opening of the Goodyear tyre plant, significantly industrialised the area. In 1927, the Goodyear Tyre and Rubber Company opened its Bushbury plant. Twelve years later, it was employing 1700, many of which were Bushbury men. Previous to this, many of Bushbury's population was employed at either the Electric Construction Company, or one of the railway companies operating nearby in the Gorsebrook area. The remaining remnant of the ECC is the sports and social club on Showell Road. The Stafford Road was only made into a dual carriageway during the 1930s, and this saw much of the terraced and older housing on the left hand side as you travel from Wolverhampton towards Stafford, demolished to make way for the road. However a short section of Stafford Road was single carriageway between Bushbury Lane and Five Ways Island. This gap was rebuilt as dual carriageway in the late 1980s. The industry led to rapid housebuilding in the 1930s, and also made the area a significant target for German bombers in the Second World War. A combination of good fortune and foresight led to a major German bombing raid, shortly after the blitz in Coventry, to be cancelled. After the end of World War II in 1945, Wolverhampton council erected 400 prefabricated bungalows across the city, and built its first permanent postwar houses at the Underhill Estate near Bushbury in the late 1940s. The large Bushbury Cemetery/Crematorium is in Underhill Lane. The cemetery was opened in 1949 with 40 acres, with planning permission for extension sought in 2012. The crematorium, with two chapels, east and west, designed by local architect Richard Twentyman, was opened in 1954. Schools in the area include Moreton School. The Northicote School was formerly located in this area, where previous headteacher Geoff Hampton received a Knighthood in 1998 in recognition of his services to the improvement of the school and his services to education. In 2008, the iconic blue and yellow Goodyear chimney was demolished, as part of wider work to clear a section of the Goodyear site, which is to make way for a new housing estate. It was reported that around 1000 people attended the demolition. However the factory clock tower is expected to be retained as part of the redevelopment. Geography Bushbury lies approximately two miles north of Wolverhampton City Centre. Despite the heavy industrialisation of the area, Bushbury remains a gateway to the Staffordshire countryside.