W & J Whitehead’s Centenary Celebrations in Blackpool

A journey through time to an age when entire factories would collectively head off for a trip to the seaside. Workers at the Bradford textile firm of W & J Whitehead, including an early group of Asian employees, carry on their usual diversions and antics on the train and on their day out to Blackpool. Here they enjoy the fine view from the Tower and the traditional pleasures that the resort has long offered, with the 1950s clothes and fair rides looking great in Kodachrome colour.

The film was made by local Bradford filmmakers C H Wood, renown for their sports films, to commemorate the company’s centenary. Blackpool was the most popular destination for the mill towns of the West Riding for their Wakes Weeks, when entire towns would close for the annual week holiday. Companies would hire special excursion trains, as here. The camaraderie of these outings, much in evidence here, has sadly disappeared with the increase in staggered family-based holidays. Of interest are the long forgotten names playing at the Central Pier: Don Lang, Vanda and Brenda Barry. Note also the newspaper headline marking Bobby Charlton’s selection for the 1958 World Cup squad (though he never kicked a ball).