THESE pictures come courtesy of Swindon history enthusiast Josie Lewis, who has featured in Rewind before.

The larger one was taken on Saturday, November 27, 1937 toward the Ferndale Road end of Southbrook Street, and shows the laying of the foundation stone of what would become the new All Saints Church.

We can specify the date with certainty because a similar image appears on the church’s website - www.allsaintsswindon.org.uk - above an account of its history.

The original All Saints had been established in 1908, and the building was used as a parish hall until being demolished in 1976. The new building was completed in 10 months.

Josie Lewis’ copy of the image originally belonged to her mother, Monica, whose maiden name was Topp and who died in 2008, aged 84.

She had grown up in Ferndale Road and attended Ferndale Road School and the Sunday school at the Florence Street Mission Hall.

Josie became curious about the photo after discovering it among her mother’s effects, and wonders how it came to be in her possession.

A likely explanation is that a professional photographer was brought in to capture the occasion for posterity, and that orders for copies were taken from spectators and parishioners, perhaps to help with the cost of the building work or fixtures and fittings.

Josie wonders whether other Rewind readers have original copies of the photograph and can fill in some details about how they came to be issued.

The photograph is only one of many Swindon-related pieces of history left by Josie’s late mother.

One of the more unusual is a copy of a book called Well Played, Juliana!

Originally published in 1928, the school story was the first work by Irene Mossop, a prolific author who died in 1988, aged 83.

Inside the cover is a label dated May 5, 1933, identifying it as second prize in a competition run by the then Evening Advertiser’s Children’s Circle.

The circle was edited by a member of staff who went by the pseudonym of Uncle Jack.

We can find no mention of any such competition in relevant editions of the newspaper in our archives, but books were commonly awarded as prizes.

As with the photograph taken in Southbrook Street, we would be fascinated to hear from any Rewind readers able to shed a little light.

Perhaps other prizes from the competition survive.