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Pardoe Family - Ward End Birmingham

Morturn

Super Moderator
Staff member
The Pardoe’s of Church Walk, Ward End were a very large family, Tommy Pardoe was an amateur boxer who fought in the 1932 Olympic Games. There was also a person called Joe Dainty who lived with them, and continued to live at the old house.

If anyone does have any information about them, it would be much appreciated
 
Hi Morturn will have a look in the next couple of days for info on the Pardoe family, I know they married into the Hicks family from Roath, Cardiff can't remember seeing a Tommy though
 
My other half went to school with David Pardoe................Thornton Road School.
 
Two of my great aunts married 2 of Tommy Pardoe's older brothers. They were from the Hicks family in Cardiff. I believe they were all connected from when parts of the family were in Ludlow. Let me know if you would like the details.
 
Let me know if you would like the details.

Hi Merlyn

Yes please, have been finding it quite hard to find details about the Pardoe's, considering they were quite a big family
 
Hi Morturn
I used to go to school in sheldon with a Ralph Pardoe, may be a relation.

regards stars
 
Thank you very much, have ordered a copy…cannot wait, I still have Martha’s (Tommy’s mothers) wedding ring.

This is Martha with the goose, my mother in the foreground. The two children on the right are gipsy’s who live in caravans on ‘Pardoe’s’ yard; you can see the roofs of the caravans in the background.

View attachment 70745
 
That picture is delightfull, Morturn - it gives such an insight into the Pardoe family lifestyle. Am so pleased that the book may be of interest. Have you tried accessing the electoral rolls on Midlands Historical Data. at £5 its a real bargain, providing you are carefull what you click on.
https://www.midlandshistoricaldata.org/
Were the caravans purpose built or were they say, altered removal vans?
 
It looks as though the Pardoes were fairly new to Ward End in 1911, judging by the birth locations of the children.


Hi

I am not sure when the Pardoe’s moved to Birmingham; my grandfather Albert (Bert) was born in 1902 in Cleobury Mortimer, and moved here as a young lad. Tommy the boxer was born here in Birmingham in 1913.

Herbert Pardoe bought the family to Birmingham with his brother John Pardoe who lived in the house next door. They were quite a large family, how big I do not know but was told there was 15 children.

Any information on this would be most welcome.

That picture is delightfull, Morturn - it gives such an insight into the Pardoe family lifestyle


Yes I like that photo too, it says quite a lot; hard tobelieve that this was Church Walk Ward End Birmingham.

The story goes: when they moved into the house, Herbert noticed a few bricks lose in the cellar, so set about repairing them; when he quickly found sand came pouring in. When he checked the garden, this was also sand, so he opened the land up as a sand pit, which he dug out for 10 years to a depth of 60 feet.

Herbert was a wheelwright by trade, so he built a fleet of wagons, transporting the sand to Walsall for a Council Building project. He kept the kids quite busy, they had to walk with the horse all the way to Walsall, drop the load ofsand off, then they could ride on the truck back home.

When he could dig no further due to water, he tuned the sandpit into a tip; it apparently took 10 years to refill it. He then let the yard out to gypsy families with their caravans.

I was told that there were a couple of marriages betweensome Pardoe’s and the gypsies, and there was a suggestion that Martha (nee Martin) was a gypsy too.
 
Some of that ties in, Morturn, with what I have read today on the 1911 & in the Memories of Old Ward End. I am reading it between getting on with other tasks, but if it is stories & photos that you are after I think you will be pleased with the book. Tommy himself has contributed. If you have some more interesting tales I do hope that you will pass them on to your family, if not on BHF.
If you access FreeBMD & enter the surname & mother's maiden name it should tell you how many children the Pardoes had after 1911. Personaly I always like to check independently too just incase there are similarities with another family.
 
Hi Merlyn

Yes please, have been finding it quite hard to find details about the Pardoe's, considering they were quite a big family

So my great aunt Elsie Hicks married Alfred William Pardoe(known as Bill) born 1896 23 dec 1923 at St Margaret's Ward End. He died 20 March 1933 of pneumonia.
Second great aunt Winnie married Arthur Percy Pardoe born 24 Feb 1905 at Birmingham Registry office 3 December 1932.

The story about the gipsies is interesting as my mother used to talk about staying with the Pardoes during WW2 and seeing a romany caravan set alight after its owner died
 
So my great aunt Elsie Hicks married Alfred William Pardoe(known as Bill) born 1896 23 dec 1923 at St Margaret's Ward End. He died 20 March 1933 of pneumonia.
Second great aunt Winnie married Arthur Percy Pardoe born 24 Feb 1905 at Birmingham Registry office 3 December 1932.

The story about the gipsies is interesting as my mother used to talk about staying with the Pardoes during WW2 and seeing a romany caravan set alight after its owner died


Forgot to add that the families were connected a couple of generations back while the families were in Ludlow when a Clara Price married a George Pardoe. Haven't worked out how he was connected to Herbert and Martha. I believe that this would have been the family connection that allowed quite a few of the Hicks family of this generation to move to Birmingham in the 1920s.
 
Sorry for the repeat postings but I have just re read the entire thread. Do you know how old Joe Dainty was? i have one in the Hicks family born in 1931
 
hi all.
hearing the name pardoe got me thinking of my late mom,she was born in 1926 and grew up in st'margarets road
she used to talk about pardoes yard.my moms name was dorothy jackson her mom was florence her dad was mark.they lived
at 41 opposite the church,she also had a brother named mark and two sisters joan and barbara.
 
Hi Merlyn

Thanks for the information about the Pardoe's, a few more gaps filled, a few more questions raised.

What is Whinnies date of birth and maiden name; is she related to Collin Pardoe dob c1950, think he was a painter and decorator for Birmingham Council.

Herbert c1867 was born in Ludlow and had a brother called George c1865, would he have married Hicks?

I can send you the GOM file if you wish.

It is very interesting what you say about Joe Dainty, Herbert allowed him to live at the house in Ward End in a converted van. I remember him being blind in one eye.

What is also quite interesting a few of Herbert's children married around Christmas; the story goes it was the only time they had off work. not bad considering they worked for Herbert.
 
hi all.
hearing the name pardoe got me thinking of my late mom,she was born in 1926 and grew up in st'margarets road
she used to talk about pardoes yard.my moms name was dorothy jackson her mom was florence her dad was mark.they lived
at 41 opposite the church,she also had a brother named mark and two sisters joan and barbara.

Hi deb kiely

Thanks for the information
 
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