Black Country mayors in VIP mystery
Picture poses several questions – do you remember what brought local leaders together?
THIS picture from the Bugle collection was sent to us some twenty years ago by Lower Gornal reader Jack Edwards.
As Jack wrote at the time, “I thought you may be interested in this photograph. Some VIPS met local dignitaries of the time, and all were photographed together at a local historical occasion.
Occasion
“Who can name them, tell us what the occasion was, and the event that brought them all together? Where was it held, and what was the date?”
That’s a lot of questions, and there are no details whatseover with the picture – but there are quite a few clues in there which may awaken a memory in some readers.
There are four mayoral chains in view. The one at far right, we can just about make out with a magnifying glass on the original print, is the old Stourbridge one – it features the pears of Worcestershire, and a fleece suspended from bridge.
On the opposite side, the woman in white gloves also wears a chain that is not quite visible – she may have been a mayor in her own right, or perhaps the consort of one of
The tall dark-haired fellow has an air of showbiz about him
the men. Next to her, in glasses, is, we think, the Mayor of Dudley; small as it is, his chain looks like the old Dudley coat of arms, with the trilobite, castle and salamander. We can only assume that the next man along is another Black Country mayor, but his regalia is frustratingly sideon. The grinning fellow second from the right, shaking hands, looks very much like Wilfred Pickles, the presenter of the BBC Radio show Have a Go. Running from 1946 to 1967, Have a
Go was a quiz show that required Wilfred and his wife Mabel travelling to a different down each week, where they broadcast from a local theatre or large club venue and invited members of the audience to answer questions. Small cash prizes were offered for a correct answer, and it is said to have been the first quiz show in the country to offer financial rewards.
Table
It wasn’t just cash though ... strange as it sounds to modern ears, some prizes took the form of local produce, giving rise to the catchphrase ‘What’s on the table, Mabel?’
In those days of very little consumer choice in terms of radio stations, and with many families unable to afford a television, Have a Go regularly brought in listeners of around 20 million per episode. So, if that is Wilfred Pickles, could it have been at a Black Country recording of his radio show?
Or could it have been something else entirely? The tall, dark-haired fellow next to him certainly has an air of showbiz about him – he looks every inch the presenter. Does anyone recognise him? And if so, does that suggest a different occasion altogether?
Whatever the event, it must have been a fairly big draw to bring in mayors from at least three towns. Can readers remember what might have being going on, and when and where it took place? Email gjones@black countrybugle.co.uk, give us a call on 01384 880531, or write to Black Country Bugle, Dudley Archive Centre, Tipton Road, Dudley, DY1 4SQ.