Today we’re travelling 70 years into Birmingham’s past to check out some old photos and see just how much the city has changed.
Birmingham's economy flourished in the 30 years that followed the end of the Second World War, but there were some difficult times in the 1950s, although unemployment in Birmingham between 1948 and 1966 rarely exceeded 1%, and only exceeded 2% in one year. World War II had seen a huge expansion in the role of central government in British life, and this pattern continued into the post-war years and during the fifties. For Birmingham, this meant major decisions about the city's future tended to be made outside the city, mainly in Westminster.
In Brum, 1954 was a also a year that saw the end of food rationing following the war, but there was also a shortage of coal around the city.
It was also a year in which the Digbeth Institute was put up for sale (it opened in 1908).
Let’s take a look back to see what life was like for Brummies 70 years ago. Here are 12 old pictures looking at life for Brummies in 1964.
9. Diane Leather
Diane Leather sprinting past a group of supporters at Birmingham University's running track, June 1954. | Getty Images
10. Chairman of BSA (Birmingham Small Arms Company)
Chairman of BSA (Birmingham Small Arms Company) and Daimler, Sir Bernard Docker (1896-1978) and his wife Norah Docker, (née Norah Royce Turner, also known as Norah Collins, 1906-1983) during a social event, June 10th 1954. | (Photo by Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
11. Sir Edward Boyle
Sir Edward Boyle, 3rd Baronet Boyle (1923 - 1981), the MP for Birmingham Handsworth, in the library of his family home, 1954 | Getty
12. Birmingham's Edwin Brown
English footballer Edwin Brown (1926 - 2012), aka Eddy Brown, the Birmingham City centre forward, November 1954. (Photo by William Vanderson/Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images | Getty Images