Following the felling of a mill chimney at Lob Mill, when a Gold Medal was offered, by the steeplejack, to the photographer producing the best picture of the chimney whilst it was falling, a meeting was held at Sunderland's Old Market Café on Thursday November 29th 1906.
The meeting was well attended and Mr WE Shackleton presided. The decision to form a society was taken and a committee of seven was appointed with Mr JS Atherton as secretary.
A public meeting was called on Monday December 10th when Rules and Objectives were considered. The objects of the society were reported by the local press as follows:
a) To promote a friendly and helpful intercourse amongst all classes of photographers in the Town and District, and b) To extend the knowledge and practice of photographic processes by means of lectures, meetings, exhibitions and such other methods as may be proved to lead to the culture of the art-science.
Over 100 years on, our group continues to meet at the Town Hall every week.
