iwas
Lisa Potts recovering in hospital from her injuries, with many gifts
Police arrest Horrett Campbell at VilliersHouse, Blakenhall, near the school
In the 1980s, the Express &Star had led the newspaper industry in its adoption of new technology, leaving the national press trailing in its wake. And this investment would quickly prove worth its weight ingold as the newspaper stole amarchonthe rest ofthe media as its reporters went whereothers feared to tread.
On August 2, 1990, Iraqi troops crossed the border into neighbouring Kuwait, marking the start of afullscale invasion of the oil-rich state.
The StaffordshireRegiment and the Midlanders of the 16th/5th Queen’s Royal Lancers were sent to the Middle East in preparation of war,and Stafford chief reporter Ian Cobain joined them in the desert to report on their progress.
In anticipation of military reprisals, Iraqi president Saddam Hussein rounded up westernnationals who had been living in Kuwait, and detained them at important defence installations. Among them was Susan Breeze, a19-year-oldtrainee teacher from Shropshire, who had been teaching English at aschool in Kuwait. They would become his infamous ‘human shield’, which he hoped would deter enemy bombing. Cobain secured anotable scoop when he revealed the appalling condition that the hostages were being kept in.
Cobain was joined in the Gulf by featurewriter Peter Rhodes, who was embedded with the RAF.During an informal press conference at Bahrain, detachment commander Group Capt David Henderson revealed that the war could be ‘decided in amatterof hours’.
The Express &Star beat every newspaper in the country to publish the sensational news, with Rhodes able to file the story within minutes thanks to his portable computer
stuck in avery small corner with dressingup stuff and toys. Ihad got all those children in front of me and he hit me across the back, twice.
“I remember grabbing as many children as Icould and, as he turned round, Istarted running with all those children to get out of themain building.
“The last blow Ifelt was right across the back of my head which is when he fractured my skull. Icontinued to run and looked back to see where he was. At that point he put away the machete, jumped the fence and was gone.”
Campbell, who was 33 at the time, lived in the now-demolished Villiers House tower block overlooking the school. He watched the aftermath of the incident from the roof of the building. He was arrested the following day and was later ordered to be detained in asecure
mental hospital after being convicted of seven attempted murders.
Described by police as ‘an occasional customer’before the attack, he had a sinister interest in Nazi politics, and had decorated his machete with aswastika. During the attack he wore adeerstalker hat which he had styled to look like a German helmet, with an iron cross drawn onto it and screws poking through the side like horns. He told police it gave him courage.
Lisa was awarded the George Medal for her courage, while Campbell was indefinitely detained in amentalhospital.
The attack at St Luke’s, coupled with the massacre at Dunblane, led to a dramatic review of school security with gates, fences and closed-circuit television becoming the norm.
Lisa Potts tucks into aschooldinner with new Prime Minister Tony Blair in May, 1997
Frontline –reporter Ian Cobain
Lisa Potts with Home Secretary Ken Clarkeinthe aftermath of the attack
LOCALHEROOF 7/7 TERRORISTATTACKS
EVERLASTING IMAGE OF THE RETAINED FIREFIGHTER FROM STAFFORDSHIRE WHO WASQUICKLY ON THE SCENE TO HELP INJURED ‘GIRL IN THE MASK’ FOLLOWING BOMB BLASTS IN CAPITAL
Itwas asunny Thursday morning in July,and Paul Dadge was on his way to work.
The former retained firefighter from Cannock had recently starteda new IT job in London, and boarded the Tube on the way to the office.
He didn’t think too muchofitwhen passengers were instructed to disembark at Baker Street due to a‘power fault’. What happened next would have a profound impact on his life.
Within hours, the 28-year-old, from Heath Hayes, would see his picture beamed all around the world as one of the most recognised heroes of one of the worst terror attacks seen on UK soil Theimage of him aiding ‘The Girl in the Mask’ –24-year-old barrister Davina Turrell –inthe wake of what would become known as the 7/7 terror attack, even made the cover of the world-famous Time magazine.
The ‘power fault’ was not some routine problem with the electricity
supply.The train inmediately in front had been blown up by suicide bomber Mohammed Sidique Khan, at Edgware Road Tube, killing six people plus himself
The attack, at 8.50am, was thesecond of four suicide attacks carried out on July 7, 2005, unlike anything thathad happened in the UK before. Just under four years earlier,the world watchedin horror as 2,977 perished in the attacks of September 11, 2001, when 19 members of the terror group al-Qaeda hijacked a number of airliners, and crashed two of them into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York. The response from the West was swift,with the UK quickly joining US-led operations to invade Afghanistan, thought to be the base of al-Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden.
The UK also played aprominent supporting role in the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. The UK hadbeen on astate of high alert ever since the September 11 attack, but the events of July 7, 2005 were
the first time asuicide attack on this scale occurred on UK soil.
MrDadge later told an inquest how he found Miss Turrell clutching the mask to her face, after sufferinghorrificfacial injuries. He described coming across the shocked and injured survivors of the attack andsetting up acasualty station in the Marks &Spencer nearthe station
“The medical resources on the scene were limited to the two paramedics and the small number of staff from the London helicopter emergency medical service team,” he said in astatement read to the inquest.
“Wehad run out of oxygen and dressings and had become reliant on first aid supplies from Marks &Spencer and Hilton Metropole Hotel.
“Nurses, consultants andevenaNHS priest arrived at the hotel, although I think it is worth mentioning at this point that it was great, but without themedical supplies there was not much they could do.”
The explosion ripped the roof off thenumber 30 double-decker bus, in TavistockSquare, London
Police outside the American Embassy, in London
Seconds before the Edgware Road bomb, another explosion took place on a six-car train travelling eastbound on the London UndergroundCircle Line, about 100 yards from Liverpool Street station.
Athird bomb wasdetonated on the Piccadilly Line, about 500 yards south of King’s Cross.
The three bombs on the underground took place within the space of aminute, throwing the entire network into chaos.
Passengers fleeing the Tube scrambled to get the buses out of the area. Then at 9.47am, just under an hour after the underground attacks,a bus exploded in Tavistock Square, close to the headquarters of the BritishMedical Association.
The blast ripped the roof off the bus, and eyewitnesses described seeing ‘papers and half abus flying through the air’. Two injured bus passengers said they saw a man exploding in the bus. Doctors from the BMA building rushed to the aid of passengers.
Atotal of 52 people were killed in the attacks, and about 700 injured.
The bombers were later revealed to be
30-year-old Khan, Shehzad Tanweer,22, and18-year-old Hasib Hussain, all from Leeds, and Germaine Lindsay,19, from Aylesbury
Khan was amarried father of ayoung child who worked as alearning mentor at aprimary school
Tanweer,who detonated the first of the four bombs, lived with his parents and worked in a fish-and-chip shop. Eight people, including himself,were killed by the explosion. The explosion also injured future Paralympic athlete Martine Wright, who was commuting to work.
Lindsay,who had apregnant wife and young son, detonated his device on the third underground train, killing 27 people including himself
Hussain, who lived with his brother and sister-in-law,detonatedthe bomb on the bus, killing 14, including himself
Prime Minister Tony Blair issued a defiant message in the wake of the attacks.
“Why they try to intimidate us, we will not be intimidated,” he said.
“When they seek to change our country or our way of life, by these methods, we will not be changed.”
Bringing the news via worldwide web
If the 1990s was the decade which saw the E&S represented for the first time on the worldwide web, it was the first decade of the 21st century that saw its online edition truly come of age.
The Express &Star’sfirst website, WestMidlands.com, had grown considerably since its launch in 1997, but was still very much abasic operation, providing asimpledigest of news stories from across the region By the end of 2000, the site was averaging morethan amillion hits amonth, or about 38,000 clicks a day. But on December 18, two major stories –news that Wolverhampton was to be granted city status, and the sacking of Wolves manager Colin Lee –saw the number of views break the 60,000 mark, with the site’s ‘Express Yourself’discussion forum proving particularly popular In 2002, the site was relaunched after arevamp and renamed Expressandstar.com, with the creation of fiveseparate home pages for Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall, Sandwell and Mid Staffordshire, giving each part of our circulation area its ownvirtual edition. The region’s‘big six’ football clubs also gained their ownindividual webpages, bringing news and liveupdates from matches. That year also saw Adrian Faber replace editor Warren Wilson after seven yearsinthe hotseat. The war in Iraq saw the E&S once moreenter the theatreofconflict, with deputy editor Keith Harrison and photographer Alan Evans on the ground during the liberation of Basra. Reflecting the growing importance of entertainment in the region– and liveentertainment in particular –the newspaper launched its Friday night supplement The Ticket, featuring reportsontheatreproductions, film reviews and celebrity interviews.
‘Girl In The Mask’ Davina Turrell is ledtosafety by Paul Dadge
Keith Harrison near the port of Umm Qasr
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FOUR GENERAL ELECTIONS, FOUR PRIME MINISTERS AND THREE REFERENDA IN AFRANTIC TEN YEARS THATBROUGHT CHAOS, CONFUSION AND UPHEAVALTOWORKINGS OF WESTMINSTER
Another one? You’re joking. I can’t stand this, there’s too much politics going on at the moment.”
The reaction of ‘Brenda from Bristol’ to news of yet another general election summed up the mood of many when we never seemed to be more than afew months away from avisit to the polling station.
Four general elections, four prime ministers and three referenda was not the title of acheesyrom-com starring Hugh Grant, but the reality of adecadewhich seemed to be dominated by political upheaval.
The decade began with Gordon Brown’s beleaguered government fighting arearguard action in the wake of the financial crash and the MPs’ expenses
scandal. The Prime Minister left it until the last minute, going to the polls on May 6, 2010 – five years and aday since the previous election.
Despite languishing in the opinion polls at the start of the year,Brown’s Labour Party gained considerable ground in the weeks running up to election day, and denied David Cameron’s resurgent Tories amajority.The inconclusive election result was followed by five days of horse-trading, before Cameron and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg announced they would be going into coalition. Cameron would be Prime Minister,with Lib-Dem leader Nick Clegg as his deputy.One of the conditions of the coalition deal was that areferendum would be held on electoral reform. The following year apoll was
held on whether to replace the first-pastthe-post voting system with something called ‘alternative vote’ where electors rank the different candidates in order of preference. The Liberal Democrats campaigned in favour of the new electoral system, while the Conservatives and Labour argued for keeping the status quo. The public voted 68-32 to stick with first past the post.
The new government also decided to create elected police and crime commissioners across the country,with the first elections being held in November 2012.
North of the border,the Scottish National Party secured amajority in the 2011 election for the Scottish parliament. In response, Cameron granted SNP leader Alec Salmond’s demand for areferendum
Gordon Brownand his family leave10Downing Street for the last time, his stay ended amid afinancial crash and ascandal overMPs’ expense claims
on Scottish independence, which was to be held in September 2014. Opinion polls suggested avery tight contest, but in the end Scots voted 55-45 to remain as part of the UK.
The referendum campaign proved to be aparticularly acrimonious affair,with former PM Gordon Brown –aprominent campaigner to remain in the UK –being besieged by an angry nationalist mob. But this would prove to be adress rehearsal for something much bigger
The 2010 coalition agreement actually gave voters alittle bit of respite, stipulating that the next General Election would not be held until May 7, 2015. Opinion polls suggested aclose result, with another five years of Tory-Liberal coalition looking the most likely outcome. But abetter-than-expected by the Tories, coupled with acollapse in the Lib-Dem vote and the wipe-out of Labour in Scotland saw David Cameron sweep back into office with amajority of 10.
But the victorycame at aprice for Cameron, who would find himself out of office in little morethan ayear.The 2015 ConservativeParty manifesto included acommitment to hold areferendum on Britain’s membership of theEuropean Union, which would be held on June 23, 2016.
Cameron’s government was firmly in favourorremaining within the UK, but the Prime Minister did give cabinet ministers the freedom to campaign for whichever side they wished. Many assumed it would be aforegone conclusion, but Cameron was dealt acrushing blow when Justice Secretary Michael Gove announced he would be campaigning to leave. This headache became amigraine when it was announced that media favourite Boris Johnson was also backing Leave.
Thereferendum campaign quickly degenerated into one of the most divisive votes in British history,making the Scottish voteseem almost mild by comparison. The referendum was often portrayed as aproxy warbetween asupposed ‘metropolitan elite’ which wanted to retain thestatus quo and remain in the EU, and agrass-roots insurgency led by Johnson, Gove and Nigel Farage, demanding radical social change, particularly with regard to immigration.
Posters from the Leavecampaign featuring queues of supposed migrants seeking to reach the UK, and claims on a bus that EU membership cost the British Government £350 million ayearproved particularly contentious with Remain supporters, while Leave supporters accused their opponents of instilling ‘Project Fear’with spurious scare stories of what would happen if Britain left the EU.
One of the more bizarre moments came when arch eurosceptic Nigel Farage and Leave-supporting rock star Bob Geldof had to be separated by police after becoming embroiled in aboat skirmish on the River Thames. Farage joined Fishing for Leave’s 30-boat flotilla from Ramsgate to London –which wasalso said to have included reality television star Joey Essex. But things got heated when aboat containing Geldof pulled up alongside Farage, and drowned him out by playing Dobie Gray’s 1964 pop song The In Crowd. The Remain camp claimed that one of the fishing boats had turned its hose on small dinghies which hadturned out to support Geldof.The Port of London Authority said it had spoken to both sides about ‘excessive noise’ and the risk of disturbance to other river users but that the episode had passed off without any safety issues.
Opinions polls suggested atight contest, with most forecasts going for anarrow Remain win. Vocal Leave campaigner Nigel Farage, leader of the eurosceptic UK Independence Party, admitted as much after the polls closed,
saying he felt the campaign had just fallen short. The following morning apolitical earthquake ensued when it became clear that Leave had actually prevailed, ultimately winning by amargin of 52-48.
The West Midlands,inparticular voted emphatically to leave the EU. In Dudley,72per cent voted to leave, in Walsall the figure was 68 per cent. In Wolverhampton, 62 per cent votedtoquit the EU, with overwhelming majorities also in Sandwell, South Staffordshire, Lichfield and Stafford. Even Birmingham, with its young, cosmopolitan population voted narrowly to break away from Brussels.
The news sent shockwaves around the world, and Cameron promptly announced his intention to resign once asuccessor was elected. Johnson, fresh from his triumph in the referendum campaign, was the hot favourite to become new Tory leader,with the backing of Gove. But, just hours before the deadline for candidates, Gove stunned his party by withdrawing his support for Johnson and deciding to run himself.Johnson then dropped out of the race, and endorsed Andrea Leadsom,
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson waves on the steps of 10 Downing Street, London, after meeting
Queen Elizabeth II and accepting her invitation to become Prime Minister; above,withMichael Gove
Internet comes of age and changes the way news is nowconsumed
If the first decade of the 21st century was the one wherethe internet truly came of age, it was the second which really transformed the way people obtained their news.
The launch of the Apple iPhone in 2007 was met with scepticism by many within the technology sector.The new phone, with its clever touch-screen, was to all intents and purposes a personal computer you could carry in your pocket.
It would havea profound impact on the news industry, and newspapers in particular.For thefirst time, people could keep up with the very latest news wherever they were,
As ever,the Express &Star was quick to spot the significance of this change, and in 2012 became the first newspaper to introduce aresponsive website.
but both Gove and Leadsom were defeated by Theresa May,who took office as Prime Minister on July 13.
May initially enjoyed aconsiderable honeymoon as leader,atleastwith the general public. Enjoying acomfortable lead in the opinion polls, and frustrated by her small majority in her efforts to get aBrexit deal through the Commons, May surprised everyone when she called asnap general election the following May,prompting Brenda from Bristol’s immortal words on the matter
While the polls initially pointed to a landslide win for the Tories, alacklustre campaign and the perception that the outcome was aforegone conclusionled to asurprisingly tight race.May actually lost her majority and was forced to strike a deal with the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland, which would tie her hands even further in getting aBrexit agreement through the Commons.
In July 2018, Johnson,who had served as Foreign Secretary in May’s government, resigned over her handling of Brexit negotiations. In November 2018, May presented aproposeddeal with
the EU to parliament, but it was defeated on three separate occasions, prompting her to announce her resignation on May 24, 2019.
May’s premiership had 51 resignations with 33 relating to Brexit. These included 12 departures from the Cabinet. The pace and number of resignations have been described as ‘unprecedented’ by the Institute for Government, although it is probably fair to say that hisrecord has been somewhat eclipsed since.
Another leadership election followed, with Boris Johnson comfortably defeating second-placed Jeremy Hunt. Michael Gove taking third place.
Johnson succeeded May in July 2019, and just four months into the role he called another election, the third in less than five years. The poll was held on December 12, and Johnson was returned with athumping 80-seat majority on apromise to ‘level-up’ the country. Within eightdays his Brexit deal passed comfortably through the Commons, finally breaking the deadlock.
This would not quite be the end of the matter,though....
The rise of the smartphone also led to achange in the way the printed newspaper –which even in today’shitech world is still the most important revenue source for the Express & Star –was produced.For many years, thepaper’sslogan had been ‘today’s news today’, its status as an evening paper having helped it steal alead on itsnational competitors –the Express& Star could carry stories the same day as they happened, whereas the nationals had to wait until the following morning. The paper’snumerouseditions allowed developing stories to be updated throughout the day; major incidents would often result in a‘replate’, a special late edition printed specially to bring the news first. But the rise of the smartphone made much of this flexibility redundant, people could now get instant updates on the devices in their pockets. And while printing in the afternoon allowedthe Express &Star to be first with the news, it also meant it was last onto the shelves, meaning less time on sale.
In 2014, the difficult decision was made to switch to becoming a morning paper.The website would still allowthe Express &Star to break news as it happened, and the print edition would be focused on providing moredetailed and in-depth reporting as well as continuing to campaign for good causes in the region.
Theresa May and her husband Philip outside 10 Downing Street as she became Prime Minister
AROYAL FUNERAL ANDA NEWKING
OUR PRESENT DECADE HAS BEEN MARKED BY MOMENTOUS EVENTS, INCLUDING THE DEATH OF QUEEN ELIZABETH, THE CORONATION OF CHARLES AND THE IMPACT OF THE COVID PANDEMIC
The Queen is dead, long live the King! The death of Queen Elizabeth II, just three months after her Platinum Jubilee celebrations, marked the end of the longest reign in British history,seeing off 15 prime ministers.
But as the sun set on the Queen’s 70year reign, the accession of her eldest son, King Charles III,also marked the dawn of anew era.
The spring of 2022 was alargely joyful affair.With the gloom of the coronavirus lockdowns finally behind us, the people of the West Midlands were united in celebrating the Queen’s unprecedented Platinum Jubilee.
The Queen herself observed that it was difficult to know how to mark the occasion, given that such acelebration had never been held before.
“When it comes to how to mark 70 years as your Queen, there is no guidebook to follow,itreally is a first,” shesaid. The 70th anniversary of her
accession, in February,was arelatively low-key affair
Her Majesty held asmall reception at Sandringham, on February 7, which was attended by members of the local Women’s Institute. Among them were Angela Wood, aformer cookery student who helped create the original recipe for Coronation chicken in 1953.
Renewing the pledge she had made on her 21st birthday,the Queen said: “Aswe mark this anniversary,itgives me pleasure to renew to you the pledge Igave in 1947 that my life will always be devoted to your service.”
The main event, though, would be a four-day celebration in June, with an extra Bank Holiday being created on June 3, the normal spring bankholiday moving to June 2, and the celebrations continuing throughout theweekend.
The West Midlands became sea of red, white and blue –with adash of royal purple –ashundreds of street parties were held across the region.
More than 20 fires were lit across the
region, attracting thousands of wellwishers wanting to mark amoment in history.Thousands descended on the Severn Valley Railway to get aglimpse of the 34027 TawValley locomotive, which was painted purple, renumbered No. 70 and renamed Elizabeth II to mark the occasion.
The traditionalTrooping theColour ceremony was moved to June 2, andthe Queen observed a flypast of more than 70 aircraft from thebalcony of Buckingham Palace. The flypast was made up of aircraft from the Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm and Army Air Corps, including theBattle of Britain Memorial Flight,the Red Arrows and 15 Typhoon fighters forming the number 70.
The following day,a service of thanksgiving was held at St Paul’s Cathedral, but Her Majesty was conspicuous by her absence. It was reported she had been suffering from ‘some discomfort’ following theprevious day’s events, andthe Prince of Wales was tasked with standing in for her.The
Queen Elizabeth II, the Prince of Wales and Prince George, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace at the end of the Platinum Jubilee Pageant
Platinum Party at the Palace, amusic event featuring stars such as Elton John, Duran Duran, Andrea Bocelli, Alicia Keys, Rod Stewart and Diana Ross, was broadcast live around the world, with the Prince of Wales once more standing in for his mother at the end of the event. A comedy sketch, featuring the Queen in conversation with Paddington Bear,was also screened.
The celebrations were rounded off with apageant along The Mall on June 5. Asurprise appearance by the Queen from the palace balcony at the end rounded off what had been amuch-needed period of joy,but it also became evident thatthe Queen’s health had been in rapid decline.
On September 6the Queen appointed Liz Trussasher 15th prime minister, and for the first time she conducted the ceremony at herhome at Balmoral rather than Buckingham Palace. Official photographs of her greeting the new PM raised concerns about the Queen’s health. Twodays later Buckingham Palace announced her death.
Astatement from the Palace said the Queen died peacefully at 3.10pm on September 8, 2022. She was the first monarch to die in Scotland for almost 480 years.
King Charles III gave his first speech to the nation at 6pm on September 9, paying tribute to his mother and announcingthe appointment of his elder son, William, as Prince of Wales.
The following day,the Accession Council publicly proclaimed Charles as King, the ceremony being televised for
the first time. The King’s Coronation, the following year,was also marked by abank holiday,and once more thousands flocked to community events across the region.
The ceremony itself,inWestminster Abbey,was held on Saturday,May 6. As was the case with the Coronation of 1953, rain failed to dampen the spirits of those celebrating the occasion. More than 100 patriotic and hardy individuals turned up to watch the ceremony on ahuge outdoor screen at Himley Park, near Dudley
In London, tens of thousands of wellwishers lined the route of the procession from Buckingham Palace to the abbey, and also for the procession back. On their return to the palace, the King andQueen Consort Camilla appeared on the balcony for a flypast by the RAF.
Aside from the change to the
monarchy,the first five years of the 2020s represented one of the most eventful periods in recent history
The decade began with the emergence of the Covid-19 in the Wuhan district of China. As the first caseswere confirmed in the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson –who hadbeenre-elected with an 80-seat majority in December 2019 –imposed draconian ‘lockdown restrictions’, beginning on March 26, 2020. The laws initially saw people confined to their homes for all but essential activities, although the rules were somewhat relaxed in June, and made way for local lockdowns.
Asecond wave of the virus saw another national lockdown beginning in November.The development of avaccine, and amassimmunisation
The gold state coach on the flag-lined Mall during the Platinum Jubilee pageant in front of Buckingham Palace as millions celebrated the royal milestone
The culmination of the coronation –King Charles III after being crowned at Westminster Abbey
Emotional time as 150th anniversary was approaching
The 2020s were adecade of dramatic change at the Express &Star,as the newspaper had to adapt to both the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and arapidly changing industry.
It was also atime of sadness for the company, which mourned the passing of its ownerAlan Graham, aged 79, after aperiod of illness. Mr Graham, who took over on the death of his older brother Douglas in 2015, had been agreat pioneerinthe industry, being put in charge of launching the ShropshireStar at the age of 20, and launching colour printing 22 years before Fleet Street finally caught up. Mr Graham died in July 2021, with his sons Tomand Edwardcontinuing to run the company.
The decade was not quite three months old when Prime Minister Boris Johnson put the nation under ‘lockdown’.
With the people of the West Midlands confined to their homes, the role of the Express &Star in keeping people informed about what was going on was arguably moreimportant than ever
The exponential growth of the internet as asource of news, at the expense of printed newspapers, also presented a challenge. Some of the top experts in the industry were called in to draw up along-term strategy, and they came to the conclusion that apositiveway forwardwould be to offer readers a premium, paid-for service, that would run alongside the existing free-toview website. Of course, adapting to a rapidly changing market required huge investment, and on September 29, 2023, it was announced the Graham family’scompany, the Claverley Group, had made the difficult decision to sell the Midland News Association –including the Express &Star –to National WorldPlc
The takeoveralso meant it was time for the Express &Star to move from Queen Street, the newspaper’shome since the 1870s.
The move was quickly followedbya change in the leadership, as editor Martin Wright was given apost in the National Worldgroup, and Mark Drew succeeded him as editor
If the next 150 yearsare just aquarter as exciting as the first 150th, the writer of the 300th anniversary supplement will havesome tales to tell.
programme beginning in December 2020, saw the gradual easing of the restrictions from March onwards.
Within afortnight of the first lockdown being called, Johnson himself was admitted to intensive care, and reportedly came close to losing his life. While the Government’s handling of the crisis inevitably divided opinion, it was largely praised for its rapid vaccination programme which enabled the UK to emerge from lockdown before its neighbours.
However,goodwill towards Johnson and his government diminished rapidly when allegations began to surface of Christmas parties in Downing Street while restrictions were in place.Johnson, his wife Carrie and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak were among 83 people who were issued with fixed penalty notices following apolice investigation in January 2022.
The scandal saw Johnson’s popularity plummet. The resignations of Sunak and Health Secretary Sajid Javid on July 5, 2022, over an unrelated matter,led to acollapse in confidence in the Prime Minister,and a flurry of ministerial resignations. Johnson announced his resignation on July 7.
Atwo-month leadership election eventually saw Foreign Secretary Liz Truss defeat Sunak, andshe was invited
to form agovernment by the Queen on September 6. It would prove to be the shortest tenure in history.
Following aperiod of public mourning following the Queen’s death, the Trussadministration’s first act was to announce a‘mini budget’. The package included acap on energy prices, to tackle the crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, increases in public spending, and tax cut.
The package was to have been funded by asignificant increase in borrowing, leading to acollapse in confidence by the money markets and soaring mortgage rates. On October 20, after just 44 days in office, Trussannounced her resignation. She was succeededbyRishi Sunak on October 25
Sunak did succeed in stabilising the economy,and the Conservative Party did see amodest improvement in its poll ratings,but it still heavily trailed the opposition LabourParty
On May 22, 2024, Prime Minister Sunak surprised many by announcing aGeneral Election to be held on July 4. The election saw Labour,led by Sir Keir Starmer,win alandslide victory, despite failing to significantly increase its vote share on the 2019 defeat. But acollapse in the Conservative vote saw Starmer become UK’s fourth prime minister in less than five years.
Boris Johnson’s final speech as Prime Minister beforegoing to see the Queen
