Historian Allan's dark vision of a 'disappeared' generation

Telford historian and author Allan Frost has spoken of his bleak vision in which future generations are left not knowing how people today lived or even what they looked like.

The crowd at a Wellington Town game at the Bucks Head in about 1914. The man in the front rowjust to the right as you look at the picture of the boy in the front with the flat cap, is Robert Gwynne. Next along is Frank Gwynne, and then next along with a stick and luxuriant moustache is William Gwynne

His vision echoes other warnings of a digital dark age in which huge numbers of photographs are taken and spread on social media, but relatively little is kept for posterity.

Allan has completed a project spanning an entire century with his latest book, which tells in pictures the story of Wellington between 1900 and 1919.

Boy scouts on parade with their bicycles in Church Street, Wellington, in 1914.

Having produced four books already, each covering 20 year chunks of Wellington in the 20th century, his fifth and final book ends the series at its chronological beginning, and he says proved the most difficult of all because, odd though he says it seems, he had a far greater number of pictures to choose from when compared with later periods.

"I purposely held out on this one because I had got so much material," said Allan, who was born and brought up in Wellington, but lives now at Priorslee.

"As time has gone by people have realised what I've been trying to do and have opened up their private collections and given permission for me to put things in there. More people have come up with more images, meaning more research.

J.T. Drury butcher's in Market Street, Wellington, in 1905, with Joe Drury extreme right.

"I'm pleased I left it until last. There are more pictures - over 300 - in this one than ever before."

He has been collecting information, photos, old maps and memorabilia relating to Wellington for over 50 years.

"My interest was sparked by a headstone in All Saints parish churchyard. It records the deaths by explosion of four of my great-great-grandfather's children in 1839.

"Further interest arose as a result of people asking questions about the history of the town. That interest led to a prolonged journey of discovery during which I have been fortunate enough to collect a vast amount of information."

He says that taking photographs and broadcasting them through social media has become commonplace, yet images preserved in albums are a relative rarity.

"In dark moments I can foresee a bleak future in which our descendants are cheated of the pleasure of discovering what those of us alive today looked like, where and how we lived, travelled and spent our leisure time.

"There is an increasing tendency for people to 'live for today', with little regard for the future."

He added: "It's crucial that the importance of preserving photos and appreciation of the position they hold in recording family, social and historical events is restored."

"Wellington 1900-1919" is published by Wrekin Books and costs £14.99.