The Time Machine

Jimmy Forsyth 1913-2009. Click photo to enlarge.

Jimmy Forsyth bought his first camera from a junk shop in Newcastle upon Tyne (North East of England) back in 1954, at the age of 41.

From that moment he started recording the-day-to-day life around him and never stopped… until Tuesday 14 July, 2009, when sadly, he died at the age of 95.

The amazing thing is that Jimmy, who lost an eye in an industrial accident when he was 30, created one of the most important visual documentaries of working-class life in the early 50s on record.

The full extent of his work was only fully realised in the mid-1980s when a fascinating collection of photographs was reproduced in his book ‘Scotswood Road’. I’m not sure if it’s still in print. If so the ISBN is 1 85224 014 8… I’ve just had a quick check and at this moment there are three used copies for sale on Amazon.

In 1986 Derek Smith wrote in the book’s introduction: “Descriptions of ‘the old man who used to go round with a camera’ rarely varied. At South Shields library Doris Johnson remembered him as a frail old man with one eye: Who used to come in with his albums selling prints. His wardrobe looked as if it came from the WVS, and she wondered whether he ever got anything to eat.”
Continue reading Jimmy Forsyth – A tribute to ‘Snapper’ of North East life