With thanks to Tim Cousins of Northumbria Police.
In our Bomb Photos section you will notice the presence in many of the photos of an elderly gentleman, formally attired with bowler hat. I had assumed him to be the Borough Surveyor or similar official.
Thanks to Tim we can now identify him as Chief Constable Thomas Blackburn.
In a PoliceUK.com web forum, an officer writes that Thomas Blackburn was Great Britain’s longest serving Chief Constable with 37 years in command of Tynemouth Borough (122 officers). He is described as a gentleman of the old school and a stickler for discipline and appearance.
Given he appears in many of the photos and the fact that the photographers were police officers, it is fair to revise the opinion that the photos were taken as Insurance records to the probability that they were taken as photos of record.
Thomas Blackburn, aged 74 was living at 74 Drummond Terrace, North Shields in 1939.