Spotlight on… Coventry Cathedral

40 years ago this month Coventry Cathedral held a consecration ceremony for the newest incarnation of its building.

First built in the 14th century and early 15th century the cathedral was almost destroyed in the bombing raid of 1940. The new cathedral was built next to the remains of the older building and was designed by Basil Spence. The design in effect brought the old ruins and this new build into one structure forming one church.

Shell-Mex and B.P. Ltd were among those that celebrated this achievement in post war Britain, taking many photos of the impressive new building including the works of art by John Piper, Graham Sutherland, John Hutton, Geoffrey Clarke, Stephen Sykes amongst others.

To the left you can see the painting by John Piper depicting the five sided apse and part of the old cathedral destroyed by enemy action on 14th November 1940.

Bethan Thomas : 21 May 2012 08:00 |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Spotlight on… BP at the movies

The Company has appeared on the big screen in many feature films such as Superman 3 with Christopher Reeve, Thunderbolt with Jackie Chan and most recently Fast & Furious in 2009. Signage or vehicles can be spotted in the background of other cult movies such as James Bond, Avengers and even in the Intelligence Men featuring Morecombe and Wise!

Peter Housego : 14 May 2012 08:00 |  Tags: Advertising Bp Brand |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Did you know…?

At first, in Britain, the Company’s petrol pumps were painted various colours including red. But according to a Management Report to the board in 1927, it was decided to settle on green because of public opposition to the ugly appearance of garishly coloured service station pumps. Apparently this action proved to be both popular and commercially successful.

Peter Housego : 07 May 2012 08:00 |  Tags: Advertising Bp Brand |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Spotlight on… Model trucks

Collecting old toys has become a popular hobby all over the world, with a wide range of BP related toys on offer to enthusiasts.

These models representing vehicles from the 1920s to today were usually made of tin, die cast in zinc alloy or plastic moulded. The main maker of BP toys was Matchbox series by Lesney. As well as toy vehicles the company also manufactured accessories to complement the range such as the petrol pumps on display here.

Peter Housego : 30 Apr 2012 08:00 |  Tags: Bp |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Spotlight on… 1952 Helsinki Games

Melchior Thalmann, BP Bezine und Petroleum AG garage in Zurich, Switzerland, took silver in the men’s team competition in gymnastics

Peter Housego : 23 Apr 2012 08:00 |  Tags: Olympics |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Spotlight on… George Eyston

Captain George Eyston set a land speed record of 312 mph (502 kph) at Bonneville. His vehicle Thunderbolt had many novel features. Power was provided by two Rolls Royce ‘R’ aero engines side by side in the centre of the car. These gave a total of 5000 bhp which was transmitted to twin rear wheels via a 3 speed gear box and a final drive unit with no differential. The car had four front wheels, all of which were steerable. George Eyston, who later became a Director of Castrol, carried on his record breaking attempts until he stopped racing in 1954. This image shows Thunderbolt under construction at Bean Industries, Wolverhampton, UK.

Peter Housego : 16 Apr 2012 08:00 |  Tags: Castrol |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Spotlight on… The Motorist's Rhyme Book

In the 1920s a series of advertisements in the British newspapers took well known nursery rhymes and used them to advertise BP products. These adverts proved to be very popular and they were collected into a booklet and given out for free.

The rhymes were also sung and recorded on a small gramaphone record named The Songs of BP Plus.

Peter Housego : 09 Apr 2012 08:00 |  Tags: Advertising Bp |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Did you know…?

in areas where gas occured in oil seeps, lightning would set fires creating religious monuments and traditions. Azerbaijan for example means Gaurds of Fire and Masjid-i-Suleiman is often known as the Temple of Fire.

Peter Housego : 02 Apr 2012 08:00 |  Tags: Bp Oil |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Spotlight on… Dr M Y Young

Dr Morris Yuldevitz Young (the ‘Little Doctor’) was destined to give much of his life not only to his employers but also to Persia. Born in Russia, he was a graduate of Glasgow Medical School. His first role for the Company was that of Medical Officer in Persia. He arrives in response to letters from Reynolds, written almost a year earlier, indicating the need for a European doctor. He went on to become Chief Medical Officer in Persia and then Deputy Director and Company Chief Medical officer.

The archive holds a number of his albums of photographs taken at the turn of the 20th century showing the country and people of Persia to people who had never seen the Middle East and were unfamiliar with the customs and traditions.

Peter Housego : 26 Mar 2012 08:00 |  Tags: Bp |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

Spotlight on… The Schneider Trophy

In 1913 wealthy French industrialist Jacques Schneider donated a trophy to the Aero Club of France. The Schneider trophy, together with a prize of £100 was to be awarded to victor of a race held annually. The rules were very simple; the event had to take place over ‘open water’ and the aircraft had to be ‘seaworthy’. The winning nation would be responsible for holding the race the following year and a country winning three times in a five year period would keep the trophy. Over the years, the Schneider Trophy was fiercely contested by teams from many countries including France, Britain, Italy, USA and Germany. The Trophy was highly prized by the governments of competing countries. Their politicians realised that it was not merely a race, it was stimulus to national aviation industries to produce incredible advances in design technology. C C Wakefield played a part in this development with Castrol R lubricating the Rolls Royce RV-12 engine of the revolutionary 1927 Supermarine S5 and in 1929 Supermarine S6.

Peter Housego : 19 Mar 2012 08:00 |  Tags: Aviation Castrol |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem