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Guildford Street Lozells

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Its great that your dad still sees Duncan, ask him to give him my fondest regards.
The court behind our house was called the Barracks locally.
We had a telly on coronation dayt but I am sure there must have been others in the street. Coronation day was a rainy day. We watched the coronation on with the curtains closed. I think Johnny Wells came into see it in our house for a time. Johnny was Duncan's cousin; I thnk their mothers may have been sisters.
I think that ther may have been a street party planned, like VE day, but because of the weather, or maybe for other reasons, in the Barracks the party was partly in our house. Because we lived in what had been a shop in the past, we had a front room where the eating part of the party was held. I remember compaining to my mother about the sadwiches tasting funny, They were spread with butter which I wasn't used to.
The Trotters house backed onto our yard. In effect I grew up with Christine Trotter, we played and fought together frorm our earliest days but I remember her with great fondness. It was from her older brother Franky that my dad bought my first bike for ten shillings.
I visited the site of the Barracks in the mid 90s and later wrote a short about it
https://forum.birminghamhistory.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2580&highlight=tree
 
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ps Give your dad my fondest regards. Those were happy days; rich and long lost but made us what we are
 
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Two photos from Guildford St
1. Me and Johnny Wells; me in the sack with my mom's washing dolly (for the arty - an early surrealist photo) The photo is taken in our yard, the wall at the back is the end of the Trotter's house

2. Taken at a working men's club somewhere off Hospital Street but I can't remember where exactly. From left to right:
at the Back: Ronnie Pearce's dad ( not Clark Gable), Ronnie Pearce's younger brother, (The Pearces lived at the bottom of Hospital St near Farm St), Duncan Bagley from 6 back of 14 (Eden Place where my mom was born) Guildford St.
Bottom row: Ronnie Pearce's mom, Ronnie Pearce's older sister, who I fancied but she was a couple of years older than me, Ronnie's little sister, Ronnie Pearce, Eddie Madeley from Kensington St who worked at Charlie Lee's butcher's in Wheeler St (Charlie won the pools and bought a dream home in Perry Barr), and me (I worked at C V Bulls butchers on the corner of Farm St and Lennox St at the time

3. CV Bull
 
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As always Michael great pictures and info. My gt grandfather owned a couple of houses in Farm St in 1819 one was number 236.
 
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wales said:
hi lindev. you said your dad was john or jack devlin. he didnt ever live in villa st or nursery road did he. its just that i had a friend whos surname was devlin(think her 1st name was christine) funny how the memory goes. any was her dad was known as jackie devlin. this would have been in the 50s and 60s. wales
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HI THERE THE FAMILY YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT IS MY 2ND COUSIN CHRISTINE THERE WAS LUCY AND CHRISTINE THEN A SON GARY, THERE DAD WAS MY DADS COUSIN JOHN HIS WIFE WAS LUCY BUT THEY DIVORCED, THEY LIVED IN NURSERY ROAD,
 
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I've just looked up my tree records as you rang a bell Wendy. My great grand father Francis Harry Crompton and family emigrated to the USA in the 1870s and came back in the 80s to live in Farm St - at 226
 
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Michael that is very interesting. My gt grandfather owned houses in Farm Street and from my records it seems the family lived in them. His parents John and Elizabeth died at no 231 in 1866 My gt grandfathers sister Ann Wilks nee Jennings died at back of 275 Farm St in 1880. David Jennings's my gt grandfathers brother's wife Ann Jennings nee Taylor died at no 231 in 1881. My Gt grandfathers brother lived at no 237 in 1871, he is documented in our family bible as living at no 229 and this is where he died. This information is from census and death certificates.

I must visit central library to check the rent books as this will tell me the houses he owned. I would think our relatives would have known each other. I will check the maps as well because the houses are numbered on these.
 
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That's realy interesting Wendy. 226 was between Lennox St and Guildford St. My great grand father died in 1896; his wife remarried and by 1901 she was living in Guildford Street. I'ver previously posted a picture of her standing outside her shop with her daughter.
I've looked up the censuses for 1891. At 231 there was Thomas Thompson and his family. I haven't looked up 239, as it was past Guildford st. At 229 there was Samuel Wilkes and family.
My great grandfather's family returned from America some time near to 1879; in 1881 they were living at 2 Furnace Lane and were living in Farm St in 1881.
 
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Michael I must research this further my gt grandfathers sister went to America and from information in my family bible I know they kept in contact. John had a few properties but I am unsure how many he lived in Burbury Street. I have attached his obituaries as they are interesting.
 
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hi linev. if i remember corrrectly christine lived on the right hand side of nursery road going towards lozells girls school. are you still in touch with her. if so how is she. she may not remember me. im sure we both went to farm st infants and junior school together. but i dont think we both went to lozells girls. i could be wrong. my name is linda harrington and i lived in villa street.
 
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hi michael. what lovely photos. see what you mean about clark gable. the only club i can think of off hospital st is the unity in new summer street. does that ring a bell. its still there. i was there a couple of weeks ago. wales.
 
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hi michael. it was there well before that. just spoke to dad he used it the 50s. still does (plays dominos for them now) he cant recall any other club off hospital st apart from the unity and hes got a very good memory when it comes to watering holes. ha ha. wales.
 
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wales said:
hi linev. if i remember corrrectly christine lived on the right hand side of nursery road going towards lozells girls school. are you still in touch with her. if so how is she. she may not remember me. im sure we both went to farm st infants and junior school together. but i dont think we both went to lozells girls. i could be wrong. my name is linda harrington and i lived in villa street.
Click to expand...
Hi linda, you are correct about the street were christine lived, i know she attended lozells school at some point because as i left the school, the teachers all got mixed up because there was another christine devlin arriving in the school, but i cannot remember when she started there, the last i heard about chris was that she was a doctors receptionist in sutton and doing very well, but i dont see her these days which is a shame i liked chris she was a nice girl, i also went to lozells st school, i lived in wheeler street from 1947 to 1965, and as you can tell my name is also christine devlin if i see the person she works with at the doctors i will remember you to her.
 
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yes christine please do pass on my best wishes and if she wants to get in touch please feel free to pass on my details of how to contact me. all the best wales.
 
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Numbers 41 and 42 Guildford Street taken by Terry Weir in 1968 and published in Carl Chinn's 'Our Brum' Volume 3.
Carl refers to information given him by Doris Bott who used to live in Lennox Street. Lennox Street was parallel to Guildford Street, ie behind these houses. Doris says that the two houses were rented by two of her neices May Hale and Winnie Clarke. The painting was possible done by Len Martin, a brother-in-law of May and Winnie.
I knew Winnie well in the 50s. Her daughter Barbara and I were good friends for a time. Barbara Clarke was a couple of years younger than me. She went to Lozells Girls school and left there around 1958. Some of you girls out there may have known her too.
Barbara's best friend at the time was her cousin Valerie Hale, daughter of May mentioned above. When I knew them Valerie didn't live at 41 but bit further down towards Farm Street. Unfortunatlely, I lost touch with both of them. I moved away from there around 1963; Barbara must have moved away a couple of years before this photo was taken. The terrace and street would have been demolished shortly after this photo was taken.
I remember the 'God Bless Our Boys' very well. Wales must have known it too as Paddington Street where she lived was nearby. She must have passed it often
 
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This is from 'Birmingham in the Sixties Vol 1' by Alton Douglas. The caption says that is is at the back of Geach Street off Summer Lane; 5th of Dec 1966.
It was at the back of Geach Street in a sense. Behind where the photographer was standing was a row of back to backs and behind those houses was Geach Street.
The entrance to the court was a wide entry to the right as we are looking. On the street on either side of the entry were numbers 26 and 28 Guildford Street. I was born at number 26.
The houses in the court were numbered 1 - 14 back of 26.
The court itself was known locally as 'The Barracks'; my mom said that was because of the large number of families that lived there but there may be other reasons.
We at number 26 had our own back yard but my much of my childhood was spent playing in the Barracks. When I first played there, there was a brick and concrete communal air raid shelter. This was removed in the late 40s, early 50s.
On the left you can just see the row of lavs on the other side, set back out of site were the miskins. The brew house was off to the right towards the entry.
 
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MICHAEL, just showed my friend the photos you put on here, he used to hang around with Johnny Wells he was in the same class as him at Gower street school, he wondered if you would know him as there was a group of boys that went around togeth his name his Joe Neal he had a brother name Kenny Neal who is 70 but he went to Summer lane school.
 
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Hi Lidev, I knew a Kenny but can't remember his other name. I don't remember a Joe but I may have known him; it was a long time ago
 
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hi lindev. im sure i know the name johnny wells. not personally but i think dad new him. michael i mentioned the name ingram to dad some weeks ago and it rang a bell. im going to see mom and dad in the morning so i will ask him what he remembers. wales.
 
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Hi wales, i didnt know Johnny wells, but he was mentioned on here and i happen to mention it to a friend, who knew him. and you know what wales, i swear i know Michael Ingram also but cannot place him at all, but the name rings a bell or two, beware......it will come back to me lol. wales ask your dad if he remembers a ronnie tooth, the local handyman, and in his later years used to sell evening mails outside lucas factory.
 
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Me in the sack with my mom's Dolly and Johnny Wells behind in our backyard at 26 Guildford Street
 
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linev will ask dad today about all the names you have mentioned and i bet michael is quaking in his boots lol
 
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While serving my apprenticeship as a carpenter & Joiner,
there was also a young lad doing his app.as a bricklayer,his name was dennis??? forgot his surname,but he lived in Guilford St at the time,and his girl friends name was Olive anyway,dennis took up another vocation with the church,the last time I saw him many years ago was when i was working on a shop front opposte the B'ham law courts he was then a vicar,unfortunately,i heard he died many years ago wonder if anyone knew him???
 
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That was Dennis Sanders; he was my brother-in-law; Olive is my sister. He became a Methodist minister and worked in Gnosall, Huddersfield, Coventry, Warwick, Torquay and finally Wales, where Olive still lives.
Sadly Dennis died eighteen years ago. He was a great friend to me. He was extremely well respected; there were hundreds of people at his funeral.
When you saw him, he would probably have been to the Methodist Central Hall close by the law courts.
 
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hi lindev. when i asked dad if he knew ronnie tooth he said i should do he was one of my best mates. ronnie lived in wilton street just down from the acorn pub which was on the corner of wilton and wheeler streets. he and dad both went to ickneild st school where ronnie was milk monitor. he and dad sat next to each other. in 1947 ronnie joined the black watch. ronnies dad billy used to use a pedal bike and go all over selling the newspapers. when billys dad died ronnie took over and you quite rightly said used to sell papers outside lucas. dad cant be precise but he reckons it must be 15 years since ronnie died. dad went to his funeral where the black watch band played as a tribute to him. my dads name is george harrington. maybe someone may remember him. wales.
 
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