Walter Harris Collection

This material is held atGwasanaeth Archifau Conwy / Conwy Archive Service

  • Reference
    • GB 2008 CP80
  • Dates of Creation
    • [c. 1890]-1979
  • Language of Material
    • English
  • Physical Description
    • 10 boxes

Scope and Content

This collection consists of the following mediums: glass slides - positive and negative, film black and white negatives, black and white and colour slides and black and white prints. The earliest images are the 25 glass slide positives taken by William John Harris, the father of Walter Harris and are available to view as prints. The bulk of the collection is that of (William) Walter Harris. He was born in 1901 at Anneddle, Woodlands, Gyffin. After attending Abergele Grammar School he joined R.E. Jones & Bros, Printers, Conwy in 1916. He served with the South Wales Borderers during the war, after which he returned to the printworks and a few years later attended Manchester College of Technology to study printing.

He worked for R.E. Jones and on their newspaper the 'North Wales Weekly News' for 50 years, his last post was as the Advertisement Manager.

Photography and walking in the surrounding countryside were his great interests. His pictures appeared over many years on the leader pages of the 'Weekly News' and were featured in the company's calendar. He also contributed to many other publications including the 'Radio Times'. He was a founder member of the Conwy Camera Club and his images were accepted for exhibitions regularly. He retired in 1966 after serving for 50 years with four editors, but continued to produce photographs for the newspaper's leader page. He died suddenly on the 17th October 1980 aged 80 years.

These images illustrate his great interest and love for the land around him charting its changes whether through the seasons, natural disasters or development. He also captures the people of Conwy and Gwynedd going about their daily lives in work or leisure.

Access Information

This collection is open for research. Access to some documents may be restricted due to Data Protection legislation, Conwy Archives will advise where this is the case. For details and opening hours see http://www.conwy.gov.uk/en/Resident/Libraries-Museums-and-Archives/Archives/Archives.aspx.