41 nostalgic photos of West Midlands life in the 1970s - from the everyday to the dramatic

The 1970s – a decade of industrial strife, a changing landscape and dodgy fashions.

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Today the Express & Star delves into the archive to pick out some of the day-to-day pictures we have featured in the newspaper.

They reveal some of the landmarks we have lost and events that we may remember. But most importantly they show in clarity the people, whether they be marching in solidarity with striking miners or queueing to watch the first Star Trek movie.

It was an era of change, when the motorways and dual carriageways took charge of our transport network. Many of the buildings we feature today are long gone as our towns have been redeveloped in the name of progress.

But the causes that people hold dear were clearly important. And, above all, the sense of community remains strong – from retiring trade union officials to groups of children fighting for a play area.

Suzy the circus elephant caused quite a stir in Dudley today when she stopped to make a trunk call at a public telephone box. Suzy was one of the star attractions at Austen Brothers Circus, 1975

Fans after Stafford Rangers FA Trophy win in 1979

Dudley Branch of the Royal Air Force Association, 1974

The Black Country Arms, owned by 'Black Country Ales' and run by landlady Kim Langford

June 26, 1970 – an underground chapel at Beckbury. It was hollowed by a General Legge, who was a relative of the residents of Caynton Hall, near Beckbury

Everton striker Andy King slides in to tackle Steve Daley of Wolverhampton Wanderers during their First Division match played on a snow covered pitch at Molineux in Wolverhampton, 3rd February 1979

Kisses for cuddles the killer whale at Dudley Zoo

Northgate Swimming Club, Bridgnorth, in the 1970s

Bridgnorth police inspector Alan Billington cleaning his 1935 Morris Eight

Bridgnorth Steam Gala during the early days of the revived Severn Valley Railway

Flowers being laid at the grave of the Manchester United and England footballer Duncan Edwards in October 1970. This is a print in the

Comedian and actor Lenny Henry, pictured in March 1974 aged 16, entertaining Bluecoat Secondary School in Dudley with his favourite impression of Tommy Cooper

Deansfield pre-school play group in Brewood on 17 July 1972, visiting Dudley Zoo's pet corner

Goldsmith Primary Academy children performing a play in the 1970s

Dudley Zoo welcomed four new guide-lecturers in April 1971

A political march in Bridgnorth in support of the miners in the 1970s

Halfpenny Green airfield in August 1970, apparently in advance of an August Bank Holiday air show

Firemen rescuing passengers when Bridgnorth Cliff Railway came to a halt during a power cut due to the 1970s miners' strikes

Happy-go-lucky George Hylton finds life at Bescot Station can be just a bit quiet, for the station was set among vast sidings in the middle of the motorway link - and he was the only person working there

September 1979 - The children of Valley Park make their point very clear in a demonstration on the waste land at the top of Longdale Road, Wolverhampton

Dudley Zoo curater Chris Round keeping Tim the Tapir Cool in the summer of 1978

Tanya the elephant and pupils of Robert Street School, Gornal, at Dudley Zoo in August 1978

Market traders in Dudley Wood in 1974 had come up with a cunning plan to get round the Sunday trading laws. They set up a shopping club for members only who had to show their cards each time they wished to make a non-food purchase

Cookery students Heather Barlow, Julia Miles and Francesca Manfield at Dudley Technical College in December 1974

Men and boys from St Matthew's Church, Dudley Road, singing at Lichfield Cathedral, April 2, 1974

One of two rare elephant seals which arrived at Dudley Zoo, February 23, 1972

West Bromwich. The Ray Hall interchange in 1970. A railway signal box dwarfed by the wide sweep of motorway, the M5 and M6 link.

A double decker bus, July 23, 1970, Birmingham.

The Goodyear airship, possibly in Wolverhampton area

The queue for the Star Trek movie in December 1979, Wolverhampton

Wolves v Tottenham Hotspur on February 7, 1970, played at Molineux