On 31st August 1972 the Litherland Tar Works (Lanstar, Lancashire Tar Distillers) went on fire. Those who remember that night will never forget it – the area (where Tesco now stands) went up in a conflagration with huge explosions and massive billowing smoke. See captions below for commentary. The photos I took that night aged 14 used an old cheap camera called an Emi-K, bought for a couple of quid in a junk shop (PUT LINK HERE). It was night-time, using pretty slow old colour film too – so the quality of the pics are not great. They do show some easily recognisable locations (The White House Inn, Allinsons, The Wispa, The VIP Petrol Station, Philips Electrical and Jeans clothing shop windows, Currans and Hoppy’s) …as well as the police and fire brigade attendances.