Photographer’s images spark memories of a bygone age
Pictures taken in 1960s and 1970s Swansea by photographer Colin Riddle are going on display and being collected in a new book
IN THE summer of 1970, photographer Colin Riddle noticed some children playing on Cambrian Place in Swansea.
It was a sunny afternoon, and from the terraces of the “unprepossessing” houses they shouted: “Take my picture, mister” – and he did.
The images capture a snapshot of a bygone Wales, in scenes familiar to many who grew up in the 1970s.
Forty-seven years later, those children will feature in his new exhibition at Swansea Museum, as well as in the accompanying book, and Colin hopes that by making the images public he might be able to track some of them down again.
“I saw these children most days I went to work at the near-by Exchange Building,” he explained.
“They had very little in the way of toys or possessions to amuse or divert them, yet appeared to be eternally optimistic and cheerful.
“A book, a ball, a sweeping brush or an old comic annual was all they needed to keep them entertained.
“This day, seeing the camera slung over my shoulder, they asked me to take their picture. I banged off a few shots to keep them happy and the results were pictures I have treasured ever since.
“I have never seen kids with so little be so happy.”
Colin had an interest in photography as a schoolboy growing up in Swansea, and at the age of 15 enrolled on a part-time photography course at Swansea Art College.
Little did he realise at the time that while he was perfecting his trade in his hometown in the 1960s he was, at the same time, documenting the city’s social history, and that it would feature in a major exhibition in his local museum some 50 years later.
“An exhibition like this is something you never dream of at 16,” he said of the opportunity, which arose by chance thanks to the power of social media.
Colin was posting his images on Facebook’s nostalgia pages when they were seen by Swansea Museum’s exhibitions officer Karl Morgan.
A meeting was arranged with the view of staging a small-scale display, until they discovered that Colin had more than 200 fascinating photographs in his archive, and the idea of a much larger exhibition was suggested.
The photos of the children will be on display from this weekend, and other highlights from the show and book include the filming of Only Two Can Play – starring Peter Sellers – in the city, and glimpses back at familiar areas including High Street and Mount Pleasant during the Swinging Sixties.
If you recognise yourself in the photos, or have any information about them, email Swansea Museum’s Karl Morgan at karl.morgan@ swansea.gov.uk.
Swansea – A Photographer’s Dream Images of the 1960s by Colin Riddle opens at Swansea Museum on Saturday. A book featuring the images from the exhibition goes on sale on the same day, and is available at the museum for the reduced price of £15.