We’re all used to seeing pictures of the past in stark black and white but now for the first time there’s a chance to see how the past really looked. Our new series takes applies a colourisation process to some familiar scenes in towns in Wales and the borders and transforms them in to glorious colour.
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Working nine to five it’s so hard to make a living. Harder still nowadays because the jobs just aren’t there. Of course, back in the day when employment was plentiful and the fat of the land could feed us all, there was one employer in the Abergavenny area who paid the wages of a lot of local ladies and gents - Coopers Mechanical Joints. Before Llanfoist turned into an urban sprawl and boasted its very own retail park, Coopers dominated the Llanfoist skyline in much the same sort that Morrisons now does in Aber.
The story of Coopers began, like so many stories, had its genesis in the Second World War.The Lang Pen Company touched down in this neck of the woods for the sole reason of manufacturing radiators for that most British of planes - the Spitfire. In the aftermath of the war, there was no need for Spitfires and the Llang Pen Company vacated and Coopers Mechanical Joints of Slough picked up the reins. Coopers main products were engine components and it soon became a badge of pride that most vehicles on our roads contained a part manufactured at Coopers.
From elephants, we make the small but mighty leap to motor cars, and just check out this motorised marvel! It was the delivery van owned by the Cinderford Co-operatives Industrial Society Ltd. The chap behind the wheel looks cheerful, doesn’t he? He’s on his way to distributing food and other produce to co-op stores, but not before he’s had a photo call! All these years later he’s found fame in newspaper print. It just goes to show, that you never know where a photo featuring your good self is going to turn up. So stay cheerful and always smile for posterity! You never know who’s watching!