THESE young ladies in the yard at Airedale Mills, Keighley, were about to set off on Peter Black’s outing to Blackpool in 1948.
Their rather severe dress is indicative of post-war austerity and the fact that it was half-past seven on a Monday morning in late September.
The party travelled in six coaches.
The weather stayed fair and, as the Keighley News put it at the time, “Blackpool’s many amusements were fully patronised”.
Lunch in the Baronial Hall at the Winter Gardens was presided over by Peter Black himself.
Peter Black had come to Keighley early in the war as manager of the London branch of Bagcraft Ltd – ironically a German firm – which moved here from Tottenham to avoid the bombing.
Its wartime speciality was army webbing equipment.
After the war, when Bagcraft moved to Dundee, Peter Black stayed on to form his own company for the manufacture of shopping, travel and tool bags, employing some 150 by 1947.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here