Harborne Park Road And Woodleigh Avenue

A Memory of Harborne.

I was born in 1939. I knew a girl who lived on Harborne Park Road next to the gully. My brother and I used to catch the bus on Harborne Park Road to go to Bournville School. My mother used to buy rabbits to make rabbit stew from the butcher on Harborne Park Road. I lived at 41 Woodleigh Avenue until I was 11 years old when we left for Australia. I remember the war years well... The air raid shelter in the back garden shared with neighbours, the sirens, the searchlights, and watching the dogfights in the sky. I remember being evacuated. Despite the war I have many happy childhood memories. I remember my friends in the avenue who remembered me when, 38 years after I left for a trip back to Birmingham and Woodleigh Avenue. Many were still there and all that were welcomed me home. I remember the allotments where we kept our much loved pig Betsy. I remember scrumping for apples with the other kids and also playing conkers. Making snowmen , outings to the Lickey Hills, skipping through the autumn leaves on Harborne Park Road, going into Birmingham with my father to visit the Bull Ring and with my mother to have a treat at Lyons tea rooms. I remember vividly crying so much on the day we left Woodleigh Avenue. Cynthia Portas nee jolley cynthia.portas@bigpond.com


Added 19 April 2014

#308297

Comments & Feedback

Hi Cynthia,

I came across your comment quite by accident. I remember you well as I also lived in Woodleigh Ave at No.28. My dad was a policeman and Michael Townsend lived next door to us. I think you lived by the Stacey family (?). I left when I got married in 1961, moved to Leicestershire and have lived in West Wales for the past 32 yrs. I remember when you left for Australia, at that time it seemed as if you were going to another planet! I too have happy memories of the Avenue, especially playing in the pig stys at the top of the avenue! You have brought back good memories. Regards Carol Roice née Douglas.
Hi Carol,
How nice it was to hear from you. Yes we lived next door to the Stacy's on one side and the Hipkins on the other side. The Stacey boys were Michael and Terrance. My brother Richard who passed away four years ago used to hang out with the boys opposite. I think their family name was Phillips and I think one was named Alan and the other johnnie. I was very friendly with a girl called Ruth Venables who lived on your side of the street. Do you remember her? Did you go to Bourneville School? It is so long ago. But the memories are still very much alive. We were evacuated in the war I think to Leicesershire from memory. It was so nice to hear from you. Right now We are holidaying in Hawaii. Here for two weeks. I have been back to Woodleigh Avenue a couple of times over the years and to UK several times. We live in Queensland .our home is in the Gold Coast Hinterland just a few klms from where the next Commonwealth games are to be held . We have two daughters and four grandchildren. Love to hear from you again. Cynthia Portas née Jolley

Hi again Cynthia,
I didn't expect such a prompt reply! I've been away for a few days and then had friends here for a few days. I went to school at St. Peters and then Kings Norton G.S. I remember the Phillips family, John, Alan & Margaret (she was a few years younger than me - I'm 74). Next to them lived the Tomkins, he was a policeman and they had a daughter Barbara, who I stayed friends with until she died suddenly about 10 yrs ago. Ruth Venables married and lived in a house right at the top of the Avenue - what we used to call the Banjo. She had a son and when I came to live in this small village in Wales, I met a guy who had gone to St. Peters school and was a friend of Ruth's son! He had lived in Quinton Rd and I had been in school with his sister! A small world, he knew many people who lived in the Avenue as he used to help the Co-op baker on Saturdays. I have 2 sons and a daughter, she lives about 26m from me and the boys are in Leics and London. I have a granddaughter and grandson. By the way, I have some pics of the VE party in my dad's album. If you haven't any I could e-mail them to you. I have a distant cousin (on my mother's Irish side) who lives in Perth. He came and stayed about 18mths ago, having just retired from the Army. My granddad's sister lived in Adelaide and the family kept in touch with her daughter until she died, but sadly we lost contact with her children. Gosh, have I rambled on, hope you are still awake!
All the best, Carol
Dear Carol,
I am thrilled that you responded to my comments. Sharing memories of Woodleigh Avenue with you makes me feel that I am right back there. I can see myself riding down the avenue on Jennifer Johnson's bike hair flying and loving every moment. I often had my dog Roger running behind. I don't know if you recall I lost my eye playing on a bomb site and spent a fair while in Queen Elizabeth Hospital. On one of my visits back home I caught up with Sally Hipkins. She is a nursing sister and she was working at QE and was kind enough to take me on a tour. The experience bought back many memories. Do you remember going scrimping? If so you may recall Alan Phillips was being chased when he and a few others were scrumping apples. They were climbing over a spiked fence and he slipped and the the spear went into hi neck. He was a lucky lad that his injury was not more serious. My brother went to Kings Norton for a couple of years before we immigrated. He would have been 78 now. I am 75. I became a registered nurse and later a psychologist. I still do a couple of days a week in private practice. I remember VE Day clearly. We had a street party. My Dad was home on leave fro the RAF and he and a few others got dressed up. I do not have any pics and would love it if you e mailed me what you have. Do you remember Maureen Parks and David Craven? I have a picture of myself as a flower girl for someone's wedding. She married a man in uniform and she lived up the Metchley Lane end of the Avenue. I am darned If I know who she was. Do you remember the wobbly bog? It was a big field of marshland . It was not in the avenue. We used to play in it and jump between tufts of grass to avoid being sucked into the bog. I think it was one of the Phillips boys who got stuck in the bog and the other kids had to pull him out. His Wellington boots however did not come out with him and were sucked down . He was in trouble when he got home. Oh I could go on forever about my memories. Hope I am not boring you . It is lovely communicating with you. Bynthevway Hawaii was lovely but humid and hot. It is winter here and has been very cold this year. There has been dome snow about three hours driven from here but Itbwasabgran rare event. I still miss the seasons and a white Christmas even after all these years. My email address is cynthia.portas@bigpond.com (all lower case). I do hope we can keep in touch. I could t.rynand find your relatives in Adelaide if you give me their names. Warm regards. Cynthia

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