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Handover of vintage Leeds photos
VINTAGE photographs of a former Leeds chemicals factory will be handed over to West Yorkshire Archive Services (WYAS) after they were found by workmen preparing to demolish the building.
A total of 14 photo albums from Yorkshire Chemicals, which went missing in 2000, were found boxed in behind a partition where new offices were built at the firm's former site on Kirkstall Road.
The find follows the YEP's story in March last year, when we reported that an urban explorer called "Dweeb" had found a series of valuable archive photos and documents during a trip to the Hunslet Road site.
Bosses failed to make contact with "Dweeb" but promised to carry out a thorough search of both sites and demolition workers found the treasure trove as they worked on the Kirkstall Road building.
Howard Varley, who worked as the firm's technical manager for 27 years, said: "Despite the sad way in which the company crumbled at the end, I have good memories of what was for many years a dynamic and successful company.
"It's great that we can now preserve some of the history for posterity."
The latest pictures include a view from the roof of the Kirkstall Road site in the 1940s, the front of the same site in the 1970s – with the Armley gasometer visible in the background – and a view of the Hunslet Road site in the 1960s.
The archives have also been strengthened by a connection with Charles Chalcroft, who is a direct descendant of James Bedford – the founder of Wood and Bedford, one of the smaller firms which established Yorkshire Chemicals.
Mr Chalcroft handed over a huge archive of family and company papers, covering the origins of their business in dyes and the evolution of the company, which had been left in his possession.
The albums and documents will be handed over to WYAS at a garden party at Mr Varley's home in Halifax on Sunday, before going on display at the archive's offices in Sheepscar, Leeds.
Mr Varley added: "The discovery of the documents has uncovered another fascinating aspect of the development of the company.
"We have what must be a fairly unique record of a once-major Leeds manufacturer and employer, covering the full history of around 150 years."
If you are a former Yorkshire Chemicals employee and would like to attend the garden party, email howard.varley@hotmail.co.uk.
Factfile
Yorkshire Chemicals started out as the Yorkshire Dyeware and Chemical Company in the early 1900s.
The firm was an amalgamation of five smaller firms and was led by a well-known chemist called William Perkin.
The company expanded rapidly over the next 20 years, producing best-sellers including the 'fast blue' and yellow organic dyes.
It became Yorkshire Chemicals PLC in the 1970s and stopped trading in 2005, when the firm went into liquidation.
The owners of the Asian side of the business – which had already been sold to a Chinese firm to raise cash – stepped in to buy the remains of the European business, which now operates from Krefeld, Germany, under the name Yorkshire Farben.
The Asian side of the firm operates as Yorkshire Asia Pacific – so the name and the reputation lives on.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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