50 years on: 21 pictures from the Emley Moor TV Tower collapse
By Holly Gittins
Published 19th Mar 2019, 12:44 BST
Updated 19th Mar 2019, 13:58 BST
On March 19, 1969, the 1,265ft Emley Moor TV Mast collapsed.
Exactly 50 years after the collapse, we take a look back at how the near-disaster unfolded. Do you remember the collapse? Tell us on Twitter and Facebook.
On March 19, 1969, the 1,265ft Emley Moor TV Mast collapsed.
It can be seen from across Wakefield. But in 1969, 50 years ago today, the 1,265 foot Emley Moor TV Mast collapsed without warning.
The 1,265ft mast was erected in 1956 to allow TV broadcasts across Yorkshire. It is pictured here in 1959.
In 1966, an additional 385m tubular mast was added to the tower, to prepare for colour TV. The mast was comprised of a number of curved steel segments, and held up by guy lines. The interior of the tower is pictured in 1956.
This picture, dated October 25, 1968, shows a view of the ground from a platform on the mast, approximately 250ft high.
The mast and guy wires were regularly coated in ice during the winter. Here, Mr. Jeffrey Jessop, caretaker of Emley Moor Methodist Church, can be seen wearing a helmet as he studies the iced up steel ropes on March 5, 1969.
The combination of strong winds and the additional weight of the ice was too much, and shortly after 5pm on Wednesday, March 19, 1969, the mast collapsed.
This photo shows part of the mast following the collapse.
Police were concerned that workers may have been trapped by the collapse. One welder is seen breaking open a section of the tower.
An aerial photo taken the month after the collapse shows the extent of damage caused by the collapse.
