Vintage Photos Wembley Stadium

Picture: English Heritage/PA

The Telegraph had a photo slide show of vintage ariel photos of England which readers on line have been invited to share.

Many of the photos, which range from 1919 to 1953, were so old and fragile that they were close to being lost forever. Above, the FA Cup Final Wembley Stadium on April 27, 1935. Sheffield Wednesday beat West Bromwich Albion by four goals to two. The Cierva autogyro in the foreground was flown by Scotland Yard, experimenting with air observation to monitor crowds. (Telegraph)


I found the above photo very nostalgic because this is where I spent a large part of my childhood. Yes, I used to run around Wembley Stadium. This was because my grandfather Henry Thorpe was the chief accountant and in 1926 nearly the owner.  I went to the Olympics Opening Ceremony in 1948. I was five.


Ariel photography was very rare up until relatively recently until the advent of Google maps and Earth. It was a bit of a learning curve to get my brain used to seeing objects from the top. I found it hard to find the pyramids. I knew they were on the West Bank but I have never been to Egypt.  Even the Eifel Tower is difficult to pick out from above.


I used to make the drive from Stanmore to Taplow for over twenty five years. I could trace it on a map. Recently on a dull afternoon I tried to do this on Google Earth. It was incredibly difficult and so enlightening. In fact I found it fascinating to see exacty where and in which direction I was going. London is so large there are many areas which I do not know well and to actually see the lay out from the air was mind boggling.


Pilots are used to this but again picking out London Airport from way up in the atmosphere for the first time was challenging. How they do this I can only guess.


Now I am used to looking at the world from above. Google Earth has added vintage photos to ordinary streets and I can relive the days of my youth in Stanmore when our street was lined with elms and oaks that now sadly have been cut down.


Enjoy the photos.