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Pub Historian
These two blokes are shifting things from A to B, possibly awaiting pick-up for delivery. Whatever happened to tea chests? I used to see them in lots of places years ago. In fact, when I was very young I got a Saturday job in a factory that manufactured them. It was a pretty dire job but I earned enough money to buy a few records every week. I see the bloke bending over is recycling what looks like an old ammunition box. He is being watched by another worker having a fag. Nowadays people have to wander off site to a smoking shelter for their nicotine fix. The two men are employees of A. J. Gilbert [Birmingham] Ltd. who were based on the south side of Buckingham Street at No.78. They were in the same street until recently but I think they may have gone now. 'Manufacturers of fabricated metals' is one description I noticed for them but at the time of this photograph [July 1957] it just says Press Workers in the trade directory. Anyway, it is another in my collection of random/obscure images of Birmingham.