In 2016 former steelworks crane-drive, Roy Basket and I were out filming around the Hawarden Bridge, Shotton, crossing of the river Dee for my "Stories Of Steel" heritage archive project.

During a break in filming, we were approached by a lady taking her regular dog-walk on the riverbank coastal pathway. Yvonne Middleton showed much interest in our project -and we had the unexpected bonus of recording an impromptu and moving childhood memory.

In the clip, Yvonne tells us of times, good and bad, of the John Summers Steel Works story. First, she recalls an intrepid occasion when, sat on her father's cycle cross-bar, she accompanied him as he went over the bridge into work -to collect his wages.

This video-film item had its first public viewing during a presentation to the North East Wales Heritage Forum, Symposium Meeting in MOLD, 8 June 2017. It was included in a talk given to local-history groups and researchers. (Hopefully!) it shows how affordable, everyday technology, can be used to capture first-hand experiences of the recent past in a way that might help future generations in their understanding of Flintshire's remarkable contribution to our Welsh, Industrial heritage.

John Butler
Filmed: 8 November 2016