Bath photographer discovers fate of man trapped in rubble

Mr Ellis had no idea whether the person he photographed made it out of the rubble alive until a chance encounter in 2020

A photographer has been reunited with the man he photographed reaching out from the rubble as he tried to escape after a building collapsed on him.

Geoff Ellis, from the Bath Chronicle, was sent to cover the disaster at a building site in the city in 1966.

He took the striking image of Albert Timbrell's hand, which the owner recognised when it appeared online.

As Mr Ellis had returned to the office to make the next print edition, he had no idea whether his subject survived.

'I'm the hand'

The pair recently made contact via social media when Mr Ellis posted the photo online and Mr Timbrell recognised himself from his favourite jumper.

Mr Ellis said a copy of the newspaper was found during a house clearance.

The image was featured in a two-page spread in the Bath Chronicle on the day of the collapse in 1966

"Somebody put a post up saying, 'I'm really shocked I've just taken my dead father's carpet up and this old crumpled Chronicle was underneath it and it looks like there was a dreadful accident in Bath years ago and someone was trapped under a building'.

"After about three or four hours this comment suddenly comes up saying 'I'm the hand'.

"And it was Albert, who's the guy who had been buried who had spotted it and claimed ownership," said Mr Ellis.

The mystery hand was that of Albert Timbrell who was freed from the rubble by fire fighters

Albert Timbrell, 76, had never seen the image before but instantly recognised his favourite jumper and his own hand sticking out of the rubble on the building site where he had been working as a labourer.

Recalling the moment he said: "We heard somebody shout, 'it's falling' and that was it, we were down.

"There was no chance to run anywhere, it just collapsed immediately. I was just in shock, but I realised my hand was in free air."

It was 90 minutes before Mr Timbrell was eventually pulled free from the debris.

"I don't think it ever goes out your mind, but certain things bring it back fresh in the front of your mind, and the photo did exactly that," he added.

Geoff Ellis with the camera he took the photo on and a portrait of him in the 1960s

Mr Ellis has included this image in his book about his time as a photographer in Bath.

"I just found it really interesting.

"This follow-up is about 55 years late I know, but it's nice to see a happy result to this thing," he said.

The pair is due to meet in person later to share their memories of the day.