Grandmother’s forgotten photo
DUDLEY Zoo employee Heather John made a surprising discovery recently while going through her late grandmother’s photographs – she found a collection of pictures which showed her enjoying a day out at the zoo almost seveny years ago.
It is all the more surprising when you consider that neither of them are from the Black Country. Heather is from Cheshire and her grandmother, Myra Hopkins, was from Wales.
Heather, 28, began work as a presenter at Dudley Zoo three years ago, and delivers education workshops to schoolchildren and visitors as part of her role. The photos she has recently seen for the first time show her grandmother taking a class of children around the famous attraction.
Myra sadly died just a few weeks ago, at the age of 88, which is when the photographs came to light. Heather knew that she had once taught at a primary school in West Bromwich, but had no idea that she had ever brought her class to the zoo, more than half a century before Heather came here to work.
Myra taught at Black Lake County Primary School, and the black and white photos show her sitting with her reception class on the zoo’s train, and standing in front of the castle, where Heather has often been pictured in her own time at the zoo.
Glowing
She also came across a class picture of the children, a staff photo (Myra is first left on the back row) and a glowing letter dated 1951, in which the school’s head teacher describes 20-yearold Miss Williams, as she then was, as a ‘good disciplinarian and a valued member of the staff.’
Heather told us: “My Nanna was from Wales and I knew her first job was in West Bromwich, but I had no idea she had been to the zoo.
“Even though she knew I worked at Dudley Zoo she must have forgotten about her time in the Black Country. She never mentioned she had been to the zoo so it was an incredible surprise when I came across the photos.
“It’s so nice to think Nanna had been to my workplace, the only sad thing is I wish I could have asked her about the visit and how she found it.
“Perhaps someone will recognise themselves or a family member in these fabulous pictures. They may remember her strong Welsh accent.
“I know she used to say she struggled sometimes with the Black Country accent and that she and the children had trouble understanding each other.”
Myra Williams only stayed at Black Lake County Primary School for a couple of years before moving to London where she taught at a Jewish school until her retirement. She married Leighton Hopkins and had two children and five grandchildren. ■ Do you recognise yourself in any of these photographs? Do you remember Miss Williams? We’d love to hear from you: email us on gjones@blackcountrybugle. co.uk, give us a call on 01384 889000, write to us, or pay us a visit at Black Country Bugle, Dudley Archive Centre, Tipton Road, Dudley, West Midlands, DY1 4SQ.