That may be the Mayor, Eva Grant
PAGES 1 and 3 of the Bugle dated April 7 showed pictures of military parades in West Bromwich.
Robed
On page 1, I believe that the robed lady to the left of the admiral may be Eva Grant, who was Mayor of West Bromwich in 1956, although the item suggested that it may have been a ceremony of an earlier date, in which case she may be deputising as Mayoress to her husband, who was mayor in 1945/6.
Certainly, the man next but one on her left is John Maxwell Day, who wears a short wig in his guise as Town Clerk.
The structure under construction on the right of the picture is the Kenrick Technical College on the High Street, because soldiers paraded there before the march-past in front of the Town Hall.
On page 3, raising his cocked hat is Alderman Harry Sower, who was Mayor of West Bromwich in 1953. Readers may remember his brother Ernie keeping an ironmonger’s shop in Hollyhedge Road, later owned by the Danks family.
The college and shop have since been demolished and replaced with a new college and houses respectively.
Douglas Parish, 22 Midhill Drive, Rowley Regis