Photos from Plymouth's Past

Here are some lovely photos kindly lent to me by Gary Fawbert. The photos were taken by Gary's late grandfather who was a keen photographer and developed most of his own films. All photos seem to have been taken in about 1937.
The first photo shows a rare shot of the Gaumont Theatre in Union Street. The Gaumomt Palace was opened in 1931 and, much later, became the New Odeon. The building, although empty, still stands today. Showing at the Gaumont at the time the photo was taken was 'Melody For Two' and 'Jungle Princess'. There are several pushbikes and a child can be seen passing the cinema pushing a doll's pram. The Union Street arch can be seen in the background together with a strange contraption attached to a motor bike.

The second photo shows the bandstand on Plymouth Hoe. The bandstand was very popular but was dismantled in the Second World War so that its metal could be used to help the war effort. The photo shows many people, some with prams, gathered to watch the next concert. The third photo shows a ship passing by Mount Batten. The RAF station would have still been there at the time and one of its officers would have been TE Shaw (Lawrence of Arabia).

They're a great set of photos and I hope to include more in a future blog.