A west Cumbrian photographer shared a piece of Gibraltar’s history with its people for the first time.

Ivor Nicholas is one of the custodians of Cumbria’s history, having worked for decades as a photojournalist recording the history of the county.

Having worked for local and national newspapers, there is not much that Ivor has not recorded in his 25,000-negative archive.

But last month he was able to share a piece of history with the people of Gibraltar.

Ivor, who is now in his eighties, was stationed there from 1953 as part of his national service and brought his passion and skills to the area.

Previously unseen pictures of life in Gibraltar were published by the local newspaper, the Gibraltar Chronicle.

Ivor said: “Most of the negatives I took in my own time and have never been processed until now. I wanted to record as much as I could.”

Ivor, who was stationed at RAF Gibraltar, was given the chance to enter the National Service as a photographer because of his civilian interest and skills.

Important events he recorded while there included visits from Field Marshall Montgomery and The Queen’s visit of 1954, for which he was appointed official Royal photographer.

Ivor recalled that his station commander, Group Captain Barbour, suggested he cover the event in civilian clothes so he did not have to constantly salute.

He captured pictures of The Queen when she met Sir Joshua Hassan, then mayor and chief member of the Legislative Council, and the Royal children – Prince Charles and Princess Anne – who were there with The Queen and Prince Phillip.

He bought a Rolleiflex camera for £52 when he arrived in Gibraltar and used a 5x4 Speed Graphic plate camera when working for the RAF.

“I always carried the Rolleiflex, even when just off for a stroll,” said Ivor.

Before leaving the UK, he even managed to get the RAF to put him on aerial camera course.

Ivor told the Gibraltar Chronicle that his RAF work involved a busy schedule, which included photographing shipping in the area.

But in his free time he was able to explore the area, as well as nearby Spain and Morocco.

Ivor teamed up with Whitehaven businessman Gerard Richardson to produce books on life in west Cumbria, as the pair work to digitise Ivor’s impressive archive.

Decades takes readers through a journey of historic events of west Cumbria’s history.

It also includes many other pictures of shops and buildings that are no longer there, sportsmen and local personalities.