Tanks for the memories; Appeal for military remembrances in Hull

The team at our Chamberlain Business Centre in Hull are appealing for residents to share their memories of the history of the site in order to create a lasting display during 2017.

The centre on Chamberlain Road is home to more than 60 businesses, including charities, care providers, mechanics, physiotherapists, shop fitters, cleaners and many more, and has been owned by BizSpace since the year 2000.

Tank engines, but no Thomas

But in years gone by the site had a very different purpose.  The business centre was previously an Army garage where damaged or broken down tanks, lorries and other vehicles were brought to be repaired.  Following this it was used by Remploy as a centre for training people with disabilities to help them find new careers.

To commemorate Hull’s City of Culture year, we’re planning to create a permanent display at the centre to commemorate its military history, and we are looking for help to bring it to life.

A world away

“Looking around the centre now and seeing so many businesses hard at work in their offices or industrial units, it is difficult to imagine now the place started life,” Business Centre Manager, Hayley Pollard, says.

“We have some limited knowledge of how it used to be, but we’d love to know more and we want to do something to preserve that rich history moving forward.

“There must be so many people out there with memories and photos of how the centre used to be and we’d love to hear from them.  Then once we unveil our finished display we will invite them along to a special launch event.”

Simply unique

Our Commercial Director, Emma Long, adds: “We like to do all we can to make each of our business centres unique, and preserving their history is an important part of that.  We’re really looking forward to gaining the input of local residents in order to create our contribution to the City of Culture year.”

If you have any memories of how our Chamberlain Business Centre used to be, contact Hayley on 01482 214770 or email mail.hull@bizspace.co.uk.