Barbara Posted February 23, 2021 Share Posted February 23, 2021 Please find below picture of my dad below hes on the left all in black. Dont know where he went skating but its somewhere in sheffield. Does anybody recognise these other guys? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLongden Posted February 25, 2021 Share Posted February 25, 2021 It could only be the Silver Blades Ice Rink on Queens Road, as first in Sheffield to open in 1965. Not aware of any others until Ice Sheffield opened on Coleridge Road in Don Valley in 2003 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbara Posted February 27, 2021 Author Share Posted February 27, 2021 Hi The photo cant be Silver Blades because my dad was about 16/17 in this photo & he was born in 1935? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLongden Posted February 28, 2021 Share Posted February 28, 2021 7 hours ago, Barbara said: Hi The photo cant be Silver Blades because my dad was about 16/17 in this photo & he was born in 1935? In that case, unless anyone else knows otherwise, the photo cannot cannot have been taken in Sheffield, as Silver Blades was the first ice rink to open in the city on 30 November 1965 https://www.sheffieldiha.com/history/ https://www.picturesheffield.com/frontend.php?keywords=Ref_No_increment;EQUALS;s35735&pos=5&action=zoom&id=111723 http://shefflibraries.blogspot.com/2020_03_08_archive.html Could the photo have been taken somewhere else? Blackpool maybe, or even Nottingham, both had an ice rink in 1951/2, but not Sheffield. https://www.iceskating.org.uk/about-ice-skating 1952-1978 As in the 1930's there was a MASSIVE expansion of ice rinks in this period. It was partly due to John Tree (1920-1964) former floor manager at the Brighton Sports Stadium. He wanted to improve the spartan facilities in British Rinks to make them more comfortable places of entertainment. He formed the Silver Blades Company later taken over by Mecca Ltd. The firm opened new rinks in Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford and Bristol, also taking over existing rinks at Streatham, Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham. The Rank Organisation took over rinks in Southampton, Brighton and Aviemore. Also opened were rinks in Whitley Bay, Altrincham, Kelso, Solihull, Lockerbie, Billingham, Islington (The Sobell Centre), Irvine and Sunderland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edmund Posted February 28, 2021 Share Posted February 28, 2021 The Lyceum and the Empire both put on Ice Revue shows in the 1950's. Although the ice was probably not opened to the public it would have needed 'testing' by the workmen who installed and as many of their pals as they could sneak in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest leksand Posted February 28, 2021 Share Posted February 28, 2021 5 hours ago, Edmund said: Although the ice was probably not opened to the public it would have needed 'testing' by the workmen who installed and as many of their pals as they could sneak in. Really? Why? Surely that would just cause unnecessary deterioration. Would the cast not be better judges of ice quality? What resurfacing procedure do you think they had access to? It also seems a little odd, in an area without a rink, that all of these pals happen to have their own patins. Odder still that the workmen would possess a large collection for ready rental. Apologies if that appears a little negative, but the suggestion does not appear particularly well considered and is potentially misleading. Manipulating information to suggest the implausible is not sound practice. At some point you have to question the accuracy of the source. The most likely conclusion here is that the original assumption that the venue was in Sheffield is mistaken. If Barbara's dad and his mates were keen skaters, having their own kit, then where did they go to skate regularly? Probably Nottingham. If they just fancied a go for an excursion/special occasion, then where would they have gone? Probably Nottingham. The photo (the occasion was worthy of a snap) certainly looks as though it is indoor & the footwear is of the form that rental skates take, There appears to be a raised board of some kind in the back ground and the pad size looks good for ice hockey. There may just be enough there for a real expert to tell you whether that is the old Lower Parliament Street rink, but you'll probably need to ask on a different forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edmund Posted February 28, 2021 Share Posted February 28, 2021 I was only saying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest leksand Posted February 28, 2021 Share Posted February 28, 2021 1 hour ago, Edmund said: I was only saying. But you've presented conjecture, which appears groundless, as fact. You don't need to do that. There's nothing wrong with not knowing the answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbara Posted February 28, 2021 Author Share Posted February 28, 2021 Hi Guys Thank you for the replies. I have also found out there was a ice rink in Manchester in 1950s as well. Need to find any relatives of the guys in this photo would be brillant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now