On this page we show some of the people who were there and some of the things which happened. There are lots of photos, so it might take a while to download!
 | The meeting was held here at the Springvale Social Club,which is now quite an historic building as it is was originally part of the steel works. |  |
Getting ready: Derek Barratt (Treasurer), Alma Darby (Secretary), Jim Speakman (Deputy Chairman),and Reg Humphries (Committee Member) sort things out |
 |
Getting ready: the displays are set up. Front left is the symbol for the Centenary of the Staffordshire Iron and Steel Institute, made in stainless steel by Accles and Pollock of Oldbury A larger version, in 3" steel, was erected outside the then Bilston College but it was stolen. Barry Hodgson brought this to the meeting along with a lot of other memorabilia of the iron and steel industry. We hope Barry will be helping to write up the history of the steel works. Just to the right (and out of shot - sorry about that - was Michelle Clare, showing some her detailed and witty drawings of Black Country life). |
 | The City Archives again had a display, this time showing something of the range of material about the Bilston area that can be seen in the archives. |
 |
 |
 |
|
| The Wolverhampton Photographic Society's display, this time showing members' work, mainly on a theme of local industry | We were very interested to have a display about safety - in the home and on the street. | Wolverhampton City Council had a display about the proposal for the Bilston Urban Village, put forward by Advantage West Midlands. The scheme would regenerate a lot of derelict land and be very important to the future of Bilston - if it comes about! | |
 |
About lunch time Alfred Higginson (left) Reg Aston (centre) and Roger Cox (right) found time for refreshment, much needed on a hot, close day. Reg had bought along an enormous collection of material about local history which he displayed with great ingenuity. The fact that he had rescued much of the material from going into skips is an important reminder to all of us of the need to look out for our history and heritage. |
 |
Dennis Turner M.P. enjoyed the recess with a visit to the meeting, where he renewed old acquaintance with Tom Larkin. We hope Dennis is going to write the story of the last days of the Bilston steel works for us. |
 This lunch time group seems to be finding plenty to chat about. |
 |
Our thanks go, as usual, to those who gave prizes for the lottery and those who sold the tickets - and, of course, those who bought the tickets. Our venue provided us with a proper machine for making the draw. Here our Chairman, Brad Pursehouse, wonders how to get in to it and our radiologist, Reg Humphries, works out how to see inside without opening it. | |
 |
We tend to take our fresh water supply for granted these days but Trevor Genge reminded us that not so long ago you could not. As usual Trevor had a large audience for an amusing and witty talk - and there aren't too many who can make the history of water supply funny! |
 |
Kath Keily shows Trevor Genge an item from her vast collection of family and local memorabilia. |
There are more people to see and some fascinating artifacts to look at. Click here to see them