From factory floors and football matches to community celebrations and everyday moments, 1979 was a year of change, ambition and memories across Wolverhampton.
Our archive takes a look back at a town shaped by its proud industrial roots, with workers at firms including Guy Motors, Brockhouse Castings and Chubb keeping long-standing traditions alive, while new factories and developments pointed towards the future.
It was also a year when communities came together - from fundraising for new facilities and supporting local churches to campaigning for better spaces and celebrating milestones. There were weddings, Christmas parties, carnival processions and familiar faces from streets and workplaces across the city.
These photographs capture Wolverhampton at a crossroads: a place where old industries were changing, new ideas were taking shape, and everyday life continued to create lasting memories.
How many places, faces or moments from 1979 do you remember? Share your memories with us as you look through this nostalgic gallery.
Revisit Wolverhampton in 1983 here.
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9. Building the future at Fordhouses
This October 1979 picture shows construction under way on new factories being built by Tarmac in Fordhouses Road, Wolverhampton. The digger at work captures a moment of change as the site began to take shape, creating new industrial space for the area. Do you remember seeing this development take place, or what stood on this site before the factories arrived? | Express & Star archive

10. Standing up for local jobs
Hundreds of workers marched from the Ever Ready factory in Park Lane to Wolverhampton Civic Centre in February 1979 after the threat of redundancies and the possible closure of the factory. The demonstration reflected the uncertainty facing many manufacturing communities at the time, as employees fought to protect their livelihoods and the future of one of the city's major employers. Were you among those who took part, or do you remember the campaign to save the factory? | Express & Star archive

11. Tools of the trade
At Jenks and Cattell Ltd in Neachells Lane, Wednesfield, skilled workers were busy producing garden tools in October 1979. The company had recently taken over two firms based in Walsall and Willenhall, with plans to bring their activities together at the Wednesfield site. This glimpse of shovels moving along the assembly line captures the everyday work behind the products found in gardens across the country. Did you, or someone in your family, work in the tool-making industry around Wolverhampton and the Black Country? | Express & Star archive

12. A mystery behind the front door
This intriguing picture from Oaks Crescent, Chapel Ash, taken in July 1979, came with a mysterious note suggesting there were "strange and mysterious goings on" inside the house. With few details left behind, the story remains unsolved - leaving plenty of room for imagination. What do you think was happening behind this unassuming front door, and do you remember any local tales or mysteries from Wolverhampton's past? | Express & Star archive

