Arthur Cooper Gallery

Moderator : the specific galleries in these comments are now changed but the images can be found here.

Moderator : the specific galleries in these comments are now changed but the images can be found here. An attempt at something for each photo. I fully expect corrections. The Transport Museum might know better facts about any vehicles. #1 Children looking at a 1912 Austin car at an open air show. #3 A chapel in the new cathedral. #5 The Triumph streamliner built by aircraft mechanic Joe Dudek. Rider Bill Johnson initially piloted Dudek's machine to a petrol powered record of 205mph, but the pair then drained the fuel from the bike, changed the carburettor jets and refuelled with nitro methane to set the record in 1962 - 224.57mph. Dudek gained the inspiration for his Triumph streamliner from the X-15 rocket-plane and built it with a bored-out T120 Bonneville engine. The record stood (in the Streamlined, Altered Frame/Fuel class) until 1992. The Dudek streamliner was destroyed in a fire in 1974. #6 Early stage of the building of the new cathedral. Looking towards the spire of the old cathedral St Michael's. #7 A fire at a tractor factory (Massey Ferguson?) #10 Blackdown Mill Leamington Spa. Occupied by Charles Antiques 1960-1970. Business owned by Charles T. & N.J. Fellowes. #17 A chapel in the new cathedral. #18 View of new cathedral under construction and the north east of the city seen from the spire of the old cathedral St Michael's #29 The pub sign for The Joseph Arch pub, 7 Bridge Street in Barford. Former coaching inn. #32 Maze of scaffolding during the construction of the new cathedral. #36 An anti strike protest outside the TGWU building. #43 A mayoral party headed by Pearl Hyde meeting Jimmy Hill. Pearl Hyde was Coventry's first female Lord Mayor elected in 1957. #47 Archaeological dig at the north end of Whitefriars monastery. The area was part of the old church. The brick buildings, including the white painted wall and everything to the right of that, were demolished and the ramp for the ring road was built over the right hand side of the photo. The original cloister extended to the right of the stone wall before the Dissolution and some of the structure survived as a boundary wall till at least 1750. Parts of it, including the gatehouse survived until the war. #48 A group of people walking towards the Belgrade with the Coventry Telegraph building at the back of the photo.

Moderator : the specific galleries in these comments are now changed but the images can be found here. Struggling on the footballers on #14. Left is Stewart Imlach, despite the KA on the shorts, and third one is Frank Austin (recognisable as well as name on his top).

Moderator : the specific galleries in these comments are now changed but the images can be found here. #20 is Arthur Waugh #33 is Bill Wilson #42 is Bobby Gould #43 is Civic Reception for Sky Blues, 1967, promotion to Division One

Moderator : the specific galleries in these comments are now changed but the images can be found here. 24. Service at the Civilian Mass Blitz Grave, London Road Cemetery.

Moderator : the specific galleries in these comments are now changed but the images can be found here. #45 Joseph Arch birthplace, Grange Road, Longford?

Moderator : the specific galleries in these comments are now changed but the images can be found here. For my tenpenneth, I suggest pics nos. 12 & 31 are obviously of Brian Rix and fellow actors, but not in a stage setting, so presumably a hotel or stately home for a film production or theatre stage rehearsal for the camera. I have tried to look at plays/films where Rix might have played a naval rating, and the nearest I have found is a 1957 comedy film "Not wanted on voyage". If his fellow actors in the photos could be identified, it might provide a clue as to where filming took place or the cast were staying. No. 21, Annual Scout Camp at Rough Close, 1950/60's. No. 44, Top of Hearsall Common, or possibly Gosford Green. The houses in the background could help identify,

Moderator : the specific galleries in these comments are now changed but the images can be found here. Ah, yes it is Joseph Arch's birthplace but in Barford. Modern day view

The Brian Rix farce “Chase me Comrade” was performed at the Belgrade in 1969. Don’t know anything about it but I wonder if it could be that. There is a naval officer in that, and his uniform does seem to be involved. Just found it was also on at the Coventry Theatre in 1964! A picture from the Tatler 1964…

Given the speed you're working at, I'm thinking that I might take a different approach. 1. I will publish all assets on Coventry Digital, complete with their MirrorPix filename. 2. I will make a spreadsheet available to those interested (I'll have to authorise using email addresses) and, as long as people are happy to match filenames, comments can be added to the spreadsheet. 3. When the spreadsheet is as complete as can be (given there's some stuff we'll just never know - the unknown person etc) I'll use software to update all the assets in Cov Dig. How does this sound? Ben

Sounds fine, Ben, though having them pop up here might prompt people to engage more, even if you suggest a batch to look through, eg MirrorPix0001 to MirrorPix0050 sort of thing. It means we won't all be writing the same thing or writing nothing at all for those we don't know anything about, eg in the old Pictures of Coventry we identified two 'unknown' images specifically because they were labelled as such. It was a pleasing challenge. Have a think about a list of key words as I suggested above. It means you won't have to add them at a later date.

Hi Helen Thanks for the advice on keywords. Metadata is generally free text and structured. Free text is what we are doing in the first instance. When you look at the Cooper gallery you won't be able to search as there is no text. All you'll be able to do, hopefully, is open one tab with the spreadsheet and one with the images, and as you spot something, you can add a line in. I'm not too worried atm about people wanting to add information. I'll tidy things up anyway and MirrorPix will then add their own layer of editing so our work conforms with their standards. Email me if you'd like me to give you access to the spreadsheet. Same goes for anyone else. I've added this to explain to anyone you might want to share the project with. I'm uploading the 8000 assets today. It'll probably be tomorrow when they are viewable in a gallery as I'm adding 90GB data to the system! Ben

Moderator : the specific galleries in these comments are now changed but the images can be found here. #3 and #17 appear to be 3D (possibly cardboard?) models for what became the Chapel of Christ in Gethsemane in the New Cathedral. Below is a photo that our Steve took of the actual chapel in 2009.

Moderator : the specific galleries in these comments are now changed but the images can be found here. The press photo below was taken on 4th January 1960, so I would think that photo #18 was taken a little later that same year - with the Chapel of Unity still not begun!

Moderator : the specific galleries in these comments are now changed but the images can be found here. #21 - Scouts building a bivouac - I used to love building and sleeping the night in those.... in warm weather!