Hundreds Of Photos Of Guildford Within Living Memory On New Double DVD Set

Published on: 7 Dec, 2020
Updated on: 15 Jan, 2021

If you love looking at photographs of Guildford within living memory, then a new double DVD set featuring more than 800 images taken by the late Dave Salmon is a must have.

The double DVD set, Dave Salmon – A man and his Camera Part 2 Guildford, has been compiled by retired railwayman and author Geoff Burch and local historian and writer David Rose.

Featuring photos dating from the late 1950s through to the 2000s, categories include Dave’s National Service, lost buildings and changing street scenes, the demolition of the Friary Meux brewery in 1974 and the former railway station buildings in 1988; the floods of 1968, 1979 and 2000; special events, sports and carnival processions – all with lots of local people in view, and Guildford City Football Club. The latter including never seen before Super 8 cine film restored to video of action and trophy presentations at the club’s Joseph’s Road ground.

And there’s more…. superb pictures from around the 1960s of people enjoying nights out at Guildford social clubs and pubs, wedding receptions and other functions. And as a bonus, a selection of the hundreds of photos Dave took elsewhere of aircraft at displays and shows.

Here and below, are some of the hundreds of picture on the double DVD set.

Dave was one of Guildford’s real characters and lived in Artillery Road all his life, apart from his three years’ National Service in the RAF.

Although he had worked on the railways before his National Service and for a while after, the rest of his working life was spent as a highway maintenance man painting road markings and white lines, that led to the nickname ‘Dave the brush’.

In Dave’s spare time photography was his passion. When he died in 2015, Geoff Burch became the custodian of Dave’s vast collection of photographs, some already having been published in the second and fourth books in Geoff’s Rambling Railwayman series.

Geoff has spent many hours scanning and digitally restoring and enhancing hundreds of Dave’s photographic 35mm slides and negatives and medium format negatives. And he and David Rose have spent a considerable (and enjoyable) amount of time choosing and categorising the images on the double DVD set.

Geoff and David have recorded the narrative with lots of historical details and interest that complements the images. You can view them as they flow within the different sections and of course can pause any image to look at it in more detail.

Dave Salmon, always with his camera – and he took pictures of just about everything!

Dave certainly had an eye for taking all kinds of photographs and was a familiar face around the town, always with his camera.

The double DVD set can be ordered by clicking this link to Geoff’s Rambling Railwayman Books website for £14.95 plus £2 posting and packing, or with some special offers if you buy it with the previous double DVD set Dave Salmon – A Man and his Camera Part 1 – Railways, and / or copies of Geoff’s railway books.

The double DVD set is also being stocked locally at Ben’s Collectors Records, Tunsgate, Guildford; at Special Occasions, (Fairlands Post Office), 57 Fairlands Avenue, Guildford GU3 3NB; and stationers Biddles of Guildford in Ward Street.

For some more details and a sneak preview click here.