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Memorial found in a skip

Peter, in your attachment to post #216 I notice that the young man's mother comes third in the bereaved list after her dead husband (second) and the boy's uncle who, because he was a 'Sir' came first.

Alan, you post #228 - our church had a very serious fire in 1965 and was almost entirely re-built but I don't remember any fire damage on the memorial as the fire started at the other end of the building.
St Michael's memorial has a good range of ages for the men so I'm still going along with the church memorial theory, at least so far.
 
Peter, in your attachment to post #216 I notice that the young man's mother comes third in the bereaved list after her dead husband (second) and the boy's uncle who, because he was a 'Sir' came first.

Alan, you post #228 - our church had a very serious fire in 1965 and was almost entirely re-built but I don't remember any fire damage on the memorial as the fire started at the other end of the building.
St Michael's memorial has a good range of ages for the men so I'm still going along with the church memorial theory, at least so far.
My observations were based on the report - such as it was for a newspaper - and the photographs, plus experience. ;) Your church, was fortunate, in so far as some artefacts are concerned it seems.
 
Re #260 Nearby is St John & St Martin RC Church. Also a Pentecostal Church.
Also the Gospel Hall which was in Wenman Street at the relevant time .

Lyn - I did wonder but it was demolished in 1970 which means the "plaque" was homeless a long time.

Just found that in the records at the library for St Thomas there is reference to "Faculty for the erection of a war memorial tablet inside the church. Dated 1923"
 
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jan do we know for certain that the plaque has only been homeless for about 5 years which i believe is when it was handed in..the postmans plaque was homeless for over 40 years...this is me just mulling again lol

lyn

St. Thomas in the Moors Church, Cox St West, Balsall Heath was built in the Gothic style and designed by Bateman and Corser. It was consecrated in 1883. A parish was assigned out of St. Paul's, Balsall Heath the following year (1884). The living which was a vicarage since 1884 was in the gift of public trustees. Part of the parish was taken to form part of the parish of St. Patrick, Bordesley in 1900. From 1923 until the Second World War a parochial hall in Clevedon St was licensed for public worship. In May 1955 the parish of St. Thomas in the Moors, Balsall Heath was united with that of St. Mary and St. Ambrose and the church ceased to be used as a place of worship
 
Not wishing to rain on a party :D, but a Memorial Tablet is usually, I believe, made from some type of stone.
 
Viv,

I'll add a bit more about James Alfred MASON, although he comes under the "Unaccounted for" category in RAF terms. At the time of his death he was serving at RAF Aston Down (formerly RAF Minchinhampton during WW1) in Gloucestershire with 55 Operational Training Unit and flying a Typhoon 1b serial number JP433. His service record and flying logbook are, like all of those relating to WW2, still with the RAF and have not yet been released to the National Archives.

During the two years previous to his death on 20 March 1945, JP433 had been involved in several crashes with other pilots and had been patched up, but I fear we are not going to get information about the circumstances of his death until the records are released for public consumption.

Maurice
 
Got it now. The palm frond signifies victory over death. (Good old Google !)

It does indeed, its just that these 'feathers' did not quite strike me as palm fronds which tended to be from the Victorian times. Ill look at it again soon.
 
I wonder if we could track down any former members of the congregation of the Church of Christ, Moseley Road, which closed in 1980 when the (United Reformed) congregation there moved to the new St Paul’s church centre on Edward Road to join with the Anglicans? It’s the building I mentioned in post #187 (with the skip photographed outside in c.2010!), which is now the Islamic Relief Centre. It would fit with the geographical focus and (what seems to me) the Non-Conformist overtones in the choice of epithet.

There’s also St Mark’s Mission church on Wenman Street to consider.
 
i agree mrsfry it is worth looking into this church now...how weird it would be if we were to find out that the plaque was sitting in that skip outside all the time in 2010 ( see post187) ....stranger things have happened...:rolleyes: ps looking at street view i think there are 2 foundation stones on the front of the building...would be interesting to know what they say if anyone is passing that way

todays view



https://www.google.co.uk/maps/uv?hl...hUKEwib2eLs9fXdAhVICMAKHQo7Aq8Qpx8wDnoECAoQDg

lyn
 
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This morning I got an email from Rob Rolfe who started all of this.
"As a result of the BBC coverage, I am now pretty certain of the origin of the plaque. I will have to do a lot of checking, and still have no idea how it came to us. I will be in touch."
I have written back to ask what he's found.
 
Looks interesting ...

For information, three airmen died in the accident at RAF Aston Down on 20-Mar-1945,
Typhoon JP433 55OTU, collided with an Anson aircraft on approach to RAF Aston Down.
Mason James Alfred F/S (Birmingham)

Anson DJ471 was hit by a Typhoon JP433 55 O.T.U. whilst on approach at RAF Aston Down
Brown James Waldron T/O (Llandudno)
Hill Frank F/O (Hopton St Margaret)
 
Church of Christ was demolished by 2017 (?) - a few images on the link below but sadly no interior ones. The church suffered bomb damage in WW2.

Apparently there was a large house in the grounds used as a hall according to post #23 on that thread. It is also referred to as the ‘memorial hall’. Interesting.
https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/forum/index.php?threads/church-of-christ-sparkhill.48453/page-3
Viv

This may be irrelevant now that the origin of the plaque may be about to be unveiled (interesting! ), but I think the church that you are referrring to as demolished, Viv, is the Anglican church of Christ Church, Sparkbrook. Church of Christ, Moseley Road, was United Reformed. Awaiting the answer!
 
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