A VISIT to Dudley Zoo provides a happy trip down memory lane for 78-year-old Les Baker, of Woodsetton.

Les’s first visit was in 1937, the year the zoo opened, with his father George Baker, who later became the elephant keeper, a role he held until his death in 1952.

George had been working with elephants at a travelling circus but wanted to settle down and brought his young family from the South of England to the Midlands.

One of the attractions for George was that the job included family accommodation in Castle Lodge, set within woodland in the zoo grounds.

Les can vividly remember living in the Lodge, which has since been demolished. He said: “I loved it – imagine having a zoo as your playground. And there’s no part of Dudley Castle I haven’t climbed.”

Les remembers a hair-raising moment at the zoo in the late 1940s.