Friday work drinks in The Royal Castle in Birkenhead would often feel like a wake, according to photographer Tom Wood.
A popular haunt for workers at the Cammell Laird Shipyard facing directly across, it was where many lifelong careers came to an end in the early 1990s. The historic yard’s then owners, VSEL, announced its closure in 1992 with the last worker of the era out of the gates in 1993.
While the yard has subsequently been revived, for many of the workers back then it was the end of their time in a career many expected to have for life.
