Cotteridge

Posts tagged ‘Information’

Julia writes…

I am one of many grandchildren of Frank Lawton, who started a business in 1906 of cooked meats and pork pies etc.

This shop was 1833 Pershore Road, Cotteridge.

In 1956 they celebrated its jubilee. The business continued into the early 60s.

I am very anxious to know if anyone has pictures of the shop, as I am in the process of writing about this.

You may even remember the van driven by Harold – pale green with a cream egg shape sign on the sides of the van with writing about Lawton cooked meats.

My Dad owned the chemist in Cottridge for about 30 years.

I am desperate to try and get some old photos of the shop, L E WORRALL Chemist. Can you help?

Thanks,

Andy

Graham writes:

Hi, love the site. I was born and raised in Birmingham. Lived in Ashmore Rd for over 20 years,

I just wondered if you had any photos or info on Roger Page’s cycle shop. I loved this shop when I was growing up and in my early cycling days. I’m now a father and wanted too show my children , what and who kick started my passion for cycling.

Any info would be gratefully received.

Thank you!

We are trying to find a local boarding house for special needs people

I believe it’s at 2 Dell Road.

If you can provide a phone number or other contact details, it would be much appreciated.

Thank you,

Kevin

Sydney, Australia

Anyone know anything about this?

Bev writes…

I am looking for any information, photos etc of my husbands family.

His father was Stanley Newton who was married to Peggy Newton, nee Richards, until her death in 1967.

He then married a lady called Frances.

I have two sons and we have no photos or information about their father’s family. We are just looking for any information or photos or any details of Peggy’s family. We are not necessarily in need of any contact if it is not wanted. Just some photos of their fathers family would be great. Their father could never tell them much and now this is their only hope.

I hope you can help, thanks!

Hello, hope you don’t mind.

We are desparately searching for Mary Teresa (Tess) Johnson, born Birmingham in 1945, and who attended Shenley Fields Children’s Home in the 1950s.

Do you remember her at all ?

Thank you Christine

Jayne writes:

I’m looking for anyone who new Charlie and Kathleen butler and their three children: Fred, Muriel and Bill Butler.

Charlie was a decorator.

Many thanks.

Margaret Glover writes:

What wonderful memories this website brought back!

I lived at a cottage, number 8 Camp Lane, Kings Norton, from 1939 to late 1960, with my brothers Bobby, David, Kenney and sister Rita, plus my parents Bob and Cecilea.

I belive the site is now a nursery. I rember the Camp Inn right opposite the cottage, the little shop called Maggie Rileys. Triplex Glass, Burmetals and Kings Norton station.

I went to kings norton school then on to Cotteridge Girls School until 1952. Looking at the photos of Cotteridge brought all my youth flooding back.

I am now doing ancestry and I have been trying to find old photos of Camp Lane. I belive my old cottage was demolished in the 1970s. Does anyone have any old photos or memories?

If you have any information, email us using the link above; or leave a comment below.

Victor writes:

Does anyone remember a comic shop in Stirchley in the 1970s called Outer Limits?

If so can you share any information you have about it or remember?

Vic writes:

“I’m trying to find out two things from the 70s about Kings Norton.

First I remember around the very early seventies that there had been animal sacrifices in the Barn at Hawksley, can anyone shed any light on this subject? I remember it in the press but cant find anything on the Internet.

Secondly, does anyone remember what year the canal bridge opposite the old Primrose Hill school collapsed? Again i have a vauge idea it was 1978 but I want to be sure as I’m collecting the information for a future book.

Paul writes…

Does anyone know anything about a secret tunnel leading from Kings Norton Church to somewhere in the area of Wythall Lane?  I have a very hazy recollection of this, and have been making enquiries locally with negative results.  An elderly lady I met in the church grounds told me it was an urban myth but I am not so sure?

Any thoughts?

Dave in Alberta, Canada is wondering if anyone has any information on his great grandfather, Benjamin Wood. He is listed as living at 1 Rowheath Road on Dave’s grandfather Fred Wood’s World War I Canadian Attestation Papers. He was been married to Elizabeth Hall. Any information would be of interest – please leave a comment or contact us with any clues.

Liz contacts us searching for information about the history of her husband’s family. His mother’s maiden name was Sparks (her father was Ernest Sparks). They believe that Ernest Sparks was in partnership with a man named Gill when he started up a light engineering factory in Pershore Road, Selly Park. They think that the factory was in operation until 1950. During the war they produced glass for plane cockpits (?) and after the war produced car parts. There is also a vague connection with the artist Eugenie Margaret Valter; Ernest gave one of his daughters (Peggy) a watercolour painting called “Kennel Companions”, which Liz has recently inherited. Eugenie Valter lived in Upper Pershore Road in 1895 – was there perhaps a connection since the artist lived in the same road as the factory. Anyway any information would be gratefully received - contact us or leave a comment below.

Brian’s mother is doing some family history research and has come across a silver medal with the inscription

Division 1 Champions Breedon Cross FC
H Heath (Hon Sec)
1923-24 (season)

He wonders if anyone can point him in the right direction to find out any history of this football club. Contact us or leave a comment if so.

Cotteridge Stores: late 19th century

Wendy is researching her family tree and has these two photos of Cotteridge Stores, which seems to be an off licence. The licensee is Clara Moorfield who was married in 1915 to Samuel Townend (his second wife). The photos appear to be taken in the late 1800s. Clara is in the centre of the first photo and on the left of the second one. Wendy wonders if anyone has any information about Clara Moorfield (perhaps her married name by a first marriage or maybe her maiden name). Also, where is this building and what is it now? Any information would be gratefully accepted.

Cotteridge Stores: late 19th century

John is wondering if anybody remembers a plane crash near the railway lines at the back of Laurel Road in the late fifties / early sixties? He recalls seeing a light aircraft downed, but wonders if anyone knows the story behind it. E-mail us or leave a comment if you have any information.

Kay (now in Australia) is researching her family tree and wonders if anyone has any information about:
- The Leavers of 29 Elm Tree Road, Stirchley
- Elizabeth Morgan of “56 Pershore Road” in 1911
- Any hotels in the area in the early 20th century.

Tony and the Friends of Cotteridge Park are looking for anyone who has accurate information on the history of the park, especially the land before the park was created. And was the bird table by the Breedon Road entrance once a war memorial? Any photos, memories or information about the park and events associated with it most welcome. See also their website.

Bernie is trying to find out where the Kings Norton Estate Office used to be – it was used for collecting rents from Grant properties in the area. Can anyone help?

Bob writes, “I am a former pupil of Cotteridge School, from 1953 to 1958.I can remember a few of the teachers and pupils mentioned and wondered if anyone remembers an accident when the dinner van bumped into the wall separating the two playgrounds, knocking down part of the wall and injuring a pupil called John Stevens”?

Allan wonders if anyone has any history or pictures about the Breedon Bar, particularly the early days. If so, let us know.

Sandie is trying to find details and photos of her grandmother Florence Harrison, who used to drive a team of six horses up and down the Pershore Road delivering milk. Does anyone remember Florence? Leave a comment or get in touch if so.

Kerensa writes, “I am trying to find details of my great grandfather Ernest Simpson who lived at 65 Holly Road around 1918. He would have been about 30 at this time. His father was John Simpson, and he was a bricklayer by trade. I also believe he had two sisters named Beatrice and Evelyn and brothers George and Harold. I would appreciate if anyone either has any further information regarding them such as mother’s name or has a general information about the family”. Please get in touch or leave a comment if you have anything.

Heather is researching her family tree. She’s interested in Edwards ‘leather sellers’ from Macdonald Street. The business was run by Esther Edwards (nee Horton), she had two sons Walter Oliver born in 1866, who became a butcher and married Louisa Elizabeth Richards in 1887, and George Edwards born 1869 who became a tailor and married later in life to Elizabeth (Betty) Judge from Towcester. Any information on these people would be greatly appreciated.

John e-mails to say:

I had a uncle Charles Jones who was a tram driver on the Pershore Road. I remember the tale that he was involved with a over-turned tram. Looking at the 1930 to 1940 memories a phantom tram flew down Breedon Hill, came off the rails,slid down as far as Fordhouse Lane.

Does anyone have any more details? If so, please leave a comment below or get in touch!

Tony is doing his family history. His great grand parents, James Henry and Elizabeth Adkins, lived at 112 Midland Road from about 1902. He was a local slater and his son James William Adkins, a property repairer, lived at 82 Pershore Road, later renumbered 1729, (where Tony’s mother Eva Kathleen Marlow was born in 1919). James and Elizabeth had eleven children: Avis, Charlotte, Alice, Alberta, James. Bertram, Emma, Elizabeth (Tony’s grandmother), Harry (who died in Belgium in 1917), Beatrice, and Maude. St Agnes Church features a lot in the family history and Tony would like to find a picture of it. If anyone could help with any information about any of these folk he’d love to hear from them.

Barbara lives in Cotteridge Road, in a converted metalworks near the railway. She’s interested in the history of the building, which was originally the Hudson steel tube manufacturers, then Murdoch Works, owned by Winstanley engineers (see image below). She’d be delighted if anyone has any memories, information or phots. Contact us or leave a comment below if you want to get in touch.

Note from Winstanley & Co

Kevin was born and lived at 1 Laurel Road from 1952 to 1974 and has many happy memories over that period. His Granddad and Grandma, Harry and Flow Pritchard, used to run the corner shop at 32 Cotteridge Road. He writes, “the Grant Arms was in my time always known as a pub but I am trying to find out if it was ever known as the Grant Hotel. The period I am interested in is 1899-1900″. If anybody has any memories of the Grant Arms, contact us.

Doreen Hill lived on Pershore Road just below Cotteridge School, which she attended from 1938 to 1948. She would welcome anyone who remembers her to get in touch, please leave a comment below or email us.

Judith is researching her family who lived at 113 Midland Road from the 1920s until at least the early 1950s.

Their name was Stenson – Georgina and Harry (Henry). They had five children, four girls and a boy, some of whom stayed in the area. The girls’ married names were: Neild, Simpson, Ripley and Walton.

Any information is most welcome – please leave a comment or e-mail us and we’ll pass it on.

Colette writes, “I’m researching my family tree and particularly two brothers who went to war and were both killed in 1916. They lived in Charlotte Road, Stirchely, and I am trying to just build up a picture of the street they came from. If anyone has any memories passed down of people, families and events in Charlotte Road I would love to hear about them”. As always, if you have any information, please leave a comment or contact us.

John Hornsby has another question:

There are some large boulders in Cotteridge Park. Obviously the triangular shaped formation would have been the original postion, which resulted from the melting of glaciers which reached south to the Lickeys.

The smaller side block adjacent to the main structure may have been added to the formation by the ancients to form a Dolman (ancient way-marker) with roofing stones now gone.

But, does anyone recall the original positions of the other stones in the park near the rail bridge (forming the side of the plinth of a now destroyed memorial), and flat ground level stones around the keepers’ hut?

And do any old stagers remember the boulder on Cadbury’s property visible from trams as they sped past the Hole Lane corner – is it still there?

Leave a comment below or email us if you have any answers.

Barbara writes from British Columbia. Her Grandfather, Frank W. Turner, was born in Birmingham and lists 9 Bournville Lane, Stirchley as his residence and that of his next of kin, a James Turner (undefined relationship) in September 1914, on his signup papers for the Canadian Expeditionary Forces. He served with distinction as a medic in Flanders, and after the war settled in West Toronto, Canada with his wife Lilian, having Barbara’s father James in the 1920s. Any information is most welcome – leave a comment, or e-mail us and we’ll pass it on.

Jim is researching a book and wants to hear from anyone who knew a Mr Yoxall, born 1857, who owned some allotments, a corn and seeds shop, and who was awarded the OBE in 1937 for his service as a city councillor during the Great War. E-mail us using the link at the right if you have information to pass on – he’s particularly interested in when Mr Yoxall was awarded his OBE.

Cliff writes…

On a lighter note, does anyone recall Cotteridge’s only TV personality? Roy Edwards was a wonderful singer and regularly performed on a TV programme called ‘Lunchbox; (I think). He lived with his wife, who ran a hairdressers, right opposite Cotteridge Police Station, on Pershore Road. If anyone has a recording of his I would love have a copy (usual costs repayed).

I remember the incident where I convinced Roy to sign autographs at a jumble sale, organised by Round Table at Kings Norton School, and due to his popularity with females of a certain age, it resulted in a near riot with the police being called.

John Hornsby writes:

Does anyone know the fate of the German Bomber and Crew which flew very low over Billesley, Kings Heath and Cotteridge in 1943?

The undercarriage of the plane was of clear perspex type material and all who saw the plane could see the crew clearly. I remember the crew in light khaki looking down, one holding a clip board type document holder: obviously a flight plan of sorts.

The main raids had finished by then and the Luftwaffe were rarely seen over Britain by then. This plane came in without cover (it sent a few bursts of ammo up Stirchley High St) and it could not help to be intercepted. Some say it was brought down over Yorkshire. A suicidal sortie really. I saw the plan from the back steps of a house in Billesley.

Rachel is looking for information concerning her grandmother, Ivy Lee.

She married a Mr Clifton Peter Scott-Riddle on 18th March 1939 at Birmingham Register Office, but it transpired that he was already married and the marriage was later annulled.

Does anyone have any information about this as it supposedly made the papers at the time? I am trying to find out his real name. Ivy Lee lived with her mother in Beaumont Road, and gave birth to Rachel’s father later that year.

Leave a comment below or email us if you have any answers.

Karen is wondering if anybody knows something about the history of the large double fronted red brick building on the corner of Station Road and Middleton Hall Rd – now known as Naden Green. Apparently, it was originally built as a convent in the early 1900s. Any photos or details of its previous uses would be most welcome.

 E-mail us or leave a comment below and we’ll pass your message on.

Ruth writes,

My mother, Vera Tidmarsh, lived at 11 Cotteridge Road. She had three brothers, William, Percy, and Albert (who was known as Fred). Albert was in the RAF and was killed in 1944. Percy died young but I am not sure if that was during the war or not. I know he married Eva Wheeler who I think came from Holly Road. Ruth’s mother, Vera, was briefly married to a Ronald Clive Wheeler and think he may have been related to Eva.

If anyone can remember the Tidmarsh family I would love to hear from them.

Email us or leave a comment below if you have any answers.

Debbie Bevins, neé Wilson, is trying to locate some old friends. She writes, “I lived in Cotteridge for a very short while from 1970 when we moved from Warwickshire.

I remember my first days at Cotteridge School where I have vague recollections of there being murals on the walls of the playground? I lived in Frances Road, but we moved to Wales and I lost touch with my best friends at the time: Paul Poole and Nicola Peevor who I remember had a slide in her garden which got so hot being made of metal, you were hard pushed to sit on it at times!

I have many fond memories of happy summer afternoons playing with a group of friends from the street and if anyone is out there and remembers me I would like to hear from you”.

E-mail us or leave a comment below if you want to get in touch and we will pass it on.

Dennis writes,

My family lived at 94 Watford Road from circa 1915 for many years. The family were Ashley and Agnes Stinton, with children including twins Claude and Seth, Percy (who served in WWI in the RAMC), John Ashley (died of wounds in 1918) Ron, Irene and Annie. I wondered if anyone knew them or had any photos.

Contact us or leave a comment below if you do.

Tony wonders is anyone can remember an off licence in Beaumont Rd in the 1960s. He’s lived in Bournville for over 45 years and seems to remember residents taking a carrier bag to the off licence to disguise the fact that they were fetching drinks, but he’d appreciate any confirmation that this was true. 

The Life Boys, early sixties

Thanks to Mary Thorpe for these, who writes: “the top one features just Reverend Fred Carroll and Miss Jennifer Fryer and the second is about a year later.  Names of the boys (on the first) I can remember are: next to Revd. Carroll is someone Edge, next to Miss Fryer is Paul Cooper, then back row second from the left is Robert Bassett, Stuart Maddocks, Leslie Ormrod, John Betteridge, David Harris, Martin Holeyman, [don't know], someone Gilman, (don’t know).  Hope someone can  fill in the rest of the names!” 

Click the photos for a larger version.

The Life Boys, early sixties

Also thanks to Mary for this photo of the Girls’ Life Brigade at St. Agnes Church, sometime in the early 1960s. She writes, “again, I can’t remember names, but those I do remember are from top left, Mary Harris (me!), two sisters, unknown, unknown, Janet Fisher, Jacqueline someone, unknown, then on the front row, unknown, Delia Harris (no relation), Joan Badger, Reverend Fred Carroll, unknown, Anne Fisher. I do hope someone is able to furnish the other names. I continued in the GLB, eventually going to the Company at the Methodist Church until I started helping Joan Badger with the Brownies back at St. Agnes’s in the 1970s”.

Life Girls at St Agnes, early 1960s

Email us or leave a comment below if you know who anyone is or have any memories to add.

Elizabeth is looking for informaton about a shoe shop called Huins on the Pershore Road around 1929, which her relatives (Gordon and Daisy Jarvis plus their children Pearl, David and Philip) lived above. She would love to see any surviving photos of the shop and this particular stretch of Pershore Road, or hear from anyone with any memories of the shop or family.

E-mail us or leave a comment below with any information to pass on.

Alison is trying to trace her family history and wonders if anybody recognises the building in the photo opposite (click to enlarge).

The Stephens family all lived around Rowheath Rd, and were Methodists, and the photo is from around 1935. Alison wonders if it is perhaps the Methodist Church.

Please contact us if you have any thoughts.

Simon is trying to find out any information on Cotteridge Fire Station:

I believe my great grandfather was based there, after initially serving at the Central Fire Station in Birmingham following discharge from the South African Constabulary. This could have been anytime between 1907 and WW2. His name was Leading Fireman William Henry Stanley. Any help will be gratefully received.

Debbie has read in the history pages that “by 1871 Kings Norton had a Nursery Garden owned by Mr Henry Pope”. She is currently researching her family history and believes that Henry was a son of Thomas Pope who was in turn the eldest son of Luke Pope (born 1740).

She is looking for information on the nursery, when it was established, its location etc. She thinks that the Pope family had several established nurseries in the Smethwick / Handsworth / Cotteridge area and is trying to establish if Henry set the nursery up himself or if in fact it was in Cotteridge before this and his father Thomas established it.

John is looking for information on the Grant Arms pub, when was it built, who lived there, etc – he’s trying to research for family who live there now.

Caroline’s grandmother is looking for some old friends of hers called Edwards (or similar), who owned a business maybe on Pershore Road, which she thinks sold a variety of goods quite similar to Woolworths. They lost touch in the 1940s.

David is looking for information on his grandfather, Alfred Kinsella, who used to work for Fleetwoods Hauliers taking supplies into Cadburys. He was a carter and used to show the shire horses at the Kings Heath Show at Alcester Lane End, and was wandering if anyone could steer him towards more information about Fisher/Fleetwoods and the horse show / fair that was in Kings Heath. David’s father worked for Cadbury Bros at their waterside stores, and he remembers Alfred Kinsella coming to the waterside laden with brick, clay and bits & bobs. There was an area at the back of the waterside stores where stuff like this was tipped – this is what Alfred was doing for Fleetwoods. Alfred Kinsella married David’s grandmother in 1934 and he would love someone to remember him and maybe another picture might turn up.

Ro is trying to get in contact with a family who lived at 106 Frances Road in the 1920s until about 1938. Timothy and Eliza Gregory may have moved to Cotteridge from Telford, Shropshire, possibly to work on the railway. Their family included Matlida, Alice, Elizabeth, James or Jane or Jame, John, Martha and Timothy George, all of whom would be over 80 by now.

Contact us or leave a comment below if you have any clues.

Bob lives in the village of Bunbury, Cheshire, and wants to know if this old photo of “Bunbury Road” is the one between Cotteridge and Northfield.

Click for a bigger image.

If anyone can give him any idea of when and where this might be, please leave a comment below or email us.

Paul is looking for any pictures or information about the police station in Cotteridge – can anybody help?