Express & Star

Seven pictures to journey back through seven decades of Sandwell

Take a trip down memory lane as we take a look back through the decades of Sandwell and the characters that have been and gone and could still remain in one the Black Country's most prized patches.

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The Sandwell borough of the West Midlands, consisting of Oldbury, Rowley Regis, Smethwick, Tipton, Wednesbury and West Bromwich is a key part of the patch.

Famous for its engineering and iron works, green-spaces, Ruskin Pottery and a world famous pie factory, there is no shortage of features that residents can proudly claim when boasting about the borough.

In 1973 the Wolverhampton Wanderers team looked very different to today, with players Derek Jefferson, Ken Hibbitt, Gerry Taylor, Frank Munro, Derek Dougan and a host of others finishing 12th in the league and narrowly missing out on Euro glory when losing out to Lokomotiv Leizpig in a two-legged 4-4 draw which saw its opponent go through on away goals.

Across Sandwell from 1970 to 1979 there were record-breaking onions, a new books-on-wheels service and eight cheerleaders were chosen to represent Sandwell in he BBC's television It's A Knockout game. The eight, and three reserves, were selected from 21 finalists.

And in 1981, a team of models raised £600 to help save a festival which was in disaster-talks after a sponsor's £5,000 cheque bounced.

So today we're taking a trip down memory lane, can you spot anyone familiar?