Tarmac’s War Years exhibition is a success

The exhibition, held between 5 – 13 November at Buxton Methodist church, was attended by over 700 people and included photographs of quarrying taken by the Buxton Lime Firms from the late 1800s – 1950s. These are part of Tarmac at Tunstead’s archive of 28,000 images.

Viv Russell, Lime and Powders Director at Tarmac, said: “This was our fourth exhibition of archive images from our extensive collection and it was great to mark the part that local people played in the war effort, with it being the centenary of the Battle of the Somme this year. We are very grateful for the support we have had locally, which means we can support the Royal British Legion and Help for Heroes in their work.”

One of the highlights of the exhibition was a presentation evening by Tarmac’s archive historian, Frank Emerson, and Annetta Christie from Discover Buxton, which runs Victorian tram tours in Buxton, who gave accounts of the lives of local people working at the quarry during the War Years.

This included information about the 15 men who worked at the Buxton Lime Firms and lost their lives at the Battle of the Somme, 100 years ago. These men were recently commemorated with a special metal Poppy produced by three of Tarmac’s apprentices and which is now located at the company’s Tunstead office.

Allan Smith, Branch President – Buxton branch of Royal British Legion, said: “It is refreshing to see that local companies, like Tarmac, are keeping the history alive of their former employees who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. Such history should be kept in peoples’ minds and not be allowed to fade and be forgotten. The Apprentices who designed the poppy plaque should be complimented for their endeavours in keeping history together for the benefit of future generations.”

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/europe-cis/23112016/tarmacs-war-years-exhibition-is-a-success/