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Looking back at Wolverhampton 1980: 18 pictures capturing people and moments

Here, we journey back 46 years to life across Wolverhampton in 1980.

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By Tania Taylor
Published

It was the year The Police enjoyed the longest-running number one of the year with Don’t Stand So Close To Me, topping the charts for four weeks, and we were discovering new TV favourites like Yes Minister and Hi-de-Hi!

Let’s take a look at the faces from the past who made our local headlines...

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A display team from the Staffordshire Regiment was touring the West Midlands showing off aspects of military life. The photograph shows Adrian Preece of Fisher Street in Penn Fields trying out a bugle, alongside Lance-Corporal Tim Adams from Stoke, at the Mander Centre in May 1980.
A display team from the Staffordshire Regiment was touring the West Midlands showing off aspects of military life. The photograph shows Adrian Preece of Fisher Street in Penn Fields trying out a bugle, alongside Lance-Corporal Tim Adams from Stoke, at the Mander Centre in May 1980.
'Contractors have knocked down two houses in Wolverhampton by mistake. And today the council ordered them to stop working after being alerted by worries residents. The blunder in Lord Street, Chapel Ash, has left some of the occupied houses in the area with parts of their roofs missing.' Pictures is Mrs Lena Gray outside her house in Lord Street in November 1980.
'Contractors have knocked down two houses in Wolverhampton by mistake. And today the council ordered them to stop working after being alerted by worries residents. The blunder in Lord Street, Chapel Ash, has left some of the occupied houses in the area with parts of their roofs missing.' Pictures is Mrs Lena Gray outside her house in Lord Street in November 1980.
September 1980: 'Three young bade enthusiasts take a salute. The boys were enjoying the action at a swop meeting of the West Midlands branch of the British Badge Collectors Association. The lads are from the left, 13-year-old Paul Moss wearing a Greek Helmet, ten-year-old Mark Moss (Austrian), ten-year-old Carl Ault (German) and their "friend" wearing the uniform of a Staffordshire police inspector from 1910.
September 1980: 'Three young bade enthusiasts take a salute. The boys were enjoying the action at a swop meeting of the West Midlands branch of the British Badge Collectors Association. The lads are from the left, 13-year-old Paul Moss wearing a Greek Helmet, ten-year-old Mark Moss (Austrian), ten-year-old Carl Ault (German) and their "friend" wearing the uniform of a Staffordshire police inspector from 1910.
Hundreds of Wolverhampton residents were threatening a rates strike in protest over a 56% rise, and were calling for the resignation of the borough Council. Here we see protestors outside the Civic Centre, with a speaker on the steps of St Peter's Church, and premises including the Exchange, Barnaby's Bistro, Midshires Building Society and Times Furnishings in the background. April 1980.
Hundreds of Wolverhampton residents were threatening a rates strike in protest over a 56% rise, and were calling for the resignation of the borough Council. Here we see protestors outside the Civic Centre, with a speaker on the steps of St Peter's Church, and premises including the Exchange, Barnaby's Bistro, Midshires Building Society and Times Furnishings in the background. April 1980.