Featured Stories

I am not originally from Stoke-on-Trent and only moved to the area around two months ago to start my job at the hospital in Pharmacy. In the future, I would like to do more travelling.

What I like about Stoke-on-Trent is that the people are really kind and friendly. I feel surprised that I have been asked to take part as I wasn’t expecting anything!

I was born and bred in this area (1956) apart from 3 years at Art College down in Luton.

My hobbies include tenpin bowling and collecting American comicbooks. I landscape sketch while I am on holiday and have find that there is no better way of unwinding and relieving stress. My father passed away in 2011 after suffering with terminal throat cancer and I was his sole carer during this long period, and I took over his position in the local community as the President of the Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire Hebrew Congregation.

At 16 I started having some troubles with my mental health and I turned to the YMCA for support. They helped me to become my own person again.

My life is on the up now. I’ve moved out of the hostel and am in my own place. Coming back to the YMCA the second time really opened my eyes to the difficult situations people living here often face. It’s made me want to train to become a mental health support worker. I’m really grateful for the support I’ve been given at the YMCA, I feel it has enabled me to turn my life from negative to positive.

My Mum, Margaret Baker, was born in April 1924 and lived in Trent Vale for the first part of her life. When the war began she joined the Munitions Factory at Swynnerton and helped to make bombs. I remember her telling me she took part in a First Aid Competition once and the prize was to help in the First Aid Room, she loved that as she would have loved to have been a nurse.

I moved to the area in 2014, to study film production at Staffordshire University.

I have just recently graduated this year and decided to continue my studies, by doing a Masters in film production. My life is over the top, to many things to pin point as from when I moved to Staffordshire University everything has been an amazing experience. My one main ambition would be to one day to go back to my hometown and direct a movie with everyone in it, to show where I come from.

I have a partner, two daughters, a grandson, and soon to be born granddaughter. My elderly father lives with us, we call him the bird man of Blacklake, due to all the wild birds that come to visit his bird table each day.

Going to University as a mature student enabled me to better my personal career, fulfilment and provide for my family. I am now a cancer research nurse. I get a lot of job satisfaction helping our patients, who have a strength of character that is truly inspirational when undergoing the most toughest period in their lifes journey.

I’m a retired English teacher – 32 years in the profession as a Head of English – 30 of those years were spent at Berry Hill High School and Painsley Catholic College. As well as the teaching, I’m the lead singer/accordionist frottoir player for swamp’n’roll band Elvis Fontenot.

I’m a senior examiner for one of the GCSE exam boards and a published author of educational books – revision guides – for Harper Collins. Also, I’m a semi-professional photographer with an interest in mainly music and street photography.

My name’s Sarah and I live in Abbey Hulton. I love doing drama and I’m part of Masque Theatre Company. I’ve been acting with Masque for over 10 years now! I volunteer at the MAC club (a social club) and also at a local nursery school where I help to prepare meals.

The thing I like about Stoke is that people get treated equally. I think that’s really important. In some places if you are seen to be different in any way people might whisper behind your back or stare, that’s not very nice, but in Stoke we respect each other no matter our differences.

I was born in Stoke-on-Trent in 1972, and I still live in the area.

I am currently in Trentham, originally from Stoke near the railway station.

Our extended family are active members of our local Sikh community, and have been since the early seventies. We have two sons and they are budding cricket players, and one just very recently was selected for the Staffordshire Moorlands district under 10’s cricket team.

I’ve been in Stoke 58 years. I was born in Burslem, lived in Blurton and now Bentilee.

I work as a counter assistant at Barnetts Cooked Meats store inside Longton Market. I’ve been working inside markets for over 22 years now. I enjoy eating out, drinking socially, and visiting family. I’ve met some wonderful people over the years at work and everyday life, and I will carry on working hard for as long as possible and keep active.

I like the people of Stoke-on-Trent and it will always be my home!

The Potteries Museum & Art Gallery is located in Hanley, Stoke-on- Trent. The museum has outstanding collections of Natural History, Fine Art, Local History, and Ceramics. As well as this, The Potteries Art Gallery houses an undigitised, historic photography archive that brings together the identities that go into forming the area known as the Potteries.

Our team made digital copies of many of the archival images, and this anonymous face stood out.

I am Reece and originally from Stoke-On- Trent. I have lived here all my life (13 years). I like to spend my time making YouTube videos or riding bikes. I want to be a famous You Tuber, like Tanner Fox or Jake Paul, or a mechanic mending cars and motorbikes.

I am part of a large family spread out across the potteries. I like Tunstall and the shops in Hanley, and the woods and countryside close to where I live in Tunstall.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPsPwUvhThEtTvq4hHx52Zg/videos

I arrived in this country in 2011 without a word of English. From a very young age I have faced many difficulties and had to overcome many barriers so, for me, where I am standing now is a huge success. My ambition is to go to University and study Law; I hope to become a Lawyer in the future. I take great interest in different cultures and would like to travel to learn new languages.

My family moved from Pakistan due to political reasons. We weren’t sure exactly what was happening in the first few initial months of moving but both agree they now feel settled.

I’ve two grown children and seven grandchildren. My wife and I will be celebrating 40 years of marriage next March. My greatest passion, apart from my family is Foxfield Railway, where I’ve been a volunteer for many years. You’ll find me there most weekends as guide, guard, signalman, and at Christmas, ‘Magic’ the entertainer!

My family roots are in the city, where many of them worked in the creative pottery market, the steelworks, and the mines. The hardships they endured helped me to realise that there was a lot of hard work behind that beautiful piece of pottery or that nice warm hearth.

I was born in Stoke-on-Trent, living in Endon, before moving across to Blythe Bridge aged 11, where I currently reside having purchased my nan’s house after she sadly passed two years ago.

I’m a communications manager for a crop protection company and I’m also involved with a pedigree rare breed pig enterprise with my partner. We have a small herd of pedigree Tamworth pigs including a fabulously handsome boar called Gary. We also have 100 sheep and two pygmy goats.

I love to travel and recently went to Japan on my own, and learned that life is too short and if you don’t take opportunities you will come to regret them. If you try and learn about different cultures it can open your mind and you will become a better person for it. I would like to go university in Japan and teach English as a foreign language.

What I like about Stoke-On-Trent is that it’s home to a lot of different and wonderful people. If I go to other cities in England it feels like people aren’t as genuine, you get that type of air about being in Stoke where people are genuinely nice.

I’ve always lived in Stoke on Trent, currently living in Hanley. I am opening a sandwich restaurant/bar in Piccadilly, Hanley.

I really believe that it is an exciting time for Stoke – lots of young, creative and ambitious people that can (and are!) making a real difference to the city and I want to be part of it. Stokies are always the most welcoming and friendly bunch of the lot. They are also some of the most creative and hard-working people I know, we have a great entrepreneurial spirit in Stoke and it’s contagious.

I am Eyob Asmelash and I come from Eritrea.

I was in the army in my country and I came to Stoke on Trent in 2015. I am a care worker now hoping to be a nurse in the future.

I love to run marathons and this year in June I came 4th in the Stoke on Trent half marathon my time was 1:17:08. I run with the Trentham runners. I am very honoured for my photo to be chosen. Stoke-on-Trent is the best city to live in because the people are so friendly.

She was born here, loved the Potteries, and was well known for her caring for people in her community of Goldenhill and Stoke-on-Trent. Our city & its people were part of her thinking, her being, her heart, and her DNA.

She worked in the pottery Grindleys and was proud to be a freehand painter, a bander, a liner, and a trainer, who taught many others her skills. She met her future husband at 5 years old in nursery school and they subsequently married and had a long and happy marriage with two children. She was the embodiment of a kind smiling welcoming hard-working Stokie person.

I was born and raised here, I moved away for a couple of years when I went to University, but always found myself coming back every weekend to have the comfort of home (and a few oatcakes!).

Growing up here has it’s given me the opportunity to explore my creative side – Through school, college and professionally I have been able and lucky enough to be a part of various productions and owe quite a lot to them. My involvement with community radio station has allowed me to to give local people the opportunity to promote local events, promote the city and have a voice.

This is Tom. He was born in Stoke-on-Trent at the brilliant Royal Stoke University Hospital.

While he was a baby/toddler he attended many play groups and activities in the city where he met lots of friends. At the weekends he does many activities including swimming lessons, taking part in activities at The Potteries Centre, visiting soft play centres, visiting the museum to name but a few. In this photo he is enjoying an ice cream at Trentham Gardens where we spend lots of time (and have lots of ice creams).

I have been a hairdresser in Tunstall for almost 20 years. I now have a salon in Tunstall Market and meet some amazing people.

I’m quite proud of myself for having my head shaved for two of my favourite charities two years ago; the SSBB (Shropshire and Staffordshire Blood Bikes), and Dougie Mac, raising over £600 for each!

I am Sheila Podmore. I’ve lived in Bradeley for the past 50 years and proud to be a Stokie! I worked in the pottery industry then went into college and became a support teacher. I am a Deacon at the Burslem Elim Church in The Burslem Lighthouse Moorland Rd and Trustee and Leader of the Burslem Jubilee, a group who helps and supports asylum seekers and refugees.

l am very proud of the volunteers who help and support me in this project and all the art projects around our wonderful city.

I was born in 1965 in the now demolished maternity block at the City General Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent. My twin brother arrived about 10 minutes after me. My parents weren’t aware they were having twins until about 6 weeks beforehand! At 18 I became a student nurse, qualifying in 1987. I still work in the NHS now!

I value my heritage, I always turn over the crockery wherever I am… and feel very proud when I read ‘Dudsons’, ‘Steelite’ and ‘Wedgwood’.

I’m Sarah the owner of ‘Tweetie Sweetie of Longton’. I opened my shop in April 2016. Owning a sweet shop was a dream of mine for many years. After leaving my job due to illness a year before the opportunity came for me to follow my dream. It was one of those now or never moments that I couldn’t let pass by!

With massive help and support from my family and friends my dream is still going strong.

I am living in Etruria but before that I studied fashion design in India. It has always been my dream to run my own fashion business. Thanks to support from my family and my friends I was finally able to start in a small shop in October 2017.

This year I moved to a bigger space running a clothing and accessories stall in Tunstall Market, I am very happy here! I’m hoping to continue to build up my business little by little and feel proud of what I have achieved so far.

We moved to Stoke-On-Trent when I was about 13. I worked like a dog all my life and brought the kids up.

I’ve got my own china business. I’ve always been interested in history. I just get on with things and manage to stay alive – sometimes that’s enough.

I was born in a mining village in South Yorkshire, and moved to Stoke on Trent for work in 2005. I have found it a great place to live.

I write books about military history and provide technical and proof-reading help to authors. My book about Lidice and the North Staffordshire miners (A Ray of Light) was a finalist in the 2017 Arnold Bennett Book Prize.

My son (he was 7 at the time) & I had our hair cut off in 2015, and raised £800 for Chernobyl Children’s Project UK.

Penelope was born on the 15th May 2017 at The Royal Stoke Hospital, weighing 9lb 7oz. She has a big brother called William whom she adores, and just like to giggle a lot.

We are delighted that she has been  featured in ‘The Face of Stoke on Tour’ – to represent such a fun, vibrant and diverse city is a real honour. She enjoys visiting the local parks, and has visited most of the pottery museums in the city – however I can’t confirm how much she took in from it all! She giggled all the way round though!

Oscar was born in Burslem and now lives in Fegg Hayes. He often cycles around Chatterley Whitfield Nature Reserve, he likes to feed the ducks, geese and swans at Ford Green Nature Reserve. When asked what he is proud of, he said getting certificates, for his hard work in English, and for his reading.

He enjoys motorbikes, loves attending the ‘Star Bikers Toy Run and Egg Run’ on the back of his Dads trike, and waves all the way around at everyone along the route, collecting from the Stoke on Trent residents who like him brave the cold for a good cause.

I’ve lived in Stoke on Trent for all of my 31 years.

There’s good bits and not so good bits but the people of Stoke are amazing. I’m proud to say I’m a Stokie and I’m proud to share my face with all the other Stokies!

I am 25 years old and I have lived and grown up in Burslem, Stoke On Trent.

I work at Specsavers Opticians in Tunstall where I have worked for almost 3 years and within my job I have progressed onto being the Store Supervisor of which I am proud of. Working in optics is a job that I love doing and I would love to progress further.

I am getting married in June to my partner of 8 years at Floral Hall in Tunstall!

I’m 82 years old. Born and bred in Stoke, a former paintress at Spode. I’m definitely a Stokie girl!

I grew up along London Road, at Oakhill at ‘Cadmen’s Sweetie Shop’ – my Grandma’s shop. She raised me from the age of 3 when my mother died. It wasn’t always easy believe me! She was living in the Victorian times, but I always count my blessings.

I’m proud that I’ve raised my children – two girls – by myself.

This is Lydia. She is four years old and posing as a princess in Tunstall Park. Lydia loves to sing and dance. Her favourite football team is Stoke City. She is the future of Stoke On Trent.

Lydia has recently performed in her first dance show at The Regent Theatre – Hanley, as part of a annual dance festival ‘Once Upon a Dance’. She was so proud and privileged to perform on one of the biggest stages in Staffordshire!

I was born in Newcastle-Under-Lyme to an Austrian mother and a Stoke Father.

I was raised in Stoke (Eaton Park) and left to study for a BA Hons Degree in Chester. This was followed by a career in retail which initially meant being sent to Coventry. My proudest achievement has been setting up my own business 4 years ago, Strand Records, here in Longton.

Join the vinyl revival!

I moved to Stoke from Bath in 2014 to take up the role of Professor of Health Psychology at Staffordshire University.

When I arrived, I set up ‘Stoke Psychology in the Pub’. Each month a psychologist from either Staffordshire or Keele University gives a talk about their work. Talks have included: ‘The Psychology of Swearing’, ‘Conspiracy Theories’, and ‘The Christmas Jumper’. I am proud that something I started here, has taken on a life of its own and gives psychologists a space to share what they do, explain why it is important, and allow the public to ask questions.

Mum was a very loving person who grew up in Hartshill before moving to Silverdale when she married my Dad in 1966. She had me and my sister, Liz on 22nd March 1971 – twins! We didn’t have much in life but she worked her socks off to make sure we were happy and comfortable and we could not have felt more loved.

One of the many things I am proud of was the fact that Mum would always put herself out for others, not just her family, even if it was often to her disadvantage and she had many friends on the village and beyond.

Ilana is certainly a character, as soon as the summer holidays started she insisted on dying her hair pink!

She loves to dance and is good at athletics, being art the school football team. She loves any crafts and drawing (and seems to always making slime like most 10 year olds). She enjoys days at Middleport Pottery making clay animals (we live local to the factory).

I’ve been on Tunstall Market a couple years now but I’ve been dog training for 40 years.

Ever since I was a little kid I was always fascinated by dogs and seemed to have a gift for understanding them. We always had dogs in the house and most likely they were with me, I had friends but dogs were my best friends!

I’m really proud of the help I’ve given to people over the years to understand the behaviour of their dogs. I’ve helped lots of people get the best out of their dogs and the dogs to get the best out of their owners!

George Snape (1886-1936) was born in Hanford. As a teenager he joined the staff of the Corn family, owners of Richards Tile Company. By 1911 he is married to Celia, and earning his living as a chauffeur driving one of the earliest cars in Trentham.

Drivers were in great demand in WW1 and George joined the Army Service Corps (Mechanical Transport) and transported food and other essentials to the troops. Home again, in the 1920s he drove Edmund and Nancy Corn to the South of France in a Silver Ghost Rolls Royce. At his death in 1936 he was described as “a devoted servant and faithful friend.”

I’m from Mow Cop, duck! I’m now a bar supervisor at a pub.

I’m proud of my grandad who taught me everything he knew about butchering – that’s what I did in Tunstall Market all my life.

My name is Emma and I’m 37 years old. I was born in Stoke-On-Trent and currently live in Endon with my husband and two children.

I studied at Manchester university and gained a BA Honours degree in Business Management. I started my own business in Tunstall in 2001 and have successfully ran my business from Tunstall Market for 17 years selling unusual home accessories, gifts and homeware.

I’m very proud of the heritage we have in Stoke-On-Trent and regularly visit the industrial museums with my children.

I left school at sixteen with baggy trousers, sideburns and platforms. My first job at 16 was slip casting whiskey jugs at Wade Heath Burslem. In July 2014 I took a vacant position at Staffordshire University as Ceramic Technical Instructor. I’ve since been discovering, mixing my art with ceramic modelling, in producing and exhibiting ceramic art and sculpture.

Now I’m settled and happy, living in Stoke with a talented musician where I find the people to be genuinely likeminded in life as it is, and where you can find and be amongst some really talented artists.

I am 33 years old, a zookeeper and live in Derby with my husband and 2 young children, both girls and both are the thing I am most proud of.

I was born and raised in Stoke (Meir Park) and then moved to Manchester to go to University where I got a First Class Hons degree and my MSc. I have been at my current job as a Zookeeper for 8 years where I look after all 4 species of Great Apes and I love it! My family are still in Stoke and I love coming ‘home’ to visit whenever I can.

This photo of Christine and Tony James was taken in about 1968 in the Queens Theatre, Burslem.

Christine and Tony met whilst on holiday in Prestatyn, in their teenage years in August 1961. Christine and her friend were walking along the beach and spotted two lads. They approached them and asked if they could borrow a comb! Despite relatives telling them “the holiday romance will never last”, they married in 1965 and are celebrating their 53rd wedding anniversary in 2018.

My first real job was as a baker for Bialek’s Bakery in Burslem. I really enjoyed the job—making bread and seeing people enjoy it.

I’ve struggled a bit with my mental health as an adult with anxiety and depression, volunteering at Middleport Pottery has really helped me get back on track. I started volunteering 4 years ago on the day it re-opened as a Prince’s Trust project. I now work there. I really feel like my regeneration happened alongside the regeneration of Middleport, sometimes I call myself Doctor Who!

I was born in Burslem in 1959 and as a child I went to Stoke City matches with my father at the Victoria Ground.

Although I have spent time abroad I always come back home to Stoke on Trent, I love the Potteries and the friendly people of Staffordshire. I have always kept my roots and return to Bahrain each time with a suitcase full of oatcakes for my freezer, which are consumed heartily before Stoke City matches watched on satellite TV!

My name is Carmel.

I moved to Cobridge, Stoke on Trent about 5 years ago to be part of a small Christian community. We love where we live and want to join with others in celebrating what’s good about it, changing what’s not and together, building a stronger more vibrant community. We’ve made lots of friends and there’s a growing sense of neighbourliness.

I was born in Blythe Bridge in 1942 and have been involved in several family owned businesses in Stoke on Trent.

I’ve always had a keen interest in local history especially concerning the pottery industry as my Grandfather was a fireman of the coal fired bottle kilns in the early 20th century – a highly skilled job crucial to the success of any factory.

I currently volunteer at Spode Visitor Centre and I’m proud to share my knowledge with the many visitors who come there.

My name is Bennie Beretta, originally from the Bronx in the United States.

At the moment I live in France, but not a day goes by that I have this itch to come back to Stoke. I am an artist, and have exhibited twice at Gallery 116. A photographer who loves to take street photography and experimental selfies.

What I love about Stoke is the genuineness of its people. I just love it here. Try to keep me away.

I am Adrian, 45 years old, living, volunteering and working in the communities of Stoke-on-Trent.

I facilitate shared reading groups as a volunteer with Stoke-on-Trent Library, as well as running training sessions and workshops that support people to speak up about their lives, the issues that are important to them and to be more active citizens. 

My volunteering and my work over the last 25 years has helped me discover the hidden treasures of this city, most importantly the amazing people.