John Laing Building Company - photography collection

[jdrobbo]

Don’t know if you’ve seen this before but I love this kind of thing...10,000 cracking pics capturing post-war Britain.

Enjoy!

https://historicengland.org.uk/images-b ... d-project/

[jdrobbo]

Here’s a collection just for the M1 motorway...

https://historicengland.org.uk/images-b ... ion=images

[tim_noone]

Here’s a collection just for the M1 motorway...

https://historicengland.org.uk/images-b ... ion=images

For all the pot holes and poor lighting on our network of motorways and roads the M1 is the jewel in the crown of Britain motorways and credit to the guys who first instigated built and those who continue to oversee it.

[jdrobbo]

I tend to agree!

Not that it’s a motorway, but I like using the A1 these days.

[MRG]

I tend to agree!

Not that it’s a motorway, but I like using the A1 these days.

Until you get a wagon overtaking a line of wagons and the ‘motorway’ grinds to a halt

[IanMcL]

My dad worked as a site foreman in John Laing Civil Eng works.
I watched the video at the link and could not believe the silly cow pronounced the name wrong, throughout!

Laing is pronounced Lang.

[Clarets4me]

In the mid 1990's, I met a retired Civil Engineer in his late 70's who'd been on the planning and steering Committee tasked with delivering the M62 ..
Whilst work had commenced on the various sections, the sterling " Devaluation " crisis of 1967, led the Treasury to consider mothballing the entire project. This Gent, together with 3 others, was called to Downing Street to make the case for pressing on with completing the 107 mile route in front of Wilson and the new Chancellor, Roy Jenkins.

The Treasury made the case for suspending the scheme first, but when the Committee had their say, they showed projections for future car ownership and Road freight numbers. They then unveiled a scale Map of the route of the M62, with two lines either side, 40 miles North and South of the motorway, and that area shaded in. On an adjacent easel, they revealed a Map on the same scale of Australia ....

They then went on to reveal that " more people live in this shaded area than live in the whole of Australia " .... apparently, jaws dropped, and after a brief discussion, the project was given the " Green light " to continue ...

[jdrobbo]

Great story!

[Hipper]

US Navy ships:

http://www.navsource.org/archives/

Example: USS Prinz Eugen:

Aerial photographs:

https://ncap.org.uk/

Example, Burnley, 1992:

https://ncap.org.uk/search?keywords=burnley

Copenhagen, May 1945. Two German warships surrendered - top right Prinz Eugen, mid upper left Nurnberg.

https://ncap.org.uk/frame/1-1-35-101-96?pos=95

[tim_noone]

My dad worked as a site foreman in John Laing Civil Eng works.
I watched the video at the link and could not believe the silly cow pronounced the name wrong, throughout!

Laing is pronounced Lang.

Not if your oirish!

[IanMcL]

Wherever you are from the name was pronounced correctly as Lang and incorrectly as anything else!

[oswyclaret]

In my younger days,I worked on many Laings contracts throughout the uk.They were one of the biggest construction companies going at the time, along with Faircloughs,Taylor woodrow,to name a few others.

You were always employed direct in those days, with set hrs, overtime rates, bonus',and holiday pay.A real good firm to work for in the day!
Then subbies came along and ruined everything!Laings teamed up with O'rourkes, a big Irish company, who dogged and bullied you rotten!

One particular Job I enjoyed with Laings was building an ammunition hold at the ROF, Euxton,Chorley. 2 metre thick reinforced concrete walls and roof slab the same.All for anti blast !Must have cost a fortune,wasn,t used for long as the ROF closed down about 5 yrs later.That was in 1981,when I was a young whipper-snapper.Really happy days.

Still doing the same job now, as then,steelfixing! Not long to go now, before I wrap up for good.

PS My all time favourite job, was doing the re-bar in the footings, on the new James Hargreaves stand, followed by the Jimmy mac stand.It was a pleasure going to work for a change.