Recalling when one of King's Lynn's giants bit the dust

It is 10 years since one of Lynn's most iconic buildings literally bit the dust.

The Campbell's Tower was blown up on January 15, 2012, altering the skyline of the town forever.

Previously for Lynn people it had been virtually the marker that one had truly got home, as it was passed just off the Hardwick Road.

And of course more significantly for many, it had been the place where thousands had earned their living for 52 years.

Campbell's, the American-owned soup company, was a major employer in the town. It had been the subject of royal visits.

The factory though had closed in 2007 by its owners Premier Foods and the site had become an obvious place for out-of-town retail expansion.

An attempt to get the tower listed by the King's Lynn Civic Society failed as English Heritage said the structure had no “special architectural or historic interest”. But an in-depth photographic archive was created.

The Lynn News played a significant role in the demolition of the tower in that we ran a competition for the honour of triggering the explosion that would fell it.

Entrants had to give a reason why they wanted to be there at is demise.

For the winner, Sarah Griffiths, 41, a mother-of-two from Clenchwarton, there was a very poignant reason indeed.

Her father, factory worker Mike Locke, died in 1995 of severe scalding from a blast of steam.

She said: "The tower is a constant reminder that I have been robbed of my dad. I'm a bit choked up about it because it's a big thing for me to do."

She added: "There must be other people who have these issues and never get this type of closure I've sought for 16 and a half years. I'm thrilled for me and my family that I'll never have to look at it again."

An estimated 3,000 people turned out to see demolition men from RG Carter (the firm that had constructed the tower originally) bring the 150ft tall structure crash to the ground.

Its existence lives on in the Campbell's Meadow Retail Park name. Tesco Extra, Dobbies, McDonald's, Halford's and other stores now sit where soup used to be made, although the projected hotel never materialised.