Express & Star, Thursday December 30, 201022

MORE than a year ago,Black Country Memo-ries highlighted the

history of the long-establishedand important Wolverhamptonfirm of Steelway on the BilstonRoad.

This pioneering company manu-factured the UK’s first pedestriansafety barriers, which were in-stalled in July 1934 at the busyjunction of Princes Square in thetown.

After an accident there involving aboy, council officials had sought ameans of protection to stop pedestri-ans walking off a blind corner intothe path of motorists.

They approached Steelway, whichthen designed the safety barriers inconsultation with Edwin Tilley, thechief constable, and Mr H B Robin-son, the borough engineer and sur-veyor.

The barriers were a resoundingsuccess and quickly the companygained national attention for its pio-neering product.

On March 19, 1935 Mr Hore-Bel-isha, the Minister of Transport whosename is recalled in the Belisha bea-con, inaugurated London’s firstpedestrian safety barriers at Britan-nia Crossing, Camden. They werealso supplied by Steelway.

After this launch, a second installa-tion was carried out three days lateron March 22, 1935, at WhitechapelCrossing for the Metropolitan Bor-ough of Stepney.

This was a remarkable achieve-ment for a relatively new businesswhich had only been founded in 1928at the Queensgate Works site inWolverhampton by C W. Goodyear.

InnovativeThree years later it had merged

with F Hammond & Co, a noted man-ufacturer of handrail standards – andnow it was hitting the national head-lines. It continued to do so.

In 1937 the innovative Wolver-hampton company manufactured thesockets and detachable uprights toform crowd control barriers for thecoronation of King George VI. Afterthe event a letter of appreciation was

received by Steelway from New Scot-land Yard. It read:

“Now that the coronation is a mat-ter of history, I should like to expressmy thanks to your firm for the effi-cient way in which you met the de-mand for barrier material.

“As you know the barriers were ofunusual design, which required spe-cial attention by you in manufacture.They proved most satisfactory, and Ihave not had any complaints regard-ing them. This is a matter of satisfac-tion to all concerned.”

Some of the parts were used againfor the coronation of Queen ElizabethII in 1953.

A pioneering enterprise in indus-trial metalwork access, Steelway be-came well known and highly regardedfor its flooring, ladders, stairs,handrails, guardrails, and platforms.It continues to be held in esteem for

The Carl Chinn page

Black CountryMemoriesDr Carl Chinn

Jack’s longa firm that

Right, one ofthe Bennett

Clark photos ofPrinces Square,

Wolverhamp-ton, in about1934 showingthe UK’s first

ever pedestriansafety barrierswhich the com-

pany suppliedfree of charge

to Wolverhamp-ton Council aspart of an ex-

periment. Thisis the photothat stirredShirley into

writing inabout her

father.

Left, one ofthe Steelwaydinners, per-haps the 1953welcomingparty for FredWilletts, whohad justbought thecompany.John Carrieris the chapwith theglasses on, sit-ting at theleft-handtable, secondfrom the left.

Jack was in the Home Guard during the Second WorldWar because, as Shirley explains, “he was in an essen-tial war-time occupation”. She thinks his unit wasbased at Dunstall Race Course and recalls that “hetalked about a look-out post for enemy aircraft. I wasborn in 1939 and my very first memory is of sleeping

in an indoor shelter on the floor of our front room. Welived at 140 Bushbury Lane until it was demolished inthe 1970s, when my parents moved to Pendeford (tobe near me). I remember him polishing the buttons onhis uniform using a special guard which fitted roundthe buttons to stop the polish going on the uniform.”