A look back to explosive demolition in the “good ol’ days”
Based upon the reaction we received following the reproduction of an old edition of the Demolition & Dismantling magazine (and there are more editions to come), there is a great appetite out there for demolition nostalgia.
Those that were lucky enough to attend the recent Institute of Demolition Engineers Autumn conference in London will know that vice-president and events co-ordinator John Woodward had organised a look back at an explosive demolition project from the 1970s (1977 to be precise). The presentation came in the shape of a video salvaged from obscurity by demolition consultant Bruce Atkinson FIDE of DemConsult.
Bruce takes up the story:
The following film is a non-technical home movie of a single day operation to demolish a large block of flats in Birkenhead. It takes place in 1977 at a time when the current reams of regulations and legislation now governing the industry, and captures the atmosphere of the time with long hair, flared trousers, wide lapels.
This was also a time when political correctness had not yet been invented, and the industry inhabited a number of larger than life characters. There were no mobile phones, no site phones, no site audits, method statements, risk assessments, design calculations or drawings. This was a time when fuel and oxygen was ordered via the nearest pay phone and wages were collected from the local Post Office at the end of the week.
The company featured is Ogdens, at the time the premier contractor in the UK, which had grown to have its own explosive engineer – Mick Perkins – who is featured in the film alongside Victor Ogden who managed Ogden’s demolition operations.
The film shows a typical demolition operation of its day, covering a whole range of emotions: anticipation; panic, tension; and finally relief.
Having now watched the film a few times, we’re certainly relieved that blasting practices and health and safety have improved in the past three decades; and we’re even more relieved that those horrendous moustaches were consigned to the dark corners of fashion history. Enjoy.
Day Trip to Birkenhead from Mark Anthony on Vimeo.
