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.
33. Heavy metal power stamping out the future
Towering Wilkins & Mitchell power presses line the busy factory floor at the Willenhall Motor Radiator Co, Ltd in July 1962. This impressive line-up of heavy machinery was set for further enlargement as part of a major post-war expansion programme at the works. Supplying pressed steel body panels, cabs, and components to Britain's thriving motor industry, the factory played a crucial role in cementing the Black Country's reputation as the industrial heartland of British automotive manufacturing. Did you or any of your relatives work alongside these giant press machines in the 1960s? | Express & Star archive
34. Rain stops play for the Saddlers
Referee Gordon Roper and his linesmen wade across a completely submerged pitch at Fellows Park in May 1963. This striking photo reveals the aftermath of a sudden half-time deluge that brought an abrupt end to the Walsall versus Charlton Athletic fixture. Devoted Saddlers supporters huddled under umbrellas and rain bonnets on the terraces as official pitch inspections confirmed what everyone already knew—the turf had turned into a proper swimming pool. Were you standing on the terraces at Fellows Park when this torrential downpour washed out the match? | Express & Star archive
35. Time for a pint at the corner local
A cyclist rides past the Scott Arms pub at the corner of Foster Street and Narrow Lane in Darlaston during the early 1960s. Displaying classic Mitchells & Butlers brewery lettering on its brickwork, the traditional corner pub served as a popular watering hole for local workers and residents alike. The streetscape captures a quiet everyday moment in the neighbourhood, complete with a gentleman strolling down the pavement, vintage motor vans parked along the road, and tall brick chimneys towering above the surrounding homes. Do you remember popping into the Scott Arms for a pint or passing down Foster Street on your daily walk? | Express & Star archive
36. Hot off the press and delivered to your door
The timber-framed facade of R. Downes & Son newsagents on Brownhills High Street, pictured around 1964. Adorned with classic newspaper posters and hand-painted shopfront signs advertising national dailies and the local Express & Star, the family-run business stood as a fixture of daily community life. Believed to be one of the longest-serving local businesses in the area, the shop was a go-to spot for morning papers, magazines, and sweets for generations of local residents. Did you use to pop into Downes to buy your morning paper or pick up a comic on the way home from school? | Picture supplied