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Perry Beeches Secondary School

Brian - You have a much better memory than I have, I can't remember any of those names. I can remember only a few names from Beeches Road, but can remember the names of some in the Aldridge Rd photo I put in the other thread. I can remember most of the names in my other photo because they lived in the same road.
You mention your National Service and maybe you have seen the forum NS thread where many of us 'go on' about our times in service.
I was in the RAF and have posted some photos in the NS thread.
 
I've been looking at some of your photo's & I see that you lived in Grindelford Rd,did you know Alfred Holder he was a friend of mine at school & he lived in the same rd,Do you also remember those very snowy winters we used to get in the 1940s & sledging down the field at the top of Sandy Lane !!,I lived in Holmesfield Rd off Thornbridge Ave
Brian
 
Ithought this might bring back some memories !! EATING IN THE UK IN THE FIFTIES

* Pasta had not been invented.
* Curry was an unknown entity.
* Olive oil was kept in the medicine cabinet
* Spices came from the Middle East where we believed that they were used for embalming
* Herbs were used to make rather dodgy medicine.
* A takeaway was a mathematical problem.
* A pizza was something to do with a leaning tower.
* Bananas and oranges only appeared at Christmas time.
* The only vegetables known to us were spuds, peas, carrots and cabbage,
anything else was regarded as being a bit suspicious.



Do you recognise any one in this photo taken in about 1943 in Thornbridge Ave

Front Row L to R. David Holland,Derek Kibble,unknown.
Middle " " Derek Dwelly,me Brian Harding,Bryn Greathead.
back " " Gordon Kibble,Alan Green,David Evans.


Do you recognise any one in this photo taken about 1943 !! in the back garden in Thornbridge Ave
front row LtoR David Holland,Derek Kibble,unknown
middle row " Derek Dwelly,Brian Harding,Bryan Greathead
back row " Gordon Kibble,Alan Green,David Evans
* All crisps were plain; the only choice we had was whether to put the salt on or not.
* Condiments consisted of salt, pepper, vinegar and brown sauce if we were lucky.
* Soft drinks were called pop.
* Coke was something that we mixed with coal to make it last longer.
* A Chinese chippy was a foreign carpenter.
* Rice was a milk pudding, and never, ever part of our dinner.
* A Big Mac was what we wore when it was raining.
* A Pizza Hut was an Italian shed.
* A microwave was something out of a science fiction movie.
* Brown bread was something only poor people ate.
* Oil was for lubricating your bike not for cooking, fat was for cooking
* Bread and jam was a treat.
* Tea was made in a teapot using tea leaves, not bags.
* The tea cosy was the forerunner of all the energy saving devices that we hear so much about today.
* Tea had only one colour, black. Green tea was not British.
* Coffee was only drunk when we had no tea….. and then it was Camp, and came in a bottle.
* Cubed sugar was regarded as posh.
* Figs and dates appeared every Christmas, but no one ever ate them.
* Sweets and confectionery were called toffees.
* Coconuts only appeared when the fair came to town.
* Black puddings were mined in Bolton Lancashire.
* Jellied eels were peculiar to Londoners.
* Salad cream was a dressing for salads, mayonnaise did not exist
* Hors d'oeuvre was a spelling mistake.
* The starter was our main meal.
* Soup was a main meal.
* The menu consisted of what we were given, and was set in stone.
* Only Heinz made beans, any others were impostors.
* Leftovers went in the dog.
* Special food for dogs and cats was unheard of.
* Sauce was either brown or red.
* Fish was only eaten on Fridays.
* Fish didn't have fingers in those days.
* Eating raw fish was called poverty, not sushi.
* Ready meals only came from the fish and chip shop.
* For the best taste fish and chips had to be eaten out of old newspapers.
* Frozen food was called ice cream.
* Nothing ever went off in the fridge because we never had one.
* Ice cream only came in one colour and one flavour.
* None of us had ever heard of yoghurt.
* Jelly and blancmange was only eaten at parties.
* If we said that we were on a diet, we simply got less.
* Healthy food consisted of anything edible.
* Healthy food had to have the ability to stick to your ribs.
* Calories were mentioned but they had nothing at all to do with food.
* The only criteria concerning the food that we ate were ... did we like it and could we afford it.
* People who didn't peel potatoes were regarded as lazy so and so’s.
* Indian restaurants were only found in India .
* A seven course meal had to last a week.
* Brunch was not a meal.
* Cheese only came in a hard lump.
* If we had eaten bacon lettuce and tomato in the same sandwich we would have been certified
* A bun was a small cake back then.
* A tart was a fruit filled pastry, not a lady of horizontal pleasure.
* The word" Barbie" was not associated with anything to do with food.
* Eating outside was called a picnic.
* Cooking outside was called camping.
* Seaweed was not a recognised food.
* Offal was only eaten when we could afford it.
* Eggs only came fried or boiled.
* Hot cross buns were only eaten at Easter time.
* Pancakes were only eaten on Pancake Tuesday - in fact in those days it was compulsory.
* "Kebab" was not even a word never mind a food.
* Hot dogs were a type of sausage that only the Americans ate.
* Cornflakes had arrived from America but it was obvious that they would never catch on.
* The phrase "boil in the bag" would have been beyond our realms of comprehension.
* The idea of "oven chips" would not have made any sense at all to us.
* The world had not yet benefited from weird and wonderful things
like Pot Noodles, Instant Mash and Pop Tarts.
* We bought milk and cream at the same time in the same bottle.
* Sugar enjoyed a good press in those days, and was regarded as being white gold.
* Lettuce and tomatoes in winter were just a rumour.
* Most soft fruits were seasonal except perhaps at Christmas.
* Prunes were medicinal.
* Surprisingly muesli was readily available in those days, it was called cattle feed.
* Turkeys were definitely seasonal.
* Pineapples came in chunks in a tin; we had only ever seen a picture of a real one.
* We didn't eat Croissants in those days because we couldn't pronounce them,
we couldn't spell them and we didn't know what they were.
* We thought that Baguettes were a serious problem the French needed to deal with.
* Garlic was used to ward off vampires, but never used to flavour bread.
* Water came out of the tap, if someone had suggested bottling it and charging treble for it they would have become a laughing stock.
* Food hygiene was all about washing your hands before meals.
* Campylobacter, Salmonella, E.coli, Listeria, and Botulism were all called "food poisoning."
* The one thing that we never ever had on our table in the fifties …. elbows.
 

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I'm am trying to find a Francise Day who went to Beeches Rd School in the 1940s she had triplet sisters a lot younger than her,I think they lived in Smalldale road on Beeches Est,I also recall that she once worked at my mothers hair dressers in Birdbrook Rd in the late 1950s
 
Hi,
I remember every point you have made, all very true.
Alan Glover used to live in a cul-de-sac, it was off the Queslet Road by the M6 Flyover, John Davies lived next door to him.
I remember Harold standing Victor Otte on stage and introducing him, telling us we must not do this or that, and within months he had Victor back on the stage calling him
all sorts.
I was there 1961-1966
 
Yes I remember those days I used to take the shells around the class rooms & collect the money,My name is Brian Harding & attended Beeches Rd School from 1939 till1944 Mr Warterton was the headmaster & he was an absolute bully,he would be locked up in this day & age for the way he treated the kids.Do you remember Mr Roberts who seemed to smoke 100 woodbines a day !!

I remember all points raised, I think the shells were a penny and a halfpenny and were traded in for a drink and two slices of bread and jam. Miss Goodall and Doogood were two of the lady teachers. There were concrete air raid shelters on the right hand side of the driveway from the main entrance and I remember also adjacent was a place where they used to drop a delivery of dried milk.
 
I lived in Bradfield Road which was adjacent to Smalldale road and there were triplets living there. Margaret Elizabeth and Ann Eaton. Sister Tessy and oldest sibling Tony.
 
I remember the triplets, quite a novelty on the estate in those days. I also remember looking at two or three houses in Bradfield Road which were seriously damaged by bombs.
 
I lived in Bradfield Road which was adjacent to Smalldale road and there were triplets living there. Margaret Elizabeth and Ann Eaton. Sister Tessy and oldest sibling Tony.
I remember them very well didn't they have an older sister called Frances !! But I thought that the surname was Day I may well be wrong I think it's called "old age".I used to deliver the newspapers to those roads for Fanshaws News agents in Thornbridge Ave
 
Apologies for intruding but I was at Beeches Road (1938-1944) and two of those names strike a chord - Brian Persil & Jack Crampton.
 
I remember the triplets, quite a novelty on the estate in those days. I also remember looking at two or three houses in Bradfield Road which were seriously damaged by bombs.
I lived at 39 which in addition to 37 was unscathed. The next three houses were not so lucky as an aerial torpedo landed in their gardens. The crater was enormous. Also opposite our house a separate bomb had fallen and damaged two of the other houses in the loop of the cul-de-sac. I remember I used to practise my trumpet playing in one of them during my days in the ATC.
 
Apologies for intruding but I was at Beeches Road (1938-1944) and two of those names strike a chord - Brian Persil & Jack Crampton.

I was at Beeches Road the same dates as you then moved to Birchfield Road School in Perry Barr
 
I've been looking at some of your photo's & I see that you lived in Grindelford Rd,did you know Alfred Holder he was a friend of mine at school & he lived in the same rd,Do you also remember those very snowy winters we used to get in the 1940s & sledging down the field at the top of Sandy Lane !!,I lived in Holmesfield Rd off Thornbridge Ave
Brian

Intruding again; I knew Alfie Holder and Norman Jewel and his brother and sister. Ronnie Langford Reggie and Gordon Smith.Nicky Baxindale Peter Barber Ronnie Hoult
Jimmy Whitmore Kenny Tighe David Pope Donald Paul Irene Underhill Charlie Sitch and everybody who used to play snooker at the community hall at the top of Hassop Road,
 
I remember them very well didn't they have an older sister called Frances !! But I thought that the surname was Day I may well be wrong I think it's called "old age".I used to deliver the newspapers to those roads for Fanshaws News agents in Thornbridge Ave
Definitely Eaton I would know as Tessy was my first love. I associate Francis with a girl named Evans who lived exactly opposite in the loop. The only Day I can recall was a girl named Irene. The only papers we had delivered was on Sunday which was News of the World and Sunday Mercury.
 
Hello Maryd

I can remember quite a few evil things that Mr Edge did, the worst was when our Headgirl (Pam i think) became pregnant. He stood her up in front of the School assembly and told us all how she had let him and the whole School down. She was, of course, demoted from being Headgirl. If you were one of his favourites your were fine, if not then look out, as you can guess i was not one of his favourites.

Kind regards
Nick
I was at Aldridge Road 1944 - 1948 and always found Harold Edge to be firm but fair. How many of us old uns when viewing the youngsters of today blame the
teachers of today for the behaviour of the youngsters. I don't think I would have been 'hard' enough to do what Mr Edge did but then again you have to look at the long picture. My feeling is he did just that and sacrificed one for the future good of a few hundred others.
 
Hi old plumber
Just been reading your thread and I see you have mentionioned some old school friends and one was Ronnie Langford
And you said he had an older sister called Frances and so did my old friend Ronnie whom had an older sister called Francis
I wonder if we are talking the same Ronnie, I recently tracked him down after at least forty years ago and spoke on the phone and I actually got to visit him
Through some one on this forum contact me and put us in touch we spoke by phone and I gave him a surprise visit
We had a lot of catching up we did and a lot of laughs of the old days we done when we was in a gang
And we had a good lot of bevvys at that meeting I did promise I will call again in the near future
Ronnie lives on his own and as Christmas is comming I will make a point of seeing him before then
He did tell mefrancis comes from time to time I think it was Milton Keyes along with a younger sister whom also lives in thast neck of the woods
Have a nice day best wishes Astonian,,,,,,
 
I lived at 39 which in addition to 37 was unscathed. The next three houses were not so lucky as an aerial torpedo landed in their gardens. The crater was enormous. Also opposite our house a separate bomb had fallen and damaged two of the other houses in the loop of the cul-de-sac. I remember I used to practise my trumpet playing in one of them during my days in the ATC.
Norman Jewel is in both pics in the thread 'Grindleford Road Kids WW2 Germans on our Play Field'. In the top pic he is immediately to the right of the girl. In the bottom pic he is second from right sitting down.

I walked round to Bradfield Rd to see the bomb damage and remember seeing a bed in a bedroom with walls missing. I mentioned one of my bomb experiences in the thread 'Air Raid Shelters'.

I joined the ATC and the meetings were held in a hut opposite the Clifton Cinema. Being in the ATC got me into the RAF when I was called up for National Service.

A pic of the Beeches Estate being built is shown in a thread click/here.

Just a query have you got any old photos from those times to upload ?
 
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