 |
|
LNER Route: Leicester to Marylebone
Staverton Road
Staverton Road was not a strategic or special location, it
was for one photographer just a good place to take photographs. All of the
photographs are credited to Gordon Coltas - as are many others at Braunston
& Willoughby station. Whilst I have credited these photos to Gordon, from
whom I purchased them in the late 1970s, they are in fact undoubtedly the work
of HJ Stretton-Ward, a local photographer, whose interest in railways started
before the First World War. His collection was sold on his death to a
Leamington book shop who in time sold them on to other collectors with Gordon
Coltas apparently buying the lion's share. Roger Carpenter, who also bought
some of HJ Stretton-Ward's collection, recounts that both photographs and
negatives were sold to different people which is why the same photograph may be
attributed to two or more people. The photographs taken at Braunston &
Willoughby during 1928 would seem to prove the point as Gordon was too young to
have taken the photographs. Irrespective of who actually was the real
photographer we must at the very least recognise and appreciate Gordon's role
in ensuring that this valuable collection has been preserved. We must therefore
thank the Gordon Coltas Photographic Trust for ensuring its survival in the
same way that the Lens of Sutton Association supports his collection.
Select an image below to view the larger version with
accompanying text:
|
