JOE MARTIN: SALFORD'S HERITAGE HERO

It's hard to believe but today, 24th February is the tenth anniversary of the death of Joe Martin, a man who many of you may possibly not have heard off, but his legacy is all around us.

Joe was the last Conservation Officer for the City of Salford, sadly a position that has never been replaced by the Council, something I find shocking, surely Salford needs a Conservation Officer to keep an eye on listed buildings etc?

I first met Joe when I was working at SalfordOnline and was doing some research into the blue plaques and listed buildings in Salford, I contacted him and the very next day he sent across all the information I needed but also a huge list of information through the post. 

From then on I found Joe to be friendly, informative and a mine of information about Salford, a place he loved dearly and fought hard to improve and preserve.

We met again when the Salford Totem Pole which had stood outside the Manchester Liners office on Trafford Road, was rediscovered after years in storage, neglected and in need of some repair.

I followed the progress of the totem pole, from a lock up garage in Broughton until it was fully restored by Native American Indian carvers from Canada who came over specially to do the specialised work.

I have been told that totem pole will shortly be erected in a site in an appropriate place in Salford, you have to guess were.

The famous Monton Lighthouse may possibly not have been built if Joe hadn't seen the potential in allowing it to be built and helped the owner, Phil Austin through the minefield of paperwork that needed to be completed for the job.

To learn more about Joe and his life I met his brother Pete Martin  who  shared his memories with me.

Quote

 

"Joe was the youngest of 12 children, we lived at 47 Broughton Road, Salford and attended St Albert's R.C. school then De La Salle.

"Joe was a bright lad and after leaving school, he got a job with Salford Council, in fact he worked with them for almost 40 years and was the longest serving member of staff.

"He didn't start as Conservation Officer but worked in many departments before securing that position, it was a job that was made for him, his love of the City and it's buildings were second to none and he helped save so many important buildings from demolition.

"It is good to see that the Council set up the Joe Martin Conservation Award which still runs and is awarded to companies who have helped beautify the City and preserve buildings at risk, he would have been very proud of this.

"He was also a talented artist and musician, we had a duo once called, "Me and our Kid" named because at our first gig at a social club on Langley Road, the compere asked who was on next, and that's what I said!"

 

So tonight Joe, I shall raise a glass to you memory, Salford lost a great man when we lost you and the City is poorer for your absence.

Joe's older brother, Anthony has written a delightful book about the family growing in Salford, full of amusing anecdotes about the family, with some lovely anecdotes in it.

It's called, "Tales of 47" and is available from Amazon priced £9.99 - ISBN# 9781773740539

https://amzn.to/2VlttJ4