These photographs from the Shropshire Star archives capture life across the county in 1978, from royal visits and famous faces to community events, local industry and historic moments.
Prince Charles flew into Shrewsbury to open the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, while Richard Burton and Billy Connolly brought film-set excitement to Ellesmere College. Elsewhere, villagers recreated the Silver Jubilee in Llanfair Waterdine, young riders competed at Wistanswick gymkhana, and miners fought to save Granville Colliery.
What are your memories of 1978? Did you see Prince Charles arrive by helicopter, work on Stanmore Industrial Estate, or take part in any of the events featured? We'd love to hear your memories, so share your stories in the comments below.
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1. Officially cool: The village youth club rocking custom '70s style
June Leath, Christine Phillips, Eileen Hoskins, and Shirley Leath link arms and kick up their heels to show off matching "Sheriffhales Youth Club Is Cool" T-shirts on August 26, 1978. The stylish quartet perfectly embodied the fun, community-focused spirit of the village's local youth scene. Complete with flared jeans, classic skirts, and big smiles, the custom tops left nobody in any doubt about Sheriffhales' status as the place to be. Were you a member of Sheriffhales Youth Club back in the late 1970s, or do you remember wearing custom T-shirts like these? | Shropshire Star archive
2. Full steam ahead for a festive town celebration
Draped in Union Jacks and French Tricolours, a striking blue steam locomotive steams into Bridgnorth Station on the Severn Valley Railway around October 1, 1978. This vivid full-colour snapshot captures the railway getting into the spirit of the three-day celebrations marking the official town twinning with Thiers in France. The engine itself - no. 600 Gordon - remains a firm favourite among enthusiasts and can still be seen today on display at Highley's Engine House. Do you remember seeing the decorated trains running along the SVR during the 1978 twinning weekend? | Picture courtesy of Jo Darkin
3. Rallying the troops to save the county's last pit
Winding engine man Harry O'Brien makes a spirited V-for-victory sign alongside one of his homemade anti-closure placards on November 3, 1978. A veteran miner who had worked at Granville Colliery for 18 years, Mr O'Brien, of Jubilee Avenue, Donnington, put up the posters around the site to stir up fighting spirit amongst his fellow workers. Despite the fierce local opposition to save Telford's mining heritage, the colliery - the last remaining deep coal mine in Shropshire - finally shut its doors the following year in 1979. Do you remember the campaign to save Granville Colliery or know anyone who worked at the pit before its closure? | Shropshire Star archive
4. Making way for the motorways comes at a cost
Local landowner Mike Sankey surveys the heavy churned-up earth along a quiet lane near his Albrighton home in January 1978. Uprooted tree stumps and damaged verges mark the path cleared to accommodate heavy construction traffic ahead of building work on the proposed M54 motorway route. The photograph captures a quiet moment of reflection on the disruption brought to rural Shropshire during major infrastructure expansions in the late 1970s. Do you remember the disruption and changes to the local landscape when construction on the M54 first got underway? | Shropshire Star archive