There is a wonderful old black and white photo in mum’s archives, of an assembly of people. Unfortunately there was nothing written below or on the backside of the photo.
So the question is, who are these folk, as well as when and where was the photo taken.
I sort of half-recognise a few faces sitting on the front row. I suspect the guy three from the left, sitting on that front row, is Tony Crockett. He looks very similar to the bloke that I knew from playing bowls in Tamlaght O’Crilly Upper Church Hall in the late 1970s.
The man standing at the very left, on the back row, also looks familiar.
Does anyone recognise the school uniform of the lad, standing on the left of that third row. Ballymena Academy uniform, or possibly Coleraine Academy, perhaps?
Anyone recognise the makes of the cars in the background? That would help narrow the year that the photo was taken, down a tad. One car has a registration number of SKF 252.
Does anyone recognise the location of the photo? Grass area with low stone walls.
I wonder if this was a photo taken of local people taken at an event such as Ballymena Agricultural Show. Or maybe it was some other farming related event. Maybe a couple of buses had been specially laid on to take the people to the event. Remember cars were not as common back then. Early to mid-1960’s maybe? If you have any ideas, do let me know.
Update, 25th May 2021
Many thanks to Barry Mulholland, John Kerr, Tommy Collins and Anne Kirkwood (daughter of Willie McIlrath) for their help. We are slowly putting the pieces of the jigsaw together.
Trip to Bibby’s in Liverpool
The event was a Bibby animal feed-stuff trip, which involved taking the boat over to Liverpool. It probably took place in 1959. Bibby’s held many such promotional events each year. Bibby’s had got into the mass production of animal feed by the late 1800s. By 1914, they employed some two thousand people in their Liverpool plant. By 1940, they employed five thousand.
The front boy in the Coleraine Academy blazer appears to be Trevor Crockett.
The next Coleraine Academy boy, two rows behind Trevor, is his cousin, Gordon Crockett. James Crockett is standing beside Gordon.
Trevor and John Kerr were both vets, with Trevor based in Magherafelt.
Willie McIlrath is on extreme left of the front row. Willie’s wife is the lady on the extreme right, in the third row back. Mrs Tony Crockett is to her right. Tony Crockett himself, is on the front row, sitting, third from the left.
The school uniforms, on the left, look more like Coleraine Academical Institution blazers. Navy blue, with red and white stripes. The crest was a shield, with three smaller shields inset. The jumpers also had the red/white/blue band. That may be a diversion, if correct, as sending children to boarding school at that time was quite the norm, no matter how close or far the family lived.
Thanks Barry for the assistance. A cousin has also told me today, that that looks like Coleraine Academy uniforms.
Perhaps this suggests it was more likely Coleraine Agricultural Show (as opposed to Ballymena)
Re boarding. There was an element of boarding at many of the grammar schools. I never personally knew any local kid who boarded at their school. We all travelled via buses.
Our Ulsterbus left Broad Street (at the top of the street beside famous local musician Brendan Quinn’s record shop) in Magherafelt each afternoon for home – the “Coleraine via Kilrea” bus. It made it’s way through Desertmartin, Tobermore, Maghera, Upperlands, before finally letting us off at Killygullib (Mournes crossroads), where we transferred to a second bus, that took us up through Tamlaght and Drimbolg. I got left off at Robert Agnews. Wow, now that I think about it, that is well over 40 years ago.
My only thought was the photo could be a visit to Greenmount, the agricultural college. The boarding and fencing around the trees do look like a device to exclude unwanted critters from trials. Similar fencing is used to rid construction sites of precious little animals.
3rd row in, wearing the Coleraine Academical Institution blazer, I think is either Trevor Crockett (Roy’s nephew) or Gordon Crockett (Tony’s son)
Tommy, thanks for that info. I didn’t really know many of the other Crocketts.
Presumably Roy Crockett is related to Tony Crockett?
That’s a possibility. Good spot re the fencing. I never thought of Greenmount Agricultural College, Barry. It was down the province near Antrim, if I recall. There was also Loughry Agricultural College (near Cookstown).
As well as an agricultural show (held annually in regional towns each summer), I also wondered if the event could be linked to the Ulster Farmers Union, or perhaps an event organised by a local farm meal company, like for example Craigs in Kilrea. I lean more towards an agricultural show.
I think 1st left front row is Willie McIlrath from Fallahogey
My mistake.
The photo is Tony Crockett (Roy is another brother). Trevor Crockett is a son of James Crockett (another brother). Gordon is a son of Tony.
Thanks for the new info, Tommy.
So the Crocketts appear to be well represented in this photo.
I was thinking some more, about local shows, and asked a cousin today. He confirmed there was also (indeed, still is) an annual agricultural show in Ballymoney.
Although he did not recognise the surroundings in this photo location (re Ballymena, Ballymoney, or Coleraine show).
I have heard from John Kerr (originally from Lislea, now Coleraine). Yes, the front boy in the CAI blazer is Trevor Crockett. The next CAI boy is Gordon Crockett, a cousin. The occasion was a BIBBY food stuffs trip to Liverpool. Trevor and John Kerr were both vets, with Trevor based in Magherafelt. I understand there may be more that can be identified, but sometimes the grapevine doesn’t operate too quickly.
Hi Barry. Many thanks for the updated info. It’s great to learn that it was a BIBBY foodstuffs trip over to Liverpool.
When I get a chance, I will update the original article with names and the trip details. I can only guess that this trip happened in the 1960s.
Thanks for your help.
James Crockett beside the rear boy in the CAI blazer.
I have spoke to Anne Kirkwood (daughter of Willie McIlrath)and she has confirmed he is extreme left front row,her mother is extreme right lady in 3rd row , Mrs Tony Crockett is to her right.Anne has this photo and confirms it as a Bibby trip to mersey side and she thinks it was 1959
Best Regards
Tommy
Tommy, that’s fantastic. Thank you for talking to Anne Kirkwood and confirming the details.
I updated the article above, a few hours ago, with the new info from you and Barry.
Over the years, I never imagined that much would come of trying to ever identify what this old photo was about, or who was in it (beyond Tony Crockett). But here we are, putting all the clues together. I love the internet.
Thanks again. Best regards.