Laszlo Torday (b. 1890 – d. 1975) was a chemical engineer, industrialist and a keen amateur photographer. He originally moved to Tynemouth from Hungary in January 1940 and later moved to Newcastle. His photographs, the majority taken in the 1960s and 1970s, reflect his interest in the streets and people of Newcastle. He took many in High Heaton.
Newcastle City Library bought 100 albums of black and white prints plus 16 boxes of colour transparencies from a local dealer after Torday’s death. 1,000 images from this collection have been digitised and this selection of pictures of High Heaton is from that set, published with permission. We are keen to find out more about them. If you recognise yourself or anyone in the photos, please inform Heaton History Group. We have included a number here but there are at least 1000 in total on this Flickr page.
Children and Teacher at Cragside School by Torday
Lollipop lady on Newton Road
Shopping on Benton Road?
Shopping on Newton Road
High Heaton Library
Postman on Jesmond Park West
Heaton History Group 
A Heaton History Group member, who frequented Fenwicks butcher’s shop for many years, tells us the 3rd photo down was not on Newton Road as originally captioned:
‘Just been looking at gallery photos and there is one of Fenwicks the butchers with the text ‘shopping in Newton Road’. The Fenwicks butchers we knew (and patronised for many years) was in Benton Road and this looks very much like that shop and adjacent entrances to the flats above the shops. We could be wrong but it looks suspiciously like what is now part of the Coop undertakers at the south end of Benton Road on the west side of the street.’
Does anyone disagree?
A few weeks ago we received an email from Elizabeth Jones (nee Earl):
‘Hello Chris
I was forwarded a picture today on FB by a friend and shocked to see it was me!
The picture is Lollipop Lady on Newton Road tor 539
I am in the front next to blond boy Neil Rutherford and Graham Nicholson just behind (we all lived on Denewell Avenue and went to Cragside School) I am not sure who the smaller boy at the back is?
I have 2 younger sisters and think perhaps they were not yet in school making it perhaps 1969 or 70? I was born in 1963
My parents moved to Denewell Aveneue in 1964 from Durham it was their first house. My husband and I subsequently bought the house and lived there for 10 years with our children before moving to the Midlands in 1999.
Tor 209 Children and Teacher at Cragside – I recognise Elaine Oliver and Jane Palmer
Tor 638 Cragside children – Sandra Gilroy and Judith Prendegast
Tor 709 Mrs Wilson and her twin boys – mum also to Hazel Wilson (the lady who recognised and kindly forwarded the photo to me)
Looking a the Torday photos they are an amazing catalogue of everyday life in Newcastle – a simply wonderful archive
Liz J
(Elizabeth Jones nee Earl) ‘
It’s great to hear from subjects of Laszlo Torday’s photos of Heaton and High Heaton in the 1960s and 70s. Does anyone else recognise themselves are someone they know?