Delve into the history of Hartlepool match factory and the huge fire in new book

The scene in Church Street as onlookers watched the match factory blaze on August 30, 1954.

Alan Middleton has produced an updated and revamped edition of his 1979 book about the town’s match factory which burned down in 1954.

Entitled A Tale of Hope and Despair: North of England Match Co West Hartlepool 1932-1954, it is almost three times the size of the first edition and is in colour.

It also includes many more examples of labels that appeared on the company’s matchbooks advertising everything from local cinemas, pubs, clubs and dance halls that Alan has spent years collecting.

Author Alan Middleton with his updated version of his book on the Hartlepool match factory which has just been published.

Alan, 72, from Normanby, has the largest collection of matchbook labels in the world.

He said: “There’s no other book like it. I’ve got a lot more information on the history of the company and a lot of new documents including how the matches were made.

“There is still people with connections to it in Hartlepool. It was such a landmark company.

“The book is really for the people of Hartlepool. I’m returning the heritage to them.

The front cover of the book and some of the matchbook labels collected by Alan for the new edition.

“It’s important we don’t forget what this company did as an employer. It was one of the major employers for the people of Hartlepool.”

The book includes a section on West Hartlepool founder Ralph Ward Jackson who built Swainson Dock where the match factory was.

And it of course looks at the devastating blaze at the factory on August 30, 1954.

Alan added: “It was a complete inferno and the factory never did recover from it.

Boats in the dock fighting the match factory ablaze.

“It was a bank holiday and people at the football match could see the smoke. The railway station was right next to the dock and I think they sold more tickets that day to go onto the platform than ever before.”

The new edition of the book has been published by Ord Office in Avenue Road, Hartlepool where the book can be ordered.

Alan chose them as the family firm had printed many of the matchbook labels that feature in the book together with those printed by Robinsons in Newcastle.

“I’ve had a very favourable response to it,” said Alan. “Hopefully a copy is going to be in the local reference library.”