National photo archive records events in Oswestry

It was one of the biggest crises in farming of the 20th century, and it hit Shropshire hard.

November 1967: Police keep guard at the entrance to Galn-yr-Afon farm, near Oswestry, during a weekend that saw several outbreaks of foot and mouth disease

The foot and mouth outbreak of 1967 was devastating for many and led to police being sent to farms in an effort to isolate cases and stem the disease.

Although it was dwarfed in scale by the 2001 outbreak – which was concentrated largely in the south-east and north of England – its impact on Shropshire was unlike anything that has been seen since.

The Press Association’s national archive of photographs includes many images from that time, including one at Galn-yr-Afon farm, near Oswestry.

It is one of dozens in the archive that relate to Oswestry and thankfully most deal with less serious subjects. The pioneering work of the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital is featured, as is the British Ironwork Centre and its role in creating the Knife Angel sculpture to campaign against knife crime.

December 2000: Chloe Read shows off the many designs on offer at Newgate Clocks in Oswestry, after the company announced that some of its product production will return back to the United Kingdom from China

1940s: Everyday life goes on in Church Street, Oswestry, with far less traffic than today.

November 2006: An operating theatre at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Oswestry, taken as part of a photographic feature on its pioneering work

April 1998: Cars battle through the snow covered roads of Oswestry as snow and freezing temperatures bring weather havoc to major routes throughout much of Britain just days after suffering an Easter holiday washout

November 2010: Kate Vogel, from Oswestry, gathers mistletoe after travelling to the Tenbury Mistletoe and Holly auction for her forthcoming wedding

May 1975: HMS Fearless sailor Eric Littlehales, of Oswestry, ponders arguments for and against the Common Market ahead of a referendum

January 2017: The powerful ‘Knife Angel’ sculpture, which was created with 100,000 knives collected by 41 police forces across the country via knife amnesties and confiscations, at the British Ironwork Centre in Oswestry

May 1969: A 500 year old mill that flourished during the Welsh wool trade was playing a new role mixing dough

October 2017: Theatrical designer Debbie Rees Deacon with her creation, a King Midas statue made out of one pound coins and other recycled material, at the British Ironwork Centre in Oswestry