Arthur Cooper Gallery

Thanks all - I did wonder beach, then thought post-war building site. Cov kids in Cleethorpes. There's a few of these kind of outings.

Last one for today as I have work to do! Foleshill gas containers going up?

Okay - one more. So this is Pearl Hyde as Lord Mayor, making it 1957. Model of Medieval Coventry for what purpose? Was there an anniversary etc?

The children picture. The British Legion took 400 children of unemployed ex-servicemen to Cleethorpes in 1939. I believe the flags could be Legion flags, you can just see “ion” on the left hand one. I know the date is prewar, but Cleethorpes suffered a lot of war damage. These are some of the children waiting for the train at Coventry station.

This from the CET 25 April 1958 might be the answer to #53…

The building in the background is the Dolphin Hotel, Cleethorpes

Wheatley Street School playground?

Hi, I think the picture in post 61 is of the girls’ entrance to Frederick Bird Senior School, taken in the playground which it shared with the infants’ part of the school. Although the main building was shared with the boys, the entrances were separate, as were their playgrounds by a 6 foot wall, with the boys entrance being further down Swan Lane nearer to the Junior School. The houses in the background therefore are in Newnham Road, opposite the girls’ entrance gate on Swan Lane.

I wonder whatever happened to the model made by the pupils at King Henry VIII? It would be fascinating to see it even today, and a godsend for those like Helen with their 3D mapping of the city. Was it returned to the school after its function?

I'm told that the lady in the glasses might be Miss Clews, headmistress of Wheatley Street.

The lady in glasses could be Muriel Irene Clews, born Derby, June 1893, died 18 August 1971, Coventry. A head teacher of elementary school in 1939, taken from 1939 Register and living in Leamington Spa. She also lived in Radcliffe Road, Earlsdon, Coventry.

Miss Clews appears in newspaper articles throughout the late 1940s and 50s, but as ever with the scans, the images are very poor so it's not easy to be 100% convinced. However, someone who went to Wheatley Street says it is her and I'm inclined to take that view until someone can convince me otherwise.

Humber Road?

I would say that the lorry has just turned right out of Kingsway onto Walsgrave Road. Might be a fuselage section for an Armstrong Whitworth Argosy aircraft. The badge over the cab of the lorry says 'AWA'- Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft (I think).

This is a fuselage of an Armstrong Whitworth Argosy being moved on a new purpose built trailer. The route was tested in a ghost run earlier when it was moved from Baginton to Bitteswell in 1958. I would think that it would be a fascinating sight to see them being moved along the roads. There was a further 10 made. This is a picture from 1958 CET.