Retro

Two different periods in time this week, but two characters who I used to come across in Peterborough city centre - and I am sure many readers will be familiar with them (writes Chris Porsz, the Paramedic Paparazzo).

The multi-million pound redevelopment of Cathedral Square has played a key role in the rejuvenation of that part of Peterborough city centre, writes Chris Porsz, the Paramedic Paparazzo.

Did you have a favourite Peterborough watering hole that is no longer there?

I have stayed with photographs from my mid-1980s project at Queen’s Drive Infant School in Peterborough again this week, writes Chris Porsz, the Paramedic Paparazzo.

They are all grown up now, of course, but all of my children went to Queen’s Drive Infant School in Peterborough, writes Chris Porsz, the Paramedic Paparazzo.

Barely a family was untouched by the horrors of the Great War, but one Peterborough family, the Clarks of Wellington Street, suffered almost unimaginable grief and heartbreak. Five of the family’s sons served their country on the front line but only two came home, and they were badly injured. Ian Porter, who lives in Yorkshire, has researched the history of his Peterborough family and the sacrifices they made. As the country prepares to mark the centenary of Armistice Day, here in his own words, is his family’s war story.

“At the outbreak of war in August 1914 George and Lucy-Ann Clark were living in the family home of 147 Wellington Street, Peterborough. They were parents to two daughters and seven sons; George, Charles, Fred, John-Robert, Jim, William and Harry.

Nostalgia, as the saying goes, just isn’t what it used to be. This long, hot summer has evoked many familiar reminiscences, not least the drought summer of 1976. There’s even something vaguely nostalgic about an England semi-final exit, with echoes of 1990 and the ‘football’s coming home’ summer of 1996.

The recent placing of three statues by world famous sculptor Sir Antony Gormley on city centre rooftops has underlined Peterborough’s claims to be a city of culture.

The ancient town of Crowland, or Croyland as it was originally known, is perhaps best known for two landmarks - its medieval abbey and the 14th-century three-sided bridge, Trinity Bridge, which stands at the centre of the town and used to be where three streams met.

Peterborough is a fast-growing and increasingly vibrant place to live, but the picture was vastly different 50 years ago when it had a population of just 85,000.

No matter how much Peterborough has changed over the years nor how much it changes in the future, one thing is certain – there will always be a river running through it!

2018 sees Peterborough celebrating the 900th anniversary of its wonderful cathedral.

The football season might be over (except for the small matter of the World Cup!) but for fans the next one can’t come soon enough.

How well do you know Peterborough streets?

The Ortons were originally the historic villages of Longueville and Waterville but in the 70s the area was transformed into a modern township as part of the city’s expansion.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Peterborough’s first multiplex cinema.

One of the Peterborough area’s claims to fame (although one it might not be too proud of) is that it was home at Norman Cross to the world’s first purpose-built prisoner-of-war camp.

Today’s Looking Back pictures are a random collection of Peterborough views, but what I love about them is they capture some of the variety that goes to make up a modern city, yet one with much history.