LOOKING BACK: Aerial shots from the 1980s show industrial might of 'The Great Float’

During the ‘70s, Bernard was a trainee working for the commercial photographers Elsam, Mann and Cooper and took lots of pictures of the changing landscape along the River Mersey.

In these three images, which Bernard has kindly shared with us, we see some stunning aerial views of the so-called Great Float which is split into two large docks: East Float and West Float - both part of the Birkenhead Docks complex.

The docks run approximately two miles inland from the Mersey, dividing the towns of Birkenhead and Wallasey.

The Great Float was designed as one large dock, running from Poulton Bridge to Tower Road, however the Duke Street Bridge had to be built to maintain ancient rights of way, so the Great Float was divided into two: the West Float on the Poulton Bridge side and the East Float on the river side.

Taken in 1987, the photographs show the Four Bridges, four movable bridges along Tower Road: two between the Great Float and Alfred Dock, one between the Great Float and Wallasey Dock and one between the Great Float and Egerton Dock. When originally built, all four were hydraulic swing bridge types. In the 1930s most were replaced by bascule bridges.

One of Bernard’s images also gives a great view of the Spillers and Bakers mill. This was one of four large mills in the area which helped Merseyside become the second largest flour milling centre in the world by the 1930s. It closed back in 1999 and the mills have now been converted into flats.

“The images were shot for a client back then who was doing a historic survey of the area,” said Bernard. “As a commercial photographer, one of my services then was aerial photography and these where taken from a Cessna 172 light aircraft.

“With the popularity of drone photography these days aerial photography is not commissioned as often.”

n Follow Bernard on Facebook @BernardRoseLiverpoolPhotography or on Twitter @BRPimages