Photographs greatly enrich our lives. Thanks to them we have images of family, friends, important events in our lives, favourite places, and some of our long-gone ancestors. They bring back memories from the past and allow us to see how local areas have changed with the passing of time.

Roger Taft has a wonderful collection of old photographs, featuring trams, buses, and local street scenes. They are an important archive that allows us to look back into our parents' and grandparents' world, which has changed almost beyond recognition.

Luckily for us, Roger has allowed me to include a number of his marvellous photographs in this section, which I hope you will enjoy. Some take us back to the early years of the twentieth century, and others take us to the 1920s, the 1930s, and through to the 1960s.

The remarkable collection allows us to look back at everyday life in a long-gone world.

 


Roger Taft.


A fine view of Queen Square, taken in March 1952. From the Roger Taft collection.


An earlier view of Queen Square, as seen during a busy day in the 1920s. From the Roger Taft collection.


An even earlier view of Queen Square, just before the First World War. From the Roger Taft collection.


Victoria Square was an important terminus for local buses. On the left is a number 1, which would soon be on its way to Tettenhall. On the right is a number 4, bound for Penn Fields. Victoria Square disappeared due to the building of Ring Road St Davids in the mid 1980s and the surrounding redevelopments including the new bus station. Number 221 is Guy BTX, built in 1934 and withdrawn in 1946. Number 204 is a Sunbeam MS3 with a Metro-Cammell body, built in 1934 and withdrawn in 1945. From the Roger Taft collection.

A Wolverhampton Corporation trolleybus on the number 2 route, from Whitmore Reans to Darlaston via Bilston, parked in Victoria Square near the top of Fryer Street. It is about to turn right to the Darlaston bus stop that was between Railway Drive and Horseley Fields. The bus is a 1949 Guy BT with a Park Royal body. It was withdrawn in 1964. From the Roger Taft collection.

A trolleybus leaving Victoria Square on its way to Bilston and Darlaston. It is a Sunbeam F4 with a Park Royal body, built in 1950, and withdrawn in 1961. From the Roger Taft collection.

Another trolleybus on its way to Darlaston via Bilston, with the old Commercial Road power station in the background. From the Roger Taft collection.

A trolleybus at the terminus in the Bull Stake at Darlaston. It is about to return to Wolverhampton and Whitmore Reans. From the Roger Taft collection.

A trolleybus at the bus stop for Wolverhampton, in Pinfold Street Darlaston. It is a Sunbeam W4 that was built in 1948. It originally had a Park Royal body, but was re-bodied by Roe in 1960, and was withdrawn in 1967. From the Roger Taft collection.

Another trolleybus on the number 2 route, seen at Catherine's Cross in Darlaston whilst on its way to Bilston and Wolverhampton. Like the bus in the previous photo, it is a Sunbeam W4 that was re-bodied by Roe in 1960, and withdrawn in 1967. From the Roger Taft collection.


A trolleybus on the Darlaston route, seen at Moxley, on its way to Wolverhampton. From the Roger Taft collection.


A photo taken in 1960 showing a Guy BT trolleybus in Lichfield Street on the number 7 route, on its way to Whitmore Reans. To the left of the bus is Edward Parry's wonderful ironmongers shop, which sadly closed in the early 1990s. From the Roger Taft collection.

A final view of a trolleybus on the Whitmore Reans to Darlaston route. The bus, a 1950 Guy BT with a Park Royal body is seen outside the Municipal Grammar School in Newhampton Road East. From the Roger Taft collection.

A view of trolleybuses in Victoria Square, at the top of Fryer Street in about 1936. In the background is the Sir Tatton Sykes pub. The bus on the left, a number 4 bound for Penn Fields is a Sunbeam MS2 with a Park Royal body, built in 1935 and withdrawn in 1949. The bus on the right is a number 1 bound for Tettenhall. It is a Sunbeam MS2 with a Metro-Cammell body. It was built in 1934, and withdrawn in 1948. From the Roger Taft collection.

A trolleybus on the number 1 service to Tettenhall, at the bus stop outside the old post office in Lichfield Street. It is a Guy BT with a Park Royal body, built in 1949, and withdrawn in 1964. From the Roger Taft collection.

A view of Darlington Street in about 1900 with two horse-drawn trams. The one in the distance, on its way to Newbridge is number 22, built in 1892. The nearest tram, returning to Queen Square has three horses, the third being added to assist the tram on its climb up the hill. From the Roger Taft collection.

Lorain tram number 21 in Darlington Street, on its way to Tettenhall. It was built by Brush in 1902. It had just passed the Methodist Church which is on the left, and is passing the shops that were demolished in the 1970s to make way for Fold Street Car Park. From the Roger Taft collection.

Lorain tram number 16 on its way back to town from Tettenhall. Like the tram in the previous photo it was built by Brush in 1902. Singers, listed on the sign on the right, had a typing and shorthand office. They did all kinds of typing and copying, and held classes in typing and shorthand. From the Roger Taft collection.

A trolleybus on the Tettenhall service enters Chapel Ash from Darlington Street. It is passing John Smith's shop. He was a fish merchant. From the Roger Taft collection.

Another trolleybus on the Tettenhall route waits at the traffic lights at the bottom of Chapel Ash. It is a Sunbeam F4 with a Park Royal body, built in 1949, and withdrawn in 1963. From the Roger Taft collection.

A 1949 Guy BT trolleybus with a Park Royal body passes Albert Road as it journeys along Tettenhall Road towards town. From the Roger Taft collection.

A wonderful view of Newbridge looking towards town. The Lorain tram is number 24. From the Roger Taft collection.

A trolleybus waits at the bus stop in Stafford Street next to the Territorial Army Centre, which is now apartments. It is on the number 13 route to Merry Hill via Chapel Ash. The bus is a 1938 Sunbeam MF2 with a Park Royal body. It was withdrawn in 1949. From the Roger Taft collection.

Another trolleybus on the number 13 route, at the Merry Hill bus stop at the end of Trysull Road. It is a 1949 Guy BT with a Park Royal body, withdrawn in 1964. From the Roger Taft collection.

Another view of a trolleybus at Merry Hill. It is standing at the bus stop beside the Merry Hill pub, before returning to Wolverhampton. It is a 1948 Sunbeam W4 which initially had a Park Royal body, and was re-bodied by Roe in 1960. It was withdrawn in 1967. From the Roger Taft collection.

A trolleybus on the number 11 route to Penn, turns into Broad Street from Railway Street. It is a 1945 Sunbeam W4 with a Park Royal body, that was withdrawn in 1963. From the Roger Taft collection.

A wartime view of a trolleybus on the number 4 route from Penn Fields, as it travels along Worcester Street before entering Victoria Street. It is a 1937 Guy BT which was withdrawn in 1949. The view has hardly changed, other than Berryman's shoe shop at the bottom of Temple Street, that is long gone. From the Roger Taft collection.

Penn terminus on Penn Road, at the corner of Springhill Lane, before the shops were built. From the Roger Taft collection.

A Lorain tram at the Stubbs Road terminus in Penn Fields on 10th September, 1909, the first day of operation. The party consists of councillors and tramway officials. In the distance is Penn Road, and a very different looking Rookery Lane. The tram, number 44 was built in 1908 by the United Electric Car Company Limited. From the Roger Taft collection.

A trolleybus on the number 9 route seen in Jeffcock Road. It is a 1948 Sunbeam W4 with a Roe body, which it received in 1960. It was withdrawn in 1967. From the Roger Taft collection.

Trolley buses at the Walsall bus terminus in St. James' Square. The trolleybus in front, on the number 29 route, about to depart for Walsall is a 1949 Guy BT with a Park Royal body. It was withdrawn in 1964. From the Roger Taft collection.

A Walsall Corporation trolleybus passes Portobello School, as it crosses the railway bridge, on its way to Wolverhampton. From the Roger Taft collection.

Trolley bus number 1 in Wednesfield Road, looking towards the canal bridge. The trolley bus route to Wednesfield from Broad Street, began operation on 29th October, 1923. It is a Tilling Stevens, with a Dodson 40 seat body. From the Roger Taft collection.

A Sunbeam W4 trolleybus with a Park Royal body, passes beneath Broad Street railway bridge on its way to the town centre. From the Roger Taft collection.

A 1949 Sunbeam F4 trolleybus with a Park Royal body stands in Cleveland Road next to the old Newmarket Hotel. All of the buildings have been demolished in the last few years. From the Roger Taft collection.

A corner of the Cleveland Road Tram Depot, with a single decker from 1905, and track cleaning vehicles. From the Roger Taft collection.


Another view inside the tram depot with Lorain trams number 14 and 10. From the Roger Taft collection.


Buses standing in the old bus station at the top of Railway Street, next to Railway Drive. From the Roger Taft collection.


A Brewood bus stands in the old bus station at the top of Railway Street, next to Railway Drive. From the Roger Taft collection.


Women volunteers clearing snow in Lichfield Street, during the First World War. From the Roger Taft collection.


A trolleybus turns into Garrick Street on its way to the Fighting Cocks, Sedgley, and Dudley. It has just left the terminus in Bilston Street. On the left is the old Garricks Head pub. From the Roger Taft collection.

A tram from Dudley approaches as it travels along Snow Hill. The ornate Agricultural Hall Cinema can be seen on the corner of Cleveland Road. From the Roger Taft collection.

A view of the Fighting Cocks in the early years of the 20th century. On the left is a Wolverhampton Corporation Lorain tram at its terminus. The tram on the right is a Wolverhampton District Electic Tramways Limited vehicle, on its way from Dudley to Bilston. It is about to turn into Parkfield Road. From the Roger Taft collection.

Stafford Street in the late 1940s before the buildings that are now part of the university were built. On the extreme left is the George Hotel. The tall building next door was Wilcox’s, the rag, bone, and scrap metal merchants. The trolleybus is a 1937 Sunbeam MF2. From the Roger Taft collection.

Bushbury tram terminus on Stafford Road. The large building in the distance on the left is the old E.C.C. factory. From the Roger Taft collection.

A trolleybus approaches Snow Hill from Cleveland Road in the 1960s. The Central Library on the left has changed very little, but the Gaumont Cinema on the right closed on 10th November, 1973 and was demolished in 1974. From the Roger Taft collection.

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