Memories of Cotteridge

Do you have memories and photographs of Cotteridge you'd like to share? If so, e-mail us. We can also pass on messages to any of the people listed on this page if you want to get in touch with them.

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Looking for information?

If you want to list someone you're looking for, or information you're after, or know one of the people mentioned, contact us. We'll pass your messages on to the seekers. Any info would be welcomed.

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.

Click the photos for large versions.

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.

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, and contact us if you want to get in touch.

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 note below). She'd be delighted if anyone has any memories, information or phots. Contact us if you want to get in touch.

Update: Cliff Fleetwood has sent his memories of the factory's shadowy wartime history. Click here to read more.

Update 2: Eileen writes, "I lived with my family at no. 27 in wartime. I remember my mom was working a stirrup pump on it when it got bombed in the war, they had to climb the enormous gates to get in. We children used to squeeze through the railings at the bottom of the road and wave to the injured soldiers as the trains went by. On the one corner Piggy Norris used to sell veg in wooden boxes outside, On the other corner opposite no. 27 Mrs Pritchard ran a grocers shop. What good memories it brings back..."

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"?

King's Norton History Society are putting together a display of high status houses in the former Manor, many of which have now sadly disappeared. They would like photos of High House, Watford House, and Falcon Lodge: if anyone has any suggestions please get in touch.

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. Sandie's father was born in 1941.

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 if you have anything.

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 Ford House Lane.Would this be the right incedent?" We presume so (how many phantom trams could there be) but anyone with any more details please 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.

A different 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 downed light aircraft downed, but wonders if anyone knows the story behind it. E-mail us if you have any information

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

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 e-mail us and we'll pass it on.
Update: Cliff Fleetwood has memories of Charlotte Road during the second world war, including photos of his police service. Click here to jump to that section.

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.

Update: Cliff Fleetwood has e-mailed with some information and pictures in response to this - see the pictures section for full details. Cliff has also sent in his history of W. R. Fleetwood Ltd - you can view it here.

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 know 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 getting in touch: e-mail us and we'll pass it on.

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 - e-mail us and we'll pass it on.

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?"

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". If anyone has anything to add, e-mail us and we'll post it here and pass it on to John.
Cliff Fleetwood has e-mailed in response to John's message. "Maybe Cotteridge was on the 'wanted' list of the Luftwaffe...? Besides this incident there were the bombs which landing on houses in Grange Hill Rd (see the memory below). Then the night time raid in Nov 1942, which resulted in several incendiary bombs landing in Francis Rd, Breedon Rd, with the explosive part taking out the canal bridge (so draining the canal) in Bournville Lane. John's incident can be confirmed by my wife who was 14/15 years of age at the time and was on the receiving end of the machine gun fire, but it was on Bristol Rd?"
John replies again: I was six in 1939 and remember every second of the war, particularly the raids on Birmingham. As a lad I remember standing at playtime at Trittiford Road School watching in awe as a thousand Allied bombers came over heading for Germany, forming up from varied airfields as they came over.
We may now not always have the chronology of events right but in general the following may be of interest: 
The first big raid over Bham was the 20 hour raid following on Coventry the previous night (where my grandmother was a victim). Our family found the communal underground shelters overcrowded and hot and we took a risk and came out heading for home.  As we walked we saw the search lights beaming, shells going up, the bombs falling and the town blazing.  It was the flooded Anderson at the bottom of the garden after that!
I met a gentleman recently in Cotteridge Park who was born in the cottages opposite to Francis Road and as a lad remembers a German bomber coming over, circling and the pilot waving or saluting down!!  The same plane then dropped his incendiaries which burned down the woodyard in Francis Rd alongside the rail track.  He then saw the plane head away towards Bournville and those corner placed guns somewhere in the distance hitting the tail of the plane and it was last seen losing height. 
An ex-Bomber Command pilot friend once told me that the German Navigation School in Berlin failed to school their pilots well and he thought this was the reason for them never quite finding and hitting the Austin. That and their fuel was at the limit around Cotteridge where they would turn for home. Many came down on the back trip from Wythall, Oxfordshire and the South Coast. If they had done their turn at Waste Hills it perhaps it may have been a different story. 
The 1943 lone plane as mentioned sprayed bullets up the Pershore Road as workers were about to come out of the factory gates below the then Breedon. One day I will succeed in finding the outcome of its flight.
Cliff Fleetwood adds: Regarding the thousand bomber raids, I am sure that there were several such raids as the war progressed but the first was at the order of the Prime Minister when everything that could fly was put into the sky, including training machines, and Coastal Command. The raid took place on the night of 30th/31st May 1942, with the target Cologne. I know this because I was on my way home with Tommy Batchelor in a lorry from Lincoln, having delivered a load of tank tracks, and we were stopped several times to allow some of the aircraft to cross the road to reach the runways. It was impressive but frightening and we were glad on arrival in Leicester.
Tony James e-mails too: "On reading Mr Fleetwood's memories I wonder if he remembers running into his house to get what I think was his father's shotgun when the German bomber came over the school roof, just missing the bell tower, twice, and the pilot had the cheek to wave to us kids standing by Fleetwood's yard in Breedon Rd. Also the bomber which opened fire on the workers leaving Guest Keen & Nettlefolds, I'm glad to say that he missed all of them to the best of my knowledge. I also well remember getting told off by our teachers for being late into school because we had been watching the firemen putting out the fire at the wood-yard in Frances Rd. For once the bomber was accurate in only hitting the wood-yard and none of the houses, although if he was aiming for the railway yard then his aim was lousy. I remember watching very early in the war when a bomber was very low over Bournville being shot at with shells bursting all round him and my thought was for the men on board the plane not being able to do anything about their fate, but I soon learned to have different feelings though. Read more of Tony's memories here. 

Cliff continues... "On a much lighter note, does anyone recall Cotteridge's only TV peronality? 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.

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". Any information, contact us and we'll pass it on.
Cliff Fleetwood writes, "I well recall the concerts given by the Fire Brigade band within the fire station, on Sunday evenings I think, and as a spotty young boy standing in awe, looking at the polished brass, shiny floor of the engine shed, hoping & praying there would be a fire call in the middle of the performance..."

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 and we'll pass your message on.

Rachel is looking for information concerning her grandmother, Ivy Lee. She writes, "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." E-mail us if you have any information and we will pass it on.

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 if you want to get in touch and we will pass it 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".

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 if you do.

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. Update: It's a birthday party in Bournville Church Hall in 1934.

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 e-mail us and we'll pass it on.

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. E-mail us if you have any information. Update: John has e-mailed to say "I remember one next door to 110 Beaumont Rd (home of the Whyborn family) in the late 1950s.  I went to Kings Norton Grammar School with Robert Whyborn and from visits to his home I remember the 'Outdoor' on the left as you went into Beaumont Rd from Linden Rd. I think it was an Ansells but I can't be sure". Another update: Tony has found out from another source that the licensee was named Mick McCloud and he had this off licence in the late 1960s. Before that he was employed as a delivery driver with Cadburys.

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 with any information to pass on.

Mary Thorpe (née Harris) wants to hear from anyone who remembers Cotteridge School in the early 1960s. See her article below for more memories.

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.
Update: Gemma, a relative of George Yoxall, e-mails that the news appeared in The London Gazette, the third supplement to Friday 26th March 1920, the OBE 'to be dated 1st January 1920'.  

Debbie has read on the website 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 I am 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.
Update: Tony wonders if these Popes might have given their name to Popes Lane, which runs between Wychall Lane and Middleton Hall Road.
Further update: Stephen Worthington replies: "Popes Drive was indeed named after the Pope family Debbie mentions. My grandfather remarried almost two decades ago, and we quickly discovered that my step-grandmother was a direct descendant of the Pope family; a family she knew next to nothing about. My father (David Worthington) has since researched the family and found that they were extremely important in the Birmingham area during their day, with several plant nurseries dotted around the city. One of the nurseries relocated to what was then into countryside, in Kings Norton, and the two brothers had houses either side of a small road leading to their nursery. That drive was, as you may have guessed, Popes Drive."

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.
Update: Cliff Fleetwood has e-mailed to say that he thinks the pub dates from the early 1930s and has always been owned by Mitchells & Butlers.

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.

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.
Update: Cliff Fleetwood replies, I recall an Edwards' Store on Pershore Road in Stirchley, right opposite Stirchley Boys School. It ran right back some distance from the main road. We used go in there to and from school for 2d of broken biscuits. Also their two lots of double doors were very good smooching hidy holes during the wartime blackout. Many a local friendship / love life was forged there...

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 get in touch. Update: Sara has e-mailed to say that the house on the left with the archway and the open upstairs window is 120 Bunbury Road, opposite Norman Road. The house was built in about 1927.

Contact us if you want to get in touch with any of these people and we'll pass all messages on.

Memories

1920s and 1930s

I attended Cotteridge school from the age of 5 in 1925 until I was 14. Our school day started at 9am and we would have lessons such as reading, writing arithmetic and needlework. At breaktime you were allowed a drink of milk which you collected from the caretaker and it cost 1 penny (½ p).We would play games such as skipping, statues and whip and top. There were no school meals so we all went home for dinner. The rest of the day would be taken up with lessons and we went home at 4.30pm. The school uniform for girls was a gymslip and blouse. No shoes were allowed in the hall, so each child had to change into pumps for assemblies and change back afterwards to go back to the classroom. At the age of 11 the girls went to the annexe for senior girls and the boys transferred to Stirchley School. In the seniors we had a netball and swimming team which I was part of. My brothers and sisters also attended the school. Teachers were much stricter then and had to be treated with the utmost respect. My days at Cotteridge School were very happy and I was sad to leave aged 14 to start work at Cadbury's. My own children have attended the school as well as my grandchildren and my great-grand-daughter still goes there today, she is Jessica Keane in 5R. Four generations of my family have passed through Cotteridge School and all of them have had happy times there. I have seen the school go through many changes and it`s great to see it celebrate its centenary. I hope that it continues for the next 100 years and that the children enjoy their time there as much as I did all those years ago. I have very fond memories of my time there from 1925-1939.

Mrs Edith Morris
June 2000

1920s and 30s

I vistited Cotteridge today as part of my family search. I seek information on a family who lived at 106 Frances Road, certainly in period 1920s to about 1938, to my knowledge so far!
 
Timothy and Eliza Gregory may have moved to Cotteridge from the Telford area of Shropshire and I believe that he worked on the railway, but this is unconfirmed.  They had quite a family. Matlida, Alice, Elizabeth, James or Jane or Jame, John, Martha and Timothy George. Martha and Alice were still there at number 106 in 1936. They were the youngest members of the family, born in 1899 and 1900.
 
I should be most grateful for any information that local residents might be able to provide about this family.
 
Ro Wilson
please use the contact us link on the left if you have any information

1930s

I was first aware of Cotteridge Park in 1930 when I was 6 years old. The Park was a Children's paradise, full of fun and laughter. There were rules of Conduct, enforced by a uniformed Park keeper. The park was enclosed by iron railings and at dusk the bell rang and the gates were locked. Cycling was prohibited after 10.00am.

There were both concrete and grass Tennis Courts, very well maintained, with an hourly fee charged; a putting green where a golf club and ball could be hired for a small fee, and a Crown Bowling Green.

There were two shelters, one large and one small, very useful in bad weather, and a bandstand, sadly all vandalised and demolished.

There were various annual events, Ten Acres Co -Op Society organised for their members children a tea party, with a small cardboard box full of things to eat, an orange squash drink and an ice cream. Cotteridge organised a carnival, floats and tableaux lined the streets and jazz bands from other areas competed for a prize. they were dressed in exotic costumes and played bazookas and beat drums as they marched around the streets, before gathering in the park. A fairground with dodgems, roundabouts and side stalls attracted a large crowd, who paid a small entrance fee. All of this ended in 1939 with the start of the war.

Air raid shelters were dug on the higher ground and the WAAF arrived with a barrage balloon.

The fair returned to the Park after the war, but this was not organised by the local people and it attracted a yob element, so at the request of the locals this ended.

Later the railings were removed, and some vandalism occurred to the young trees. The red may trees a feature of the Park grew old and died, and were never replaced, neither was the drinking fountain...

John Eynon
Heathcote Road, Cotteridge
March 1997

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1930s and 1940s

I attended Cotteridge School for a year in 1938, when I was 12, after my family moved to Birmingham from Gloucestershire. We rented a flat over Eden and Son, the butcher's shop, opposite the Grant Arms. My younger sister Sylvia also went to Cotteridge School, but my brother Sidney had to go to Stirchley School. At Cotteridge School I was issued with my gas mask, ready for the war. I remember that one of the teachers was called Mr Major.

One of my most vivid memories is that we were given free dinners because my dad was ill and couldn`t work. Each week the school gave us a little white ticket and we had to go by tram to a house in Cartland Rd, Stirchley for a revolting dinner. The tram fare was 1/2d (1/4p) each, so each day the "free" dinner cost us 2d (1p).The fares for the whole week cost 10d (4p).It doesn`t sound much, but we only had 9 shillings (45p) to live on. It wasn't worth it. I would have much rather gone home for a sandwich. One day I lost the tram fare and we had to walk all the way, instead of just from the Co-op. I don't know how it was decided that we should get these dinners, in those days nobody asked children their views or explained things like that.

We had family ties to Cotteridge. My grandparents lived at 9 Holly Rd. My grandfather, Sidney Boston, was a painter and decorator and went to work with his handcart. All of his 7 children attended Cotteridge School. The eldest, Thomas Boston, served in the 1914-1918 war and his name is on the Honours board in the library. I also had an aunt and cousins who lived in Laurel Rd. These photos show the street party in Laurel Rd, in 1935, for the Silver Jubilee of King George V, the decorations put up on the house in Holly Rd for the coronation in 1937 of King George VI and the Cotteridge football team of 1915, where Thomas Boston is 2nd from the right, standing up. I enjoyed living in Cotteridge and I remember some things very well.

Near St. Agnes Church was a shop called "Treasure Trove" that sold all kinds of things, many from house clearances. It was a wonderful place to look round,you could find anything from a large stuffed animal to a tiny button. It was owned by a Mr Cecil Vincent.

Lawton`s Cooked Meats, next to the Midland Rd railway bridge, sold delicious meat and such delights as pigs` feet, tripe, chitterlings, black pudding and a-la-mode beef, which was a big round of cooked beef in jelly and they would cut off slices for you to buy. I often got sent on errands for my gran.

An old lady, Mrs Grant-Ferris, owned a big house near the school, where Grant Court is now. She owned lots of property in Cotteridge and I remember that she often wore a fur coat.

Number 1 Holly Rd was the fire station. The station master was called Mr Cox and he had a horse-drawn fire engine, wore a shiny brass helmet and rang the bell loudly on his engine.

On the corner of Dell Rd and Pershore Rd was a sweet shop that had rows of sweet jars in the window and we could buy gobstoppers, sherbet fountains and liquorice rolls, if we could ever make up our minds with so much choice.

Opposite the school on the corner of Breedon Rd was Fleetwoods Haulage Yard, where they used horses to pull the carts.

If we wanted to travel to Birmingham we caught the 36 tram along Pershore Rd. The terminus is where Beaumont Court is now.

Where the Jet garage now stands used to be a small factory in the early 1940s.

On Saturday mornings we used to go to the pictures at the Savoy Cinema, (opposite the Breedon Bar) and see films with Shirley Temple or Alan Jones.

On Sunday afternoons we went to Sunday school at the Gospel Hall in Dell Rd.

Sometimes there would be a fete or carnival in Cotteridge Park. It was very exciting to watch the jazz bands marching through Cotteridge to the park where they were judged to find the winner. The Blue Belvederes often seemed to be the favourite.

I have seen a lot of changes in Cotteridge, I wonder what's next?

Mrs Kathleen Marsh, née Tainton
Acocks Green, Birmingham
July 2000

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1930s

I was born in King's Norton Fire Station and attach a copy of the Fire Brigade Band assembled outside the Fire Station in about 1930. My father is on the left of the top row holding a tuba.  Although I left Birmingham over 50 years ago, to me it's remarkable, after such a period of time, I can still recall the names of shops in Cotteridge when I lived there - some your correspondents have already mentioned, some not. 

A few which come to mind are George Mason (the grocers) on the corner of Pershore Road where butter was patted, cheese cut to weight with a wire, and money put in a container and propelled across the shop to a central cash desk.  Tansleys the fishmonger who, prior to Christmas, had turkeys (unplucked) hanging from the front of the shop.  Blakes, the electrical shop where I bought records (78s).  On the same side of the road (next to the Post Office) was a drapery shop where my Mother used to buy knitting wool and which I think was called 'Frys'. On the opposite side of the road was 'Gem Stores' a small grocers where my Mother used to buy 'Empson's Tea' (she insisted on Empson's Tea) then, further along toward the junction with the Pershore Road, Tay's the Butchers.  To list the names of the shops I remember going down Pershore toward Cotteridge School would be boring to the reader so just one - Hazeldene's the barber.  Here I was dragged (probably kicking and screaming) for Mr Hazeldene to do a 'pudding basin' - no stylists in those days,

The variety and choice of shops then have nowadays been replaced by something very clinical and multinational without much to attract one's interest. I don't know what's happened to Cotteridge, perhaps the wonderful hotch potch of shops remains.  Although living many, many miles away, in our equivalent of Cotteridge we still have a fishmonger, an ironmonger, an electrical shop, a independent chemist shop, a butchers. a greengrocers, a bakers and cake shop (all made on the premises) and so on. Not a MacDonalds in sight.  If there's any disadvantage in having this variety of shops it's that it can take three hours to buy a lightbulb.  Somebody's bound to trap you for a 'chat', as I'm sure they did in Cotteridge all those years back.

Chris Perman
September 2007

1940s

I came to live at Cotteridge in October 1939. War had just started. I went into Mr Brooking`s class and have very happy memories of it. I used to walk through the park to school and soon made friends.At playtime we did games like hopscotch and skipping. The boys had their own playground. We paid 2½d (1½p) each week for milk and could buy a biscuit for a halfpenny. We had an hour for dinner break and everyone went home for dinner. If you were naughty you could sometimes get away with having to stand in front of the class or you could get the ruler smacked across your hands. At the end of each day one child would ring the hand bell to signal hometime. I was evacuated to a farm just outside Burton-on-Trent. After 18 months away I returned to Senior School. My 3 children, Margaret, Robert and David Garner also went to Cotteridge School and had happy times there. My school played a part in my later life when I remarried Walter Simpson who was a classmate all those years ago. I still have a group of friends who were at school with me and we have been sharing our memories of Cotteridge School.

Mrs Betty Simpson, née Ward
June 2000

I was born at 1773 Pershore Rd. in 1935 and went to Cotteridge Infant & Junior School until 1945 and then to Kings Norton Grammar School for Boys until 1953. I have found the info on Cotteridge very interesting. My father was born at no. 1 Cotteridge Rd. so I learned a lot of history about the area from him. It is very interesting to read what one person feels is important history and to compare it with anothers thoughts.

On reading Mr Fleetwood's memories I wonder if he remembers running into his house to get what I think was his father's shotgun when the German bomber came over the school roof, just missing the bell tower, twice, and the pilot had the cheek to wave to us kids standing by Fleetwood's yard in Breedon Rd. Also the bomber which opened fire on the workers leaving Guest Keen & Nettlefolds, I'm glad to say that he missed all of them to the best of my knowledge. I also well remember getting told off by our teachers for being late into school because we had been watching the firemen putting out the fire at the wood-yard in Frances Rd. For once the bomber was accurate in only hitting the wood-yard and none of the houses, although if he was aiming for the railway yard then his aim was lousy. I remember watching very early in the war when a bomber was very low over Bournville being shot at with shells bursting all round him and my thought was for the men on board the plane not being able to do anything about their fate, but I soon learned to have different feelings though. Read more of Tony's memories here.

On the subject of carnivals in Cotteridge park, my brother and I both won first prizes in the fancy-dress competitions, a few years apart, but with the same costume, made by my mother. The costume was of John Bull which went down well, but I doubt if many know who he was now.

Tony James
December 2007

1930s and 1940s

I know Cotteridge pretty well! I was born there. It sits on top of a hill, you go down to Stirchley, down & up to Kings Norton & Bournville, the only time you do go a little higher is towards Northfield.

It was a centre of industry, especially during WW2; do any of you recall RJ Hunt Ltd foundry just over the canal at Lifford Lane, and Compressor Accessories by the first railway bridge in Lifford Lane?

R.J.Hunt Ltd was the heavy industry of Cotteridge producing cast iron products. Scrap and other metal was brought by road a rail to the site just over the rail and canal bridge at Lifford Lane. Casting sand came from "Wildmoor Sand" near Bromsgrove. From my memory they produced gearbox casings and brake drum castings for Morris Commercial. Fleetwoods also removed the "black sand" (spent sand after being used in the casts), which was a filthy job. The skill of the labour force in producing the "casts" out of wooden patterns & sand had to be seen to be appreciated.

There was also Chisholme Grey in Hudsons Drive, and Winstanleys in Cotteridge Road, behind the Grant Arms. Mr Winstanley taught me how to scribe my name, with a nail, on a young vegetable marrow & as it grew my name got huge!

Winstanley's was a small engineering firm with a skilled force of men who undertook diverse mfg of fixture and fittings. When they opened the large green doors onto Cotteridge Road you were immediately confronted with drills, lathes, shapers, and power saws.

Writing this I can still smell the machine oil and acrid smoke from welding.

One of the main contracts was with Cadbury Bournville, during WW2, when they refurbished & overhauled the small "hydraulic stacker" trucks, or trolleys. Similar work was undertaken by the smaller firm, whose name escapes me, that was situated next to the old Savoy Cinema in what was the old lodge gatehouse to the "Manor".

It was my fathers firm (WR Fleetwood, see the separate history here) who transported the trucks, to and from Cadbury's. I hated the job, in those days as it was very difficult to tie the dam things down, for the short journey to Bournville Lane, to prevent them, "falling of the back of the lorry"?

At the back of where you now live was the firm of Chisholm Grey, in Hudsons Drive. The specialised in brassware and plumbing products.. During WW2 they worked full out providing sanitary fittings for army camps, especially after December 1941 when the USA entered the war. The Americans would insist on sitting on proper toilets, not "doing it" in holes in the ground like our forces.

Looking back, I now see how the small community, and small firms such as the above, worked together and formed relationships which sadly does not happen these days. I have mentioned Mr Winsatnley, in the Cotteridge website, and who lived at Barnt Green under the shadow of the Licky Hills. He in turn introduced my father to Mr Lawrence Cadbury and Mr Christie of Chisholme Grey and so this bond occurred through the war and after.

There were Birmingham City Council work horses billeted in Breedon Road & when the incendiary bombs fell on the yard they were turned loose in Cotteridge School playgrounds.  That same night the Grants timber yard, in Francis Road was gutted, but the houses either side were saved. Then there was the very early morning incident with the 'phantom' tram? A No36 set off from the top of Pershore Road, with no one on board, picking up speed passed Midland Road, Holly Road, Dell Road, and literally flew over Breedon Hill, came off the track, turned on its side and slid down as far as Fordhouse Lane, coming to rest just outside the paper shop and missing a war time pool petrol road tanker by a few feet. Or I could tell you about the day a German bomber just missed the top of Cotteridge School, as it came out of the low clouds looking for (we now know) Triplex Safety Glass. I clearly saw the pilot and bomb aimer.

In later years there was Sewells Timber, opposite Hudsons Drive, on Pershore Road,  Wavern Engineering at the old Savoy Cinema, Bert Gillard who sold me my first 14" TV and was able to watch the Coronation. Yes, I also recall Treasure Trove, but what about Mrs Grant Ferris' beautiful home & garden being turned into a rather opulent Police Station with the gardens having police flats built thereon. I was one of the very privileged youngsters to be aloud into the house by Mrs Grant Ferris, and I still recall the noise her chauffeur driven Armstrong Sidderly car made, early on a Sunday morning on its way to church.

In response to a query on this site about Charlotte Road:
As you may already know this road runs parallel to Pershore Road and was mine, and loads of other young lads, rabbit run to Stirchley Senior Boys School, via Elm Tree & Ash Tree Road.

I recall that at the far end, from Cotteridge, was Ten Acres & Stirchley Co-op bakery, & their Works & Building Dept. By referring to the Stirchley Website I was able to confirm my own memories, that it suffered some bomb damage, and casualties by the name of Bishton(?).

During the 1939/45 war it was also my route, when reporting for duty at Stirchley Police Station in Victoria Road. Maybe because I associate this road with school and war duty I do not have any affection for it.

Police Aux M. S. This was the name displayed on the shoulder flash. We were trained by senior police officers and I now understand how they relied and trusted us with responsibilities and authority, far beyond our youthful looks. Anecdotes would fill a whole web page, some sad and serious, others a real howler. I can recall some of the names of the Police Messengers, based at Kings Norton and Stirchley Police Stations.

Photo of PAMS below taken around 1942/3 at Tally Ho.

Back Row L to R: Lol Avery (well known neighbour to your contributor Doreen Hill), Cliff, Stan ___, Bob Sanford.
Front row, Roy Mosely, Stan Boraston, Ray Mosely (yes they were twins).

Stan Boraston achieved acclaim for organizing a dance (with gramophone records) at Selly Oak Institute where most of the "B" Division, including Senior Officers, attended. There was even a picture in the Birminham Mail.

Thanks to Denise, who writes in that the one on the far right that was previously unknown is her uncle Bob Sanford who later married an usherette at the Savoy, Mary Scriven. They had five children, one of whom is now in Australia. He worked for many years at the Austin.

In response to a query about Winstanley's factory:

Let me put some meat on the bones for you. Mr Winstanley lived on the road to Barnt Green, at the foot of the Lickey Hills, and as I recall he was a keen gardener. He would have come across my dad as a result of two situations. Early in 1938 when the go-ahead was given to construct the "Shadow Factory" in Lowhill lane, Rednal, Fleetwoods were given the job of clearing the growing crop of grass/hay on the fields. Due to the urgency and secrecy, Dad set fire to the lot, bringing the trains to a stop on the Leeds to Bristol line. When the wind changed it engulfed the posh houses on the side of the Lickey Hills, including Mr Winstanley's.

The second reason was, as Fleetwoods were home to a lot of horses, and just across the road from his factory, there was a trade in "horse manure" and Mr W was quick off the mark for compensation in the form of manure for his garden. I recall going with the driver on two occasions to dump the muck at his front gate. Mr W was a kindly man, bespectacled & larger than life. It was he who showed me, by scratching my name and a message on a young marrow, as it grew, so did the message, much to the embarrassment of the writer if it was rude...

It was wartime and after 1940 everything was kept strictly on a need to know basis. I can, even now, see what was behind the green doors in Cotteridge Rd, and other than the stacker truck trolleys being refurbished for Cadburys I don't know what went on within the depths of the factory. It was a very skilled workforce and much more lethal bits and pieces were spirited through those doors, I am sure. Just the other side of the railway lines stood Peerless & Ericsons in Kings Norton Factory Centre. I know that they produced parts for Bofor Guns.

I'm also wondering why the police officer, who patrolled the Kings Norton Factory Centre during the WW2, always carried a revolver. It was unknown in those days for a bobby to be armed.

Cliff Fleetwood
Shropshire
March 2004 and subsequent updates

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1930s and 1940s

Frances Barrack lived at 77 Watford Road with her parents (William and Elsie) from the 1920s until she married and moved to Bournville after the war. She spent her working life as nurse at Woodlands Hospital, and now lives in Rednal with her husband Stanley Newton.

Here she recounts her memories of Cotteridge to her nephew Andrew. Frances would like to hear from anyone who remembers her at school or the Barrack family at Watford Road. If so, e-mail us.

The text below is the edited version featuring the sections on wartime Cotteridge and the shops - for the full reminiscence including family history and home life, click here.

My brother Frank and I both went to Cotteridge School and sat together in class. When I was eleven years old I moved over the playground from the Junior School into the Senior Girls. But that was just for girls, so Frank had to go Stirchley School. I remember teachers Mr Tozer and “Gerty” Garfield (I couldn’t stand her).

I remember a lot of the mothers used to be outside the railings giving the children biscuits and all sorts, because there were no school meals. No shoes were allowed in the hall, so you had to walk around the edge, you couldn’t go across because they polished the floor, it was like glass. In the war I used to hope a bomber would come and blow the place up. I used to say “if a bomb dropped I wouldn’t have to go to that bloomin’ school again!” I was never lucky, the Germans never hit it.
Another teacher was Mr Major, he lived in Woodfall Avenue. He wrote on my school report “Frances talks too much” and when I took it home Dad refused to sign it, and instead wrote on the report “and it is your job to stop her” and I had to take it back to school. Then Mr Major pushed a letter through our letterbox telling our Dad to go up to the school.

I remember the Life Boys at St Agnes Church. And Councillor Fryer, he used to come round and give you a talk and bore the pants off you. He used to give these talks in the school hall, we all used to groan “oh gosh he’s here again.
I think Fryer had two sisters who opened a wool shop… Fryer’s Wool Shop.

Of course the railway bridge was just outside Cotteridge School on Breedon Road and Frank would run along the parapet. Never thought twice about what would happen if he fell off the bridge. And I remember there were some stiles there and we used to take a short cut back to Watford Road.

Frank, Ernest, Frances and Elsie Barrack

When war started Frank and I were evacuated to Headless Cross at Redditch. Because Mum wanted us to stick together as brother and sister we went with the junior school but they were only children and Frank and I were 13. So we had no companions really – I think it’d been better if we were separated and went with the seniors. We went on the train and they put these labels on you and they took us to what looked like a school house and women came in and they just picked who they wanted. At the end there was Frank and I left plus another girl. You felt like a spare part. So then they walked us round the roads in Headless Cross and started knocking on the doors asking “will you take these children…” It was really that haphazard. Anyway we got to this one house and this lady answered the door, her name was Mrs Moseley and she said “well I only want one but because you are brother and sister I will take you both in.” But Frank had to sleep next door - there wasn’t enough room for both of us to stay at Mrs Moseley’s. Frank had his meals with us but he slept next door. I always remember Frank said how they got MacLeans toothpaste at his house. Well we’d never had toothpaste back in Watford Road, we used to clean our teeth with salt and soot. He said the toothpaste “tastes lovely” and used to eat this MacLeans. I bet the poor woman wondered where the toothpaste was going.

But Frank soon had enough and packed his bags and came home on the Midland Red. Mum brought me home soon after that. The war started in September and we turned 14 at the beginning of December the next year so after that we were at work. Me at Cadbury’s and Frank at Charles Taylor’s.

I remember the plane that came low over Cotteridge School looking for the Triplex factory, you could see the pilot and the swastika on the side of the plane. Then I remember we heard a German plane was shooting at people in the street. Mum was beside herself as she had sent Frank out on an errand. When he eventually came back Mum was so relieved. But Frank had got the sense to shelter in someone’s entrance.
We had no electricity at number 77 until after the war. It was gas, but only downstairs. We had a candle to go to bed at night. We weren’t allowed to read in bed because candles were too expensive. But when the Germans bombed Grant’s Wood Yard it lit up Watford Road like it was daylight. Frank was able to read in bed that night, he thought it was bloomin’ marvellous.

Dad built an Anderson shelter in the garden; he made a right mess of it. Dad used to do a job and he’d say that it was temporary but nothing he did ever became permanent, nothing ever got finished. We only went in the shelter once. After that we said if we are going to die well we might as well die in bed. Mum would say she would get us up if it got too bad. I think you got very blasé about the bombing. All you used think was “oh gosh they’re here again.” We went into the pantry under the stairs the first time the bombs came down, but after that we stayed in bed. You knew they were German bombers because their engines made that “whum-whum” sound. And you could always hear the anti-aircraft guns starting up. A bomb did drop just beyond Kings Norton railway station but nothing round the houses near us. You just thanked God it wasn’t you. That’s how you thought about the bombing really.

If you were at the pictures then you got the warning come up on the screen if they thought there was a raid. I remember being at the Savoy watching “The Last Days of Pompeii” when the sirens sounded. Elsie wouldn’t let me stay to watch the end. I never did see what happened at the end – until it was shown on telly a few years ago. 65 years later and I finally got to see the end! But I always remember Elsie dragging me out the Savoy because of the air raid warning - I could’ve killed her!

Dad was working nightshift at the Austin throughout the war and whenever there was a raid they used to go into what they called ‘the tunnel’. They always played “Woody Woodpecker” on the loudspeakers, so if that started he said they knew they’d be down there all night. I suppose it was meant to cheer up the workers but he hated that song. I know Frank said one night the sirens sounded when Dad was on the tram to the Austin so he just stayed on until it got to the terminus at The Lickeys and spent the night in the Hare and Hounds. When they asked him the next night at work where had he got to he just said he’d been in a public shelter. Public house more like!

Dad used to take us into town to see the bomb damage. We’d get off the tram in Navigation Street and sort of walk around. I remember one shop that was blown up and there was all these sweets scattered about amongst all the broken glass on the pavement. Our Dad said “don’t you dare touch anything.” And nobody touched anything.
They made Hollymore Hospital into a wounded soldiers hospital and my sister Elsie used to go up there and get chatting to the soldiers… she was a bit flighty and liked to go out and dance with the men – one time when she stayed out too late at night, Dad went out to find her – she must’ve been around 21 then – but he still got the walking stick to her.
I know Frank used to listen to the radio or read about the war in the papers but I don’t remember following the news myself. The only time I can remember, I was down Stirchley and they’d got all these newspapers with photographs of the bodies in the concentration camps. I went and had a look and people were saying it’s not true, it’s all fake. They didn’t believe it: it was too horrible to believe this was happening.

When I was young none of the shops existed at the top of Watford road, they were just houses. You had to go round the corner (into Pershore Road) before the shops started.

I remember Fleetwoods, they were opposite Cotteridge School and Clifford Fleetwood was in my class. Everything was delivered by horse and cart then. But when it snowed… I remember the horses used to come up Breedon Hill and the poor horses used to slip in the snow and they got sacks out to try and help them get a grip with their big hoofs. I used to feel ever so sorry for them.

I remember Huins the shoe shop. Dad took Frank in there to have his feet x-rayed because he couldn’t believe Frank had outgrown his shoes so quickly. Dad went barmy and refused to buy a new pair of shoes until the x-ray showed Frank’s feet were bigger.” (Before the harmful effects of radiation were realised, many shoe shops used to have an x-ray machine so customers could look at their feet. It was more for novelty value than anything else.)

I remember the carnival in Cotteridge Park and the Ten Acres Co-op, they used to give you a cardboard box with oranges, a squash and an ice cream. Then you went into the park to the carnival. We thought it was marvellous, you got this box with sandwiches. And The Blue Belvederes band. The Bummer Toots, as our Dad used to call them.

Ferris’s was a great big house. As children we used to say they had a gold bath in there with gold taps.

The Treasure Trove: I remember there was that big bear when you went in the entrance. And then there was a statue of a nude man outside and people used to come along and stick chips on his wotsit. When we were children the place was just a little shop then Mr Vincent opened it as the Treasure Trove. There were sheds round the back where they stored all the big things – suites of furniture, grandfather clocks and beds and wardrobes and all sorts of things. With the house and the sheds it would take you quite a while to go round and look at everything.

Yoxall’s – they sold dog biscuits.

The chemist Bellamy’s: Frank worked at Taylor’s chemist, the one opposite. He used to deliver prescriptions for them. They would make up the medicines in the shop and also refill soda siphons and Frank would take them to addresses even as far as town (Birmingham) on his bicycle. If there had been an air raid the night before there would be broken glass and water running down the street but Frank always had to deliver the prescriptions. And he’d always come back with shrapnel, which he collected in a drawer at home.

There was a music shop – Dugmores – and they got like a concave window. And when you looked in the window it was like those mirrors at the fairground, and we used to pull faces in the shop window and your faces were all terribly distorted. And the shop woman used to go barmy she used to go “Clear off! Clear off!”

Then there was Jones, a little sweet shop. And our Dad was always sending me up there, “Go and get me some acid drops,” then you’d get home and Dad would say “These acid drops are stale. Take them back!” I had to go back and say our Dad says these sweets are stale. The shop woman shouted “I do not sell stale sweets!” She went barmy and said tell your Dad from now on not to come in here. But he never did go in there – he always sent me!

I remember there was another sweet shop on Dell Road, near Fleetwoods. Elsie used to get them root liquorice from there. I hated it. But Elsie loved that root liquorice.

Apart from Bellamy’s and Taylor’s, there were other chemists too… Wakefields, Bloomfields and Hedges. Dad used to send me there for his snuff. I used to run down the Cotteridge and I used to shout “L2-60 box of snuff” all the way to Hedges, because I used to think if I forget the number… and you could only get the snuff from Hedges.

Mum and Dad used to go out on a Saturday night, always to the pictures. The Savoy, in Cotteridge. The King’s Norton on King’s Norton Green. The Empire and Pavilion down Stirchley. That was their night out. And if they went to Cotteridge they went in the Grant Arms after the pictures.

Friends I can remember? Well there was Connie Booth who lived in Holly Road. Her father was an engine driver on the railway. You thought he was God, I mean… a driver on the steam train! Nice man he was. Millie Tye was another friend, she lived in Heathcote Road.

Frances Newton (nee Barrack)
Rednall, Birmingham
July 2008
 

Update: Cliff Fleetwood writes, Thank you Frances for the lovely story.  Oh! How I wish I could recall her and me in the same class at school. Any school photos? A couple of additional bits:

First, the night, yes it was a night raid in December 1940, when Cotteridge was bombed. The device was known as a "Goering Beadbasket" consisting of part high explosive and lots of incendiary bombs. We know where the fire bombs landed, Frances Road (several), Fleetwoods (two), the rest Elm Tree Road area. The HE took out Bournville Lane Bridge (see p78 of Birmingham at War, Vol 2, by Alton Douglas) which drained the canal and so reduced the amount of water available to put the fires out.

Frances writes about the horses having difficulty climbing Breedon Hill in the snow, and I have read elsewhere, even in the Birmingham Post & Mail that the last horses were pensioned off in the late 40s? Attached is a picture of one the last working horse at Fleetwoods which shows my wife (Phyllis) introducing Roger my son, born September 1952, that makes the date of the picture around 1953/4.

Roger, my son, reminds me that he accompanied Tommy Batchelor (lived at 32 Midland Road) to Walkers Heath Road to catch horses and bring them back to Breedon Road when he was aged 6 or 7 years of age, so that makes the date of the last horses 1958 or so.

1950s

I believe that it was 1955 when I first attended Cotteridge School and I remember a time of jigsaw puzzles and play sand. I learned to swap chocolate for dinky cars; I also learned not to show my mum the results of the days trading.

In those very early school days I can't remember any names with certainty however a Mrs Brooking and a Miss Pledge seem right.

Later when I was 7 years old I was in the classroom on the ground floor north from the main hall my teacher was a lady: I think her name was Miss Self.

I do have bad memories of school dinners; the rules were that you ate all on your plate. My problem was I only liked the custard!

In later years I remember moving to the classrooms upstairs. I was occasionally in Miss Howard's office; she was the headmistress, but not for any problem just delivering paperwork. I missed having the infamous Miss Smith for a teacher, she had a reputation for being a very strict and uncompromising person, and she demanded improvement. I personally did not understand if she was a good or bad teacher, although my sister Lynne one of her later students is one of her supporters.

My last years at the school I remember teachers Mrs Wells and dear old Mr Hewlett my favourite teacher of all time: I've seen him angry (all red faced), and I've seen him on friendly helpful days. I know he liked classical music because he played it for us before assembly. He also liked paintings and encouraged everyone to try to improve their skills in art. I played football for the school team. I don't think we ever won a game, in fact we used to lose by something like 14 to nil! Mr Hewlett was our coach, or rather the bloke who organised the game. I don't think any professional players ever came from our teams of years 1959 - 1961, we turned our defeats into a tradition. We managed more fouls than the opposition so there!

Children's names I remember are Gillian Owen and Wendy Head from Midland road Hazel Harris from Heathcote road, Mary Wilson from Shirley road, Robert Basset from Dell road, David Harris from Shirley road, Stephen Foley, Stephen Ward, Stuart Maddocks, David Payne, Robert McKay, Eileen Waterhouse, Kenneth from Rowheath road, and David from Ashmore road.

Before I finish I must mention the snow ball fights in winter when the older children split into two opposing sides, I remember cold hands from throwing and sore ears from being hit!

Martin (Marty) Holeyman
Adelaide, Australia
July 2002

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1950s and 1960s

I attended Cotteridge School from 1957 - 1963, my two sisters and brother were also pupils, my older sister started school during the war years. The head teacher at that time was Miss Howard. My memories of the school are very mixed; I remember a teacher called Miss Self, who was very kind and loving; but there was also a teacher called Miss Smith who used to hit us on the head, a practice that would be very unpopular now. The memory I have most about that time is school dinners were I would have to sit and eat every single morsel, I would be there all of lunch time looking forlornly at Brussels sprouts congealed with cold gravy, I wasn't allowed to leave until they had gone, most days I went home with them in my pocket much to my mothers disapproval. I remember playing tig on green (until they painted all the railings blue) and playing with the girls from the secondary school which was closed before I had a chance of going there, I remember the boys were in a different playground to the girls, and we weren't encouraged to mix. There are such a lot of memories pouring in right now. From Cotteridge School I went to Queensbridge Secondary School in Moseley, worked for a few years met a great guy, married moved to Somerset and then on to Perth, Western Australia, where I have been living very happily for the last 15 years. I got this site through one of my friends who I was at Cotteridge School with, we still keep in touch.

Eileen Hughes (née Waterhouse)
Perth, Western Australia
July 2001

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1960s

I left Cotteridge School in 1968. During my time there the headmistress was Miss Howard, who was followed by Mrs. Copeland. The teachers in the Infants were Miss Self, Mrs. Brooking and Mrs. Frederick. the Junior teachers were Miss Meggs, Miss Smith, Mrs. Wells and Mr Hewlitt. He retired in 1967 and the photo shows me presenting him with a present. I was chosen because I was the oldest child in the school. In 1967 we had a new head, Mr Pebworth and Mr Waugh came to be a junior teacher. The caretakers were Mr and Mrs Dandy. Sports Day was held at GKN sports ground (where Do-It-All is now). Everything we needed for sports day had to be carried down the road from school. So a stream of children carried bins, tables, hoops, skipping ropes, bean bags, dressing up clothes etc. We had running races, skipping, bean bag, dressing up and egg and spoon races. We had swimming lessons at Stirchley baths and we all had to walk there and back. The annexe building was an art college. In 1967/68 Mr. Pebworth taught some pupils Irish dancing for a display in front of parents. We wore green silk skirts. We also put on a production of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". At morning breaktime we all had a little bottle of milk. Juniors were milk monitors who took the crates of milk round to each classroom. Fourth year juniors were also duster monitors. On Monday mornings they had to collect clean dusters and towels from the caretakers and deliver them to each classroom and then on Friday afternoon they had to collect them back up for the caretaker to wash them over the weekend ready for Monday. These reports are for my sister Susan and me. Later on, both my daughters went to Cotteridge School. Elizabeth is at Birmingham University doing Maths and Lyndsey is working in a science laboratory.

Mrs Margaret Dunbar, née Middleham
September 2000

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1960s

I was at Cotteridge School from 1962 - 67 and remember it just as if it was yesterday. Sounds corny doesn't it, and that's what our parents used to say, thinking about something from the past. But it´s absolutely true. I remember the children who shared more or less the same experiences, from the first day in Miss Self`s class, to leaving the school after the 11 plus and Mr Pebworth as the headmaster.

Some of the children I remember:

Jeffrey Watson (went to his birthday party, he lived on the Pershore Road, just down from the school)
Teresa Hastings and Heather Wilson (I think some of the boys were a bit scared of them, they could pack a punch)
Anita Clamp (my first love, emigrated to Canada andI never saw her again, her father was a policeman I think)
Anita Harris (always smiling)
Hetty Sturge (a quiet little black girl, with a religious family)
Colin Pedley (my best friend but we lost contact after we came in different classes at our next school)
Robert Waldron (his father owned a shop just over the road on the corner of Francis Road, it had all sorts of things in there, both new and old)
Then there were the Cotton twins, Robert Wagstaff, John Baldwin, "Nobby" Clark (of course) Later when I became a soldier i served in the same Regiment as his cousin and we could share some memories.

I really missed Cotteridge, both the ups and downs, I remember getting a smack on the legs by Miss Reed, for talking in class, but I really liked her and was sad when she died of cancer not long after. Of course there was the infamous Miss Smith, when I look back on those days, I don´t think she meant to be as mean as she seemed, I think she was just a product of an old fashioned type of teaching. She thought she could control us better by fear then kindness. I must admit no one dared to say anything when she was teaching, pity it was maths (my worst subject)

Well after years in the army I have settled down in Denmark and I have a son who is 14 years old. It is interesting to compare my son's school life to my own and I wonder if he will think about his school in the same way we others think about Cotteridge.

Philip Haynes, Holstebro, Denmark
Used to live at 171 Lifford Lane
June 2003

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1960s

I was at Cotteridge School from 1958 - 1964 and would like to give my memories, especially regarding Miss Smith.  As several have mentioned, in hindsight we realise she was a teacher who cared about children learning and yes, Maths was her subject. I did benefit from being in her class and wish that I had paid more attention.  Miss Smith had always taught the 'remedial' class, but the year I came under her care she had obviously asked to be allowed to take a 'normal' class.  My mother told me in later years that most parents were horrified to find on the bottom of the reports under "class next year" the name of Miss Smith as they had not been told of the change in circumstances! I too remember the tappings on the head and ruler on the hand, but also remember the Geography lessons because she had a lot of penfriends and visited them. I also remember visiting her house - with about 3-4 others - and having a Japanese afternoon on a Saturday.  We were able to examine Japanese items and had a Japanese meal. I think this was a reward for something - perhaps good work!  It is perhaps only 4 or 5 years ago that I saw Miss Smith in Kwik Save while visiting my father, but was unable to get through the queues to speak to her. I enjoyed my time at Cotteridge School and would love to hear from anyone who remembers me.

Mrs Mary Thorpe (nee Harris)

1960s

I attended Cotteridge School from 1962 to 1969.  My older brother Colin was in the year above me and my younger brother Keith three years below. We lived at 1 Lifford Cottages in Lifford Lane where our playground was the cut (at the front of the cottages) and the railway (behind us). Among the teachers I remember were Miss Self, Miss Hudson, Mrs Brooking, Miss Smith, Mrs Meggs, Mrs Rudkin, Miss Wells and Mr Waugh. Our head was Mr Pebworth, but I also remember Mr Hewlett who I think kept pigs. Miss Smith fascinated me as I thought she was at least 100 at the time, andI think I was one of the few children who liked her and enjoyed her class.

Children I remember are Philip Haynes and his brother Tony who lived down the lane from us, Jackie Barker whose family lived at Lifford Hall for a while, Julie Richards who lived at the Breedon Pub for a while, Susan Cope and Wendy Mason whose mom was our crossing warden in the late 60s. We used to get our daily sweet ration from the sweet shop at the top of Francis Road or the shop next to Austin Clissetts just up past the old police station.

Our mother also went to Cotteridge from 1928 to 1937. My mother remembers a teacher named Mr Merryweather and tells me that the girls used to go to a house in Cotteridge to do housework as part of their lessons. Older girls stayed at Cotteridge but the boys went to Stirchley school. After school she worked at the paper mill by the canal, her grandparents, Major and Annie Flavell, owned the chip shop next to the Breedon pub.  We moved to Stirchley in the mid 60s but stayed at Cotteridge School and today the pull is still strong as 17 years ago I moved back up the Hill and now live just round the corner from Lifford Lane where I can see the roof of the house I was born in from my bedroom window.

Julie Bailey (nee Pedley)
October 2007

1960s and 70s

I used to live at 1774 Pershore Road behind and above a second hand shop therefore consequently my nick name at school was Steptoe.

The family ran this business from just after the second world war until the late 1990s. In fact one of my dad’s childhood memories was playing cricket across the Pershore Road, imagine that now!

My granddad Frank, started the shop, F E Waldron, and ran it until he died in 1965.

My grandmother Elsie Waldron, (known as Margaret at St Agnes church because she didn’t like her name and so her church friends gave her a name that she liked), was  a dress maker and later lived in Midland Road where she created wedding outfits and dresses for many until she died in the 1980s.

My dad, Reg Waldron, took over the business from until the late 1990s however was tragically murdered in the shop by a guy that needed money for Christmas. It was a pretty unpleasant affair and the guy was arrested by a retired police officer cleaning his soiled clothes in Kings Norton Green laundrette.  So I suppose this is part of a darker side of Cotteridge as this is one of a few incidents in the area.

I like Cotteridge, it has many memories both happy and sad and therefore I still feel apart of the area though have not lived there for many years.

Please find attached an old photo of our shop circa 1945-1950.

1970s

I attended Cotteridge school around 1972. I have fond memories of my short stay at the school. Memories of my first kiss and pulling the legs off daddy long legs (not necessarily in that order...) What I remember of the playground is an alcove that had rubber tires wrapped around a pole and painted like a snake. I spent many lunch breaks hanging of that yellow snake. I also recall some little cubicle like seats at the same end of the playground. This is where a young girl asked me if I had ever been kissed... Like a fool I said no and she planted one on me. The funny things you remember.

We lived only a few houses down Pershore Rd from the school. Many of the pictures I see on the other page are very familiar and I can see where our old house is in one. My father spent a lot of time renovating that place and it would be interesting to see it today. I also remember buying sweets at the corner shop one street down.

The park was where I remember riding my bike, catching spinners and testing out my new plastic binoculars. I recall hanging from trees and falling off of them a lot.

All in all my memories of this area are very cherished and have stuck with me.

I now live in Canada and have for the past 28 years. I still come back to Brum from time to time and must make an effort to look around the old haunts.

Andrew Stokes
Vancouver, BC, Canada
January 2003 

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1970s

I was born on the Pershore Road just up from the Breedon Pub in 1968, and my family moved to Redditch in 1980. I attended Cotteridge School and captained the football team to the league title with Mr Stone as manager. (The dreaded Miss Richardson was Head Mistress (now deceased I believe)). My memories of Cotteridge are all good. Playing down the cut, challenging everyone to football matches in the park and running through everyone's gardens. Our neighbours were the Georges, Lanes, Leas and Bushells. It was a close community then with many events being held and day trips to place like Blackpool being organised with the help of Kings Norton Ex-Serviceman's and the Sunday School in Dell Road. (Mr Sturgess and Mr Carr). School friends and neighbours who still might be about were Simon Cartmell, Phillip Ryder, Paul Dutton, Malcolm Lea, Karen and Nicky Masters, the Turnballs, Girlings, Gavins and Pratts.

If anyone remembers a car crashing into the front room of a house (in about 2001), well that was our house. Also does anyone remember the ice cream van overturning outside what was then Wilmott Breedon? The gas leak when everyone had to be evacuated, the silver jubilee in the Sea cadet hut, the fire in the basement of the house on the corner of Dell and Pershore Road (The Malonies I think?) and someone moving their TV into the middle of the road sitting down and pretending to watch it (smart move) after an argument with his wife!

Terry Smith
June 2004

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1980s

I started at Cotteridge School in 1985 and was in Mrs Green's class. Mr Minchin was the headmaster and Mr Callaghan was the deputy who used to tell very long stories in assembly and play his guitar. I liked reception since we got to play with the lego and toys in the afternoon, but in the morning we read Ginn books like "Look". I don't think we had a computer when I was in 1I or 3I (with Miss Edwards) but by the time I was in 6I with Mrs Jenkins in the Annexe we had got a little Spectrum that played games like Postman Pat and Tablesums. We also got to use the electric typewriter to write stories to put on the display boards in the classroom. All through infants we learnt a lot of maths, reading and writing (Mrs Roe used to come and teach us joined-up handwriting), but still got to play with technic lego, capsella and other strange toys that you don't see nowadays. We didn't use calculators much but did get dictionaries. We had a play house in reception but not in any other years. We had squash and biscuits every day - one custard cream or two plain biscuits - just before morning playtime.

Round about now strange things started happening to the school - the air raid shelter was knocked down (making a lot of noise and stopping Mr Minchin from doing assembly), as were the old outside toilets. We all helped create the new gardens which replaced them and watched the builders from the playground though the dinnerladies like Mrs Milner kept us from getting too close. They also moved the staffroom to by the library and turned the classroom by the hall into a classroom again rather than a storeroom. The classrooms were painted in strange colours like murky brown and dark green and looked very 1970s, but they did start to paint them - including the hall, which turned pink one holiday.

In juniors, I was moved to the other class in my year for some reason, so was taught by Mrs Wase in Class 2. She was a very good teacher and we did mental arithmetic tests every morning. We also used to get a "good" or "very good" if we did impressed her and then she added up who had received the most in the week and gave them a prize. Her classroom had a posh computer which did more than a Spectrum and had a disk drive rather than a tape recorder. But, one day we came back from dinnertime and found that Mrs Wase had gone to hospital because she had hurt her leg in some way, which meant we had a lot of supply teachers for the rest of the year.

We got Mrs Wase again the next year in Class 4 to make up for it, and we did all sorts of new things like going swimming at Linden Road, going to a place called Woodlands where we did assault courses, canoeing and archery. I was not very good at any of them, but it was a nice few days away. About this time we got lots of new things in the school - loads of filing cabinets arrived along with the new National Curriculum folders which every teacher got. And we had new Nimbus computers and printers in every classroom which meant that we could play new games like Trains and something to do with castles, or print our writing using Minnie.

The next year I was in 5F with Mr Fletcher in the main school upstairs. He liked art and music and we used to make lots of things out of wood, especially after we went on a trip round a furniture factory. He also had loads of motorised lego that could be controlled by a little computer, which was good fun. Around this time I did my cycling proficiency course at the Patrick Collection and learnt how to cycle safely. I was also briefly in the school cricket and rounders teams, but we weren't very good, though we did win a medal in a tournament at Strikers Indoor Cricket Centre on Lifford Lane. At cricket practice after school Mr Minchin could hit balls into the flats on Breedon Road but we could only manage to get them a few feet.

In year six I was taught by Mrs Burton, who gave us stars of various colours for good work or behaviour. Gold was the best, followed by silver and then red, blue and green. When you got a star, you had to stick it over your name on the wall and the person with the most got a mystery prize. We also got to go to Bell Heath - a field study centre near Worcester where we learnt about geography and history. I remember going into Worcester and looking round the shops, and walking across a rubbish tip. It was a lot of work rather than a holiday! Year six children got to be something called playleaders, which meant playing with the little infants in their playground. This was always fun, especially if you were no good at football which the juniors played. Towards the end of Year 6 we had to chose a new school, and we finally left for them in 1992.

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