Birchfield memories
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Memories of West Midlands
Handsworth 1956 - 1970
I worked at Avery's in Foundry Lane. The Avery's "bull" used to blow for start of work and lunch time and could be heard for miles. Soho Road was full of great shops including Woolworths, Tibbits, Pendries, Wilkinsons, The little red shop, The fish and chip shop (opposite Murdock Road). The best one was the Chicken Inn though a bit further up past the police station. On Murdock Road, my mom remembered when the houses had name plates and used to be polished regularly, she told me. Newsagents were Darlingtons or Withers. Parks at Black Patch (witches hat) and Handsworth Park (where me and Dad sometimes fished for tiddlers. It had a boating lake and the flower show where you could win a goldfish by throwing a hoop over it. And the scouts rally each year. Also it had a band stand where the brass bands played on special days and stored their instruments under the band stand. Opened my first bank account at the old Municipal Bank, Soho Rd where we had... Read more
A Young Girls Memories Of WW1.
When my Mother passed away in 1999 I had the unhappy task of clearing out her Warden Controlled little flat. Amongst her possessions I came across an old history project I had done at school in the 1970s for which I recall I got very good marks. Mom must have been proud of it I think for she kept it along with various other momentos. Contained in my history project was a word for word account I had obtained from my Grandmother,Nel Holloway about the projects theme,world war one. Nanny Nel had been born in 1902 in Handsworth and was living there when hostilities began in the late summer of 1914.
"It had been a hot summer,we spent much of it outdoors,I went to my grandfathers farm over Kingswinford for a few weeks. I remember the grown ups all talking about 'The Kaiser' and 'The Serbs' and saying 'The French wont allow it'.It all meant nothing much to me at all. One night Mother sent me to get some... Read more
Rupert Street in The 1960s & 70s
I lived in Southdown House, opposite the Gas Works, from 1960 until 1978, when I got married. We had moved when I was 5 from Northwood Street off Livery Street not far from St Pauls square. I attended Cromwell Street J & I school when Mr Taylor was the Headmaster. I had teachers such Mr. Beddow, Mr Bolus (I think), Miss Painter, Miss Beech (my 1st ever teacher), Mr Cox and last but not least Mr Virk who I owe my love of cricket to - he used to chalk a square in the playground so we could practice pitching the ball in the right spot time after time, great times, he was a real gentleman. I remember my 1st football match for the school was against St Saviour's and we played at Burney Lane playing fields in Stechford, winning 4-0, I got two and a lad called Steven Lewis, by far the best player in the team, got the other two goals I think. I worked as a paper-boy... Read more
My Home For 22 Years
I was born 21st august 1943 at 60 Bellefield Road, a house that is still standing, only a blue brick terraced house with a cold tap and an outside loo. This was quite posh because some people had to share their toilets with 2, 3 or even 4 families. Two doors away lived Nan and Grandad Parsons and across the road at 51 Cuthbert Road lived my aunt, uncle and cousin Alan Jones. Bellefield Road was on the edge of Winson Green, just off Dudley Road and opposite Summerfield Park where we would play for most of the summer days, cricket, football or on the giant swings, witch's hat, or roundabout where we would try to injure ourselves, there was no Health and Safety in those days. After playing we would return via Winson Green Road to get a Jubbly from the newsagents' sweet shop. Winson Green was like a village in those days, you could buy anything, if you had the money, from the top at Dudley Road to the bottom at... Read more
Childhood Days
My mom, my brother and myself lived in Heath Street off Winson Green. I remember we had no hot water and no bathroom, so we had the tin bath in front of the fire. I remember the old washhouse where Monday was always washing day whatever the weather, many a time I had my fingers in the old mangle. When we got older Mom used to take us once a week to the public baths down Heath Street for a good scrub. We only had one outside toilet shared with the neighbours. The house overlooked the railway and canal so in the winter it was freezing. Does anyone remember Challingsworths Iron Foundry down Heath Street? It belonged to my grandad's family. I remember the Shakespeare pub on the corner of Heath Street and Winson Green where my grandad used to send me over with a jug to the outdoor to fetch his beer. I still keep in touch with my friends from Heath Street who I grew up with and... Read more
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- Halton East, North Yorkshire
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- Oldham, Lancashire
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- Horbury, West Yorkshire
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