Step back in time with a nostalgic look at everyday life, local industry and community spirit across Walsall and the surrounding area between 1960 and 1965.
From high streets and historic landmarks to factory floors, royal visits and familiar faces, these photographs capture a changing Black Country at the start of the 1960s.
Featuring scenes from Aldridge, Bloxwich, Darlaston and Brownhills to many other places across the area, the collection offers a fascinating glimpse of places and moments that have since disappeared or changed beyond recognition.
Take a trip down memory lane, see how many familiar faces and places you can spot, and share your memories in the comments.
- Travel back to Wolverhampton in 1969 with these 61 pictures, guaranteed to bring back memories. View them here.
- You can enjoy this and more with our weekly FREE Nostalgia Newsletter - with scores of archive pictures and exclusive features on the history of Wolverhampton, Staffordshire and the Black Country - all sent to your inbox every week. Sign up here.
21. Testing the waters at Walsall baths
Swimmers pack out the main pool while brave lads queue up for the high board at Walsall Gala Baths in May 1961. The impressive modern facility featured towering diving platforms and massive floor-to-ceiling windows that flooded the hall with natural light. A popular haunt for local schoolchildren, casual paddlers, and daring divers alike, the municipal baths were the place to be for a weekend splash or a formal swimming gala in the early 60s. Did you ever brave the top diving board at Walsall Gala Baths or pop down for a swim in your youth? | Express & Star archive
22. Prime cuts and fresh sausages daily
The welcoming storefront of A. E. Poxon & Sons butchers on Brownhills High Street captured in vibrant colour around 1960 by photographer Jon Lucas. With fresh cuts of meat neatly displayed behind the glass window, a striped sun awning extended, and painted signage pointing down the side passage to their 'Model Abattoir & Pork Factory', the family business was a cornerstone of local trade. Serving generation after generation of local shoppers, the shop stood out as a proud example of the independent high street butchers that defined everyday life in the borough. Did you or your family buy your Sunday roast or famous local pork sausages from Poxon's? | Picture: Jon Lucas
23. A milestone key in the door at Mossley
Number 32 Tintern Way in Mossley stands proud in 1963, representing a major civic achievement for Bloxwich and the wider borough. Completed in 1958, the property earned a special place in local history as Walsall Corporation's 15,000th council house. Featuring neat gardens, decorative porthole windows, and modern brickwork, the home stood as a shining symbol of post-war housing expansion, providing bright, comfortable living spaces for growing families across the area. Did you move into one of the new council estates in Bloxwich or Mossley during this era of housebuilding? | Express & Star archive
24. Behind the brickwork at Chamberlin & Hill
A quiet courtyard view inside Walsall's historic Chamberlin & Hill foundry site captured in 1962. Tucked behind traditional brick outbuildings, workshop bays, and pitched roofs, the yard shows a classic car parked in an open garage alongside bicycles used by workers for their daily commute. Established as a leading regional iron founder, the Chuckery-based firm was a major employer in Walsall, producing high-grade iron castings that powered industries across the Black Country and beyond. Do you remember passing by the Chamberlin & Hill factory or knowing someone who worked in the Chuckery area back in the sixties? | Picture: Daniel Graves Photography