From pioneering solar inventions in Cannock to heated neighbourhood disputes over suburban kerbs, 1976 was a year when everyday life across the Black Country and Staffordshire rarely lacked a talking point.
These archive pictures capture a year of summer heatwaves, personal milestones, local campaigns and familiar faces.
Here is a look back at the stories, unusual happenings and everyday moments that shaped life across our towns and villages in 1976.
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21. Saluting tradition at Whittington Barracks
Lieutenant-Colonel Julian Goodbody (right) returns a smart salute on the dais alongside incoming commanding officer Lieutenant-Colonel John Bryant during a passing-out parade at Whittington Barracks, Lichfield, in March 1976. Marking the completion of training for Salerno platoon at the Prince of Wales’s Division Depot, the ceremony saw local recruits honoured for their discipline and fitness—with Private David White of Lones Road, West Bromwich, receiving the drill certificate and Private David Hill of Poole Road, Smethwick, awarded the physical training certificate. Did you complete your basic training at Whittington Barracks or attend a passing-out parade in Lichfield during 1976? | Express & Star archive
22. Bringing the heat to West Bromwich
Colin Wood manoeuvres heavy-duty portable industrial blow heaters across the yard at the newly opened Vantage Heat Hire premises in West Bromwich in December 1976. As winter set in across the region's busy industrial estates, mobile heating units like these trailer-mounted cannons were in hot demand to keep sprawling factories, workshops, and building sites warm through the freezing conditions. Did your workplace ever rely on Vantage heaters to keep the chill off the shop floor during cold Midlands winters in the 1970s? | Express & Star archive
23. Catching the sun in Walsall Arboretum
Trudy Allen and Denise Clift relax outdoors with pen and paper in hand as they soak up the sunshine in Walsall Arboretum during the long, sweltering summer heatwave of 1976. With temperatures consistently soaring across the Black Country, lush parks like the Arboretum provided a welcome green escape for locals seeking shade, quiet study, or a bit of open-air relaxation. Did you head down to Walsall Arboretum to cool off or enjoy the glorious sunshine during the record-breaking summer of 1976? | Express & Star archive
24. Heavy traffic threatens village heritage in Alrewas
A heavy lorry rumbles along Main Street past picturesque timber-framed cottages and a Midland Red bus stop in Alrewas, near Lichfield, in January 1976. Local residents and Alrewas Conservation Society founder Councillor Margaret Stanhope voiced deep alarm that constant rumbling from heavy goods vehicles—including brewery lorries using the village as an alternative route—was cracking structural walls, loosening window frames, and damaging the foundations of historic buildings. Did you live along Main Street in Alrewas or remember the campaign to curb heavy freight traffic through the village during the winter of 1976? | Express & Star archive