English Heritage web site www.britainfromabove.org.uk has some new photos of the area, by searching on Wirral you get some good photos, of the RAF base West Kirby and the Army site Upton plus some nice ones of New Brighton, also have a look at Burtonwood, the aircraft getting scrapped.

My favourite.

http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/eaw001712?search=wirral&ref=192

Thanks for the link.

Love the ones of New Brighton before the dips and the reclaimed land. Nature wanted it back recently.
http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/epw045204

If you take a closer look they are making the dips in that picture

What splendid piers they were. Removed because they were declared unsafe. They still had to blow them up to remove them!

Brilliant pics! Thanks for posting the link.

Had a great time looking at the 1946 photo's, the air raid shelters in Birkenhead park, the anti aircraft gunsite in Heron lane, the wood yard where Birkenhead police station opposite the town hall was to be built, still trawling though them.

I like this one, the gardens around the tower look like they had some great things in.

http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/epw004047

A great absorber of time. Love it

Agreed; I can spend hours on this site.

Amazing photos of Birkenhead Docks and shipyards. Thanks for sharing.

Fantastic site, thanks for the link

A great site-thanks for putting it up

Cammell lairds
Don't know the year



What is that building next to the flour mills on Wallasey dock road?

Think the top pic is around the 1930s as two things the big boat could be the Mauritania and the aircraft carrier could be the Ark Royal, the housing looks like the "courts" type flats, the petrol station on the a41 looks like an old 30s pic I've seen of the same, can't see what you mean on the other picture as the cream building was a flour mill with a walkway connected to the old buildings, the shipping parked up suggests it's the 70s when containers started up as all the ships look laid up and are cargo boats.

did not see the walkway
the building looks newer. what happened to it?

The Lairds picture is later than 1933; the Woodside ventilation tower for the tunnel wasn't built until then. Actually, it looks a bit fuzzy; maybe it has scaffolding on it.

Lower photo of Birkenhead docks is early/mid 1960's.

The admin/canteen block at Blue Funnel's Vittoria Dock , towards right end of long sheds at bottom, is still under construction.

Probably taken on a Sunday, as the ships do not appear to be working cargo and a Blue Funnel ship is swinging in the river off the locks ready to enter for loading on the monday morning.

I think davew3 and chriskay are right about the Lairds picture. The Ark Royal was launched in July 1937 and is probably seen here being fitted out.

If the big ship on the stocks is the Mauretania, that was launched in April 1938. So that would place the picture sometime between those dates - probably nearer 1937.

Mauretania was launched in July 1938 not April, and in the photo looks to be plated up to promenade deck level, with just the sports deck, sun deck and bridge decks to be added. This would probably date the photo to about May 1938, a couple of months before the launch.

Brilliant site. Don't know where the last half hour has gone!

welcome mikhail
may that half hour last longer

Searching through the pictures has certainly filled a lot of voids for me especially the 1946 ones and finding the military sites in this area, ie the Heron Rd one, I always presumed they used a site not to far away from where the Wirral marker beacon for aircraft is.

Top pic looks like it could be 50's too - with the ship on the stocks being the Windsor Castle ? and it being the later R09 Ark Royal - with a large Cunarder sharing the pool - possibly in for repair

See your point, but two things the courts next to the church/priory and if you look to the right, sailing ship masts and the old style ferry boats, old garage next to the tramway generation plant on the A41,

Do we now have a confirmed date?????

http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/eaw029265?search=wirral&ref=102

bigpete. Must point out that at the time the Winsor Castle was on the stocks the land that the photo shows as still been reclaimed was not only totally reclaimed but also the new welding bays/plate prep bays/ assembly bays had been built on the reclaimed land.

That was a grain elevator.

We often have discussions about the location of the pond called the Triangle (my playground area as a youngster and youth). This site has a good pic showing the location relative to the railway lines

http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/epw053315?search=bidston&ref=3

Snod

Yep - I am revising the date - but think I can add something - the ship on the stocks is the hull of a Battleship (maybe Prince of Wales) - see the limited openings in the top of the hull for ammunition and magazine protection.

The Mauretania and Ark Royal have both been launched - the Ark is in the basin and the Mauretania is in the largest dry dock behind it and an old freighter, fitting-out - but already in Cunard colours.

So folks it looks like late 38 - early 39 at least - the Prince of Wales was famously completed in early 1941 and almost immediately joined the hunt for the Bismark.