THIS picture shows the men responsible for building Southampton’s “Happy Valley” - the team of workers who constructed one of the city’s major amenities - the Sports Centre.

The group got together in the 1930s, posed for this image in their flat caps, and in doing so captured an important part of the city’s history.

On May 28, 1938, thousands of local people lined the Avenue and Winchester Road, as well as the Sports Centre itself, to see the Duke and and Duchess of Kent. Before declaring the Sports Centre Officially open, the Duke congratulated the council.

“You have provided facilities for a very great number of sports, and I feel sure these facilities will prove a great attraction to the fortunate inhabitants of Southampton,” said the Duke.

It was Southampton’s mayor at the time, Councillor GEH Prince, who dubbed the Sports Centre “Happy Valley” when he told the Duke and Duchess about the transformation that had taken place on the site since it had been acquired by the council five years earlier.

The construction of the Sports Centre cost £151,000 of ratepayers’ money and covered 269 acres of land.

As well as serving the community for outdoor pursuits in the years since, the Sports Centre also played a vital role during the Second World War when it was festooned