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Kingstanding

  • Thread starter Thread starter margaret
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Thank you all for responding - we moved to Balham Grove around 56-57 - I was around 7-8 at the time, my brother Alec about 10 and a younger sister Frances about 5 - our mother, Flo was Welsh and our father mostly conspicuous by his absence - it is fair to say that we were a struggling single parent family at the time but had good neighbours in the Kay family - no. 22 I think and the Meredith family - Frances and I attended the local primary and Alec soon progressed to the local secondary, although, by his own admission, he wasn't a regular attender- in 1959, I passed the 11+ and went to Great Barr school until we were forced to leave the Grove somewhat unceremoniously around 1960 or 61 when we were evicted for non payment of rent- my father having failed to pay maintenance and mum struggling to manage- our furniture and belongings dumped in the rain in the back garden- I am sure that people in the neighbourhood became aware of it at the time and may remember us for that reason - not all bad memories though - abiding memories of the kindness and support shown to us by some neighbours throughout our time there- especially the Kay family - I believe their son may have been called Derek and there was a daughter Pauline who also had a young child called Pauline- I don't recall any of the names you have mentioed but will ask Alec- he would be thrilled to be remebered- hopefully for good reasons!- once again, thank you for responding and for the memories
 
golightly said:
Hello again, when we left the Kingstanding Rd area, and Cranbourne road school, we lived near the bottom of Calshot rd, Great Barr ? or was that Perry Barr ? Anyway, we went to Beeches Rd school. I remember it quite well, with single storied, wooden clapboard clad sides, and a tall Gymnasium containing thick ropes hanging down, with ties to the climbing bars all round the sides. I loved the huge wooden Horse etc, the polished wooden floors. I'd never seen a place like it before----I can smell that special smell now--as I write about it. For kids that spent much of their free time climbing everywhere, this was paradise. I remember the sloping playground, newly finished in smooth asphalt, where you could race your Dinkey toys down at great speed. NOW !--who can solve a 60year old mystery for me ? One day when we were at Beeches road school, the WHOLE school was uprooted , and made to walk all the way to the Clifton cinema on the Walsall rd, to watch a strange film about gangs of orphanned kids, who lived among the bombed ruins of a major city---I think it was a German one--Hamburg or Berlin. The images of this film, and of us all being escorted by the teachers all that way, along narrow pavements has never gone away. What on earth was that all about ?? what a subject for little kids--Disney it weren't.
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Sorry about the late reply, new to these pages. Reference the school trip to the Clifton, are you sure the film wasn't "HUE & CRY" about a bombed out London, and a gang of school kids who thwarted a Nazi group? it was a big hit, and starred, a young James Kenney, and Alastair Sim. just a thought.....
 
hi gerry make sure you have checked your settings and ticked to receive an email alert when someone replies to a thread you have made posts on that way you wont miss anything...these will come via your private email address...hope this helps

lyn
 
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Eric Gibson said:
We had a Dr Dougherty or similar (may be spelled differently) at the surgery corner of Dyas Road and Old Oscott Lane. A tall Scotsman.
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DaveWall said:
My brother would remember all of them - I'll get him to respond - mind you - you do say late 50's - we moved from 123 Hurlingham (next to the Lotes) in the early 50's. He's still able to quote almost all the neighbours on both sides - 70yrs on.
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My Dad was the Midland Counties Dairy milkman, I used work on Saturdays with Dad.
Our first call was the corner of Hurlingham Rd & Harringay Rd 7.30 am 2 Ster. If I remember right Dad had fast moving electric milk float.
We used to deliver Stera. Past silver top and TT blue top baby milk.
Dad served as far as Parkinson cres, Chinkford Rd, Tansley Rd it was a big round.
Reference the Doctors on Kingstanding Rd it was the 1st house after shop to the right of the house was a tennis court, 3 shops down from doctors was Mariatts the chemist.further was was Kirtons the news agents.
 
harborne said:
This all brings back memories for me too. Went to school at Cardinal Wiseman and often went to the Hawthorn Road Shops for my friend's mum. My friend was Joan Browne who lived in Darleydale Avenue. Lost touch with her many moons ago.
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Hi just reading this site and I went to Cardinal Wiseman and I also had a friend Joanne Browne who lived in Darleydale Avenue we stayed on at school for the extra year and I can recall some names from our class and our form teacher was Mrs Bolan, I also have not had any contact with Joan for a number of years. Would love to hear from you and what your name was. (My name was Patricia Burke when at school)
 
johnduffy said:
Hi just reading this site and I went to Cardinal Wiseman and I also had a friend Joanne Browne who lived in Darleydale Avenue we stayed on at school for the extra year and I can recall some names from our class and our form teacher was Mrs Bolan, I also have not had any contact with Joan for a number of years. Would love to hear from you and what your name was. (My name was Patricia Burke when at school)
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I went to Cardinal Wiseman from 1962-4 Was there a Mr Boland or Bolan, music teacher? I was Carol Davies when I was there.
 
Vivienne14 said:
This old cottage was demolished to make way for an anti-aircraft gun. Any ideas where on Kingstanding Road this might have been ? Image dated January 1938. Viv.

View attachment 133997
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Hi Vivienne

I think that it would be site of the army barracks between Goodway Road Dyas Rd I'm pretty sure it was an anti aircraft base during WW2 the actual guns was over the back near the right of way to Harbeck Av and to back of the Co-op Dairy
 
I used to live in Birdbrook Road I remember seeing mobile air craft guns on concrete base from a field we used play on at the back of Co-op dairy the barracks was fence off with rails.
The right away used to be a short cut school at Cranbourne Road.
The base used to called Light Anti Air Craft Regt, I think the Warwickshire Regt took over after the war as part of the Territorial Army, the guns Was call Ack Ack guns if remember right.
The right away at bachk used to lead you on to the sandpits the Bob Wilson fair used to use it.
 
mikejee said:
Below is a map c1965 showing position of barracks and map c 1884 of same area. This would seem to indicate that the cottage was part of Halfway House farm

View attachment 134001View attachment 134002
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Mike this map is very interesting the sandpit to right of the barracks was it every used as commercial quarry it was quit a drop from the back of the house in Dyas Road, I don't remember a coal yard being based at the pit.
I remember that a number of children was hurt playing on the sand pit 1 got killed they used to dig caves into the pit and one fell in.

Another sand pit existed on the other side of Dyas Rd don't know if that was natural our used foe extracting sand Dyas rd road wasn't a council road till the 1950'sand was just hardcore for many year.

Have anymore information that might fill in the gaps none of these sand pits was ever fenced off and was a real danger
 
The ones to your right as you walked down Dyas Road were not fenced off when I moved into Birdbrook Road in 1956, I used to go across the top and down as a shortcut to my house, still the same when I moved out in 1965.

They were built on some time after I left.

Opposite my house was an open field that later became, I believe, the driving test centre.

Ps. I went to Cranbourne Road school too, from 1940 to 45
 
Thanks for the maps Mike, it’s helpful to see Halfway House Farm in context. Didn’t realise that was where it was in all these years. I remember the TA drill hall being used as a polling station. Used to go with my mum and dad to vote. Don’t really remember much about the inside, didn’t take a lot of notice.

The sandpits were visible from Atlantic Road. Think I might have mentioned it before, but there was a gap in the houses (nearer the Dyas Rd end, not Old Oscott) which was later filled with housing. I’ve often wondered if they weren’t originally built to give access to the sandpits during the construction of the road. Viv.
 
I also went to Cranbourne Rd Sch although it was Kingsthorne by the time I started there in 1958. Viv.
 
All along the back of that very straight line of houses in Atlantic Road was our playground. But by the 1950s all the area down to the sandpits had been built upon. We used to ride our bikes up that alleyway behind Atlantic Road up to Dyas Road. It was an uphill slog and made worse by the sandy texture of the track. Great coming back down though.

We also used to cut through from the alleyway into the cul de sacs which were built on the sandpits. Again those ‘cut throughs’ we’re very steep. And quite difficult climbing back up. Otherwise you'd have to go all the way around and up Dyas Road (we used to call it Dyas Hill, in fact a lot of people called it that - for good reason).

The alleyway nearer Tresham Road and Old Oscott end of Atlantic was not quite as steep and we tended to concentrate around that area.

Quite amazing that we spent all day in those alleyways and no-one worried. Just turned up at home when we were hungry.

Viv.
 
G G Jean said:
Do you remember the butchers Viv?. My niece used to have a Saturday job there. They had another shop on the circle. A family run business by the name of Rochelle's.
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Morning Jean
The Rochelle Butchers on kingstanding road was run by my nan's uncle. Do you have any information or photos of my family or the shop.
Kind regards Maxine.
 
When I was there the 33 used to terminate at the junction of Kings Road and Finchley Road, I don't think it ever went in the Birdbrook Road direction, it turned down Warren Farm Road from Kingstanding Road.
I know there was a bus that came down Dyas Road but I think it was an extension of the Perry Common 5a service and terminated at or near Aldridge Road.
Things changed quite a bit after I left Brum, the 29 and 29a became something like the 90 I think.
 
There was a driveway to the back of my house that ran from Dyas Road to Swinbrook Grove, looking on Google Earth it's fenced off at the Dyas Road end but still open but overgrown with weeds at the Swinbrook Grove end,
We all had garages off the driveway at the back of our houses, it looks as though they've ripped out the front gardens and park their cars there now.
 
When I last looked at the alleyways Eric (there were lots running along the the backs of the 1930s houses) most of them seem nowadays to have been blocked off. Don’t know why. But the alleys used to give useful access to different roads. There was one leading from Kingstanding Road into Atlantic Road which we used every day to go to Kingsthorne School. If it was raining we’d shelter under a Hawthorne tree in the alleyway. Used to think it was appropriate being so close to Hawthorn Road. Viv.
 
Welcome mcook. I don’t suppose you’re related to Nurse Cook, midwife. My mum often spoke about her. We were home births and she delivered me. Viv.
 
Amazing that we were delivered by the same midwife Outinthesticks ! Mum said she was a no messing sort of nurse. Very businesslike in the way she went about delivering babies. I was a difficult birth and nearly didn’t make it, and if it weren’t for Nurse Cook, I probably wouldn’t be here. Viv.
 
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