Sheffield Retro: Look at these 40 photos that give us a look at life in the city in 1986

1986 brought significant changes across the country, in a year that got off to a frosty start with severe winter blizzards that caused city-wide chaos – bringing public transport to a complete halt.

While we’re on the topic of things halting, employees at Sheffield Forgemasters ended a 16-week strike, and the Morning Telegraph (previously the Sheffield Daily Telegraph) ceased production after 130-years. It would later return as the Sheffield Telegraph, in 1989, as a weekly news publication.

Once things began to thaw out, a UK-spanning bus deregulation in October 1986 saw the introduction of the ‘bendibus’. Who remembers those?

It was also a year for visits from the Royals, Princess Anne and Princess Diana visited the city early in the year, followed by a December appearance from Queen Elizabeth II who made a formal visit to the Town Hall – each visit brought in the crowds from across the city. Were you there?

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Tragic news was also on the agenda, on September 21, 1986, the tragic Ughill Hall shootings occurred in Bradfield. Ian Wood murdered his partner and her daughter before injuring her son and escaping abroad, he would subsequently be extradited from France.

1986 was also the year that two Sheffield icons would be born, the Olympic heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill and Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner – They turned out alright, didn’t they?

What do you remember about the city 40-years ago? As always, answers on a postcard… or send me an email.

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