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People from Berwick have had a part to play in the setting up of a charitable trust and the images that are currently on display.

The Northumberland Archives Charitable Trust marked its public launch with two celebrations of its work to date – raising money to save and analyse historical records, documents and images for future generations.

Northumberland Archives holds a wealth of information about the county’s history, its people and places, and everyday life.

The Photocentre collection is a fascinating assortment of images taken by professional photographers the Smith family of Berwick from 1951 to 2012, when they retired. It holds more than a million negatives, including glass plates.

From left, Northumberland County Council Ceremonial Head Catherine Seymour (Berwick North), Coun Jeff Watson, Cameron Robertson and Sir Philip Mawer.

The images show the whole spectrum of life from North Northumberland to the Scottish borders – everything from passport photos to babies, weddings, Tweedmouth Salmon Queens, celebrities of the day including The Beetles, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, and racing driver Jim Clark, who won the Formula One World Championship in 1963 and 1965.

The trust was the brainchild of council officer and head of archives, Sue Wood, backed by her head of service, Karen Lounton, and Linda Bankier, senior archivist, based at Berwick.

Sir Philip Mawer, chairman of the trust, attended both events along with Coun Jeff Watson, cabinet member for culture, heritage and libraries. They also featured a project looking at the past, and potential future, for Blyth.

Despite its somewhat ‘under-the-radar’ starting point, the trust has already raised more than £70,000 towards helping the vital work of the archives team.

Sir Philip said: “Northumberland has a rich history reflected in the castles, churches, great houses, mines and harbours that are part of the landscape, but a lot more is found in the maps, deeds, photographs and documents stored by our archive service.

“History has always been a fascination for me. It is about finding the gems and capturing the stories that relate to our community and how it has evolved.”

The Photocentre collection is being catalogued by Cameron Robertson, who works for two days a week on the project. The trust secured funding for his work via a grant from the Community Foundation, Tyne, Wear and Northumberland.

A selection of the photos is on show at County Hall, Morpeth, until Friday, July 14.

For more on the charitable trust, go to www.northumberlandarchivestrust.org

Trust saves history for future generations with help from Berwick photographers