New post-war

A couple driving a dodgem car during a John Laing staff outing to Whitley Bay, c1950s (John Laing Photographic Collection)

HISTORIC England has released nearly 700 newly-digitised, neverseen-before, post-war images from the John Laing Photographic Collection, showing the company’s summer away days to the seaside.

A selection come from the North East. These include images of Laing employees and their families enjoying a day out at Whitley Bay around 1950.

Founded in 1848, John Laing was one of the most significant British construction companies of the 20th century.

Laing was one of Britain’s biggest building firms and played a large part in reshaping Britain following the Second World War.

Here in our region, the many projects the company were involved in included the construction of Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital which was completed in 1977.

The images, focusing on the company’s post-war heyday, give an insight into work and play in the lives of the workers and their families as they headed out for a summer holiday.

Influenced by the religious attitudes of its founder, Sir John Laing, who was part of the Plymouth Brethren, the company had enlightened attitudes towards its staff for the time, with a strong focus on family values.

It arranged company away days, events and trips to the seaside for the families of its workers.

Photographs were taken to record these events for the company’s Team Spirit in-house newsletter, published from 1946-2001.

Meanwhile, the company employed photographers to capture its work, which resulted in the John Laing Photographic Collection. Now held by the Historic England Archive, this

collection of over 230,000 images provides a unique insight into the origins of many British buildings and the professional development of the construction industry over the course of the last century.

Duncan Wilson, Historic England Chief Executive, said: “Covering everything from seaside adventures to company sports days, these fantastic photographs evoke the joy of holidays and colleagues coming together.

“The images show how our country was built and how it developed following the Second World War.”

Also released is a new film entitled Building Britain, which features filmed accounts of men and women who helped construct some of the country’s most iconic sites including the Second Severn Crossing (now Prince of Wales Bridge) and London’s Barbican.

This marks the formal end of Breaking New Ground – a 21-month project supported by the John Laing Charitable Trust to digitise 10,000 images from the Collection, offering a unique insight into the building of post-war Britain.

The majority of the images are now on the Historic England website, with the remaining images uploaded in the coming months.

Sir Martin Laing, Chairman of Trustees, John Laing Charitable Trust, said: “My grandfather Sir John Laing was passionate about the importance and wellbeing of his employees and this comes through in many of the highlighted pictures.

“The Breaking New Ground project has enabled his legacy to shine on.”

For more on The Breaking New Ground project, visit https:// historicengland.org.uk/images-books/ archive/collections/photographs/johnlaing/

John Laing workers with their families seated in a dining hall during a Laing staff outing to Whitley Bay, c1950 (John Laing Photographic Collection)

John Laing workers and their families gathered by a line of coaches during a Laing staff outing to Whitley Bay, c1950s. (John Laing Photographic Collection)