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OLD PHOTOGRAPHS REPRODUCED FROM COPIES DONATED TO ALHS FROM THE

J. SALE COLLECTION

CURRENT PHOTOGRAPHY BY M.J.WOOD

ALDRIDGE LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY

The Aldridge Local History Society was formed in 1992 and now has a membership of in excess of 100 people.

The society holds regular monthly meetings, at which there is a varied programme of events, involving visiting speakers recalling various aspects of Aldridge’s history and that of the surrounding districts.

The society has become a real social get together, with new friendships being formed amongst the members. Each year we arrange outings to places of historical interest, such as Portsmouth, Bath, Gloucester, Elan Valley and Windsor.

We have also arranged fun events such as a walking treasure hunt around Lichfield, a skittles evening and a quiz night.

Within Aldridge the society has tried to reach out into the community by organising a photographic competition for Junior school children, giving slide shows at schools and various other venues and donating a bench sited at the Cenotaph to mark the 50th anniversary of V.E. Day.

During the research for the V.E. Day slide show and video we were extremely proud to discover that M.T.B.71 , a Motor Torpedo Boat, paid for by the people of Aldridge with money raised during Warship Week and thought to have been lost in action during the second world war, had been found being used as a house boat near Chichester. The boat is to undergo restoration work and is based at Portsmouth. We are pleased to keep in contact with the M.T.B. 71 Preservation Trust. The original plaque from Aldridge Urban District Council to the Admiralty for the M.T.B.71 is now sited in the library.

Thanks to the expertise of some of our members three videos about Aldridge have been produced, these have proved to be extremely popular and are also used in local schools as teaching aids.

Two gentlemen in particular are especially responsible for the society’s success. Stan Brookhouse and John Sale have been collecting photographs of old Aldridge for many years and staging slide shows for charity.