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They Were Caught In Our Old Street Pics...

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I love this 1930s photo, its sunny with blossom on the trees, nice bus shelters. That bowler hatted man marching towards Snow Hill Station, he's in a hurry, maybe he's late back from lunch. Is that a teenage schoolboy arm-in-arm with his mum, probably hoping his school mates did not see the photo !
Colmore_Row_1930s~0.jpg
 
This is real quality, a superb scene indeed. Slight changes by 2020 !!
Hi, there is the better quality original photo in the post below and also a 'now' photo.
oldmohawk .. :)
In 1934 Phyllis Nicklin took photos in Colmore Row and an 'errand boy' in a hurry standing on the pedals accelerating until he is a blur in the pic. The front wheel might be slightly smaller than the back wheel.
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And a Now picture ...
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I think the chap in the foreground is somewhat older than a schoolboy, judging by his size. He appears to be wearing a deerstalker hat (or similar) which adds to the confusion.

Couple on Colmore Row 1934.jpg
 
I think the chap in the foreground is somewhat older than a schoolboy, judging by his size. He appears to be wearing a deerstalker hat (or similar) which adds to the confusion.

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When I started the thread 7 years ago :rolleyes: I uploaded a lot of posts on May 16 and tended to see what I wanted to see. Since then I've looked at Phyliss Nicklin's actual photo and thought perhaps he wasn't a schoolboy but it's a 'light hearted' thread and I thought it was amusing at the time ...:)
 
I think the chap in the foreground is somewhat older than a schoolboy, judging by his size. He appears to be wearing a deerstalker hat (or similar) which adds to the confusion.

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I'm sorry but I tend to disagree. I believe he is a schoolboy, albeit of about 16 or so years old. He looks to me a typical, if ever there is one, "grammar" school boy and the hat he's wearing looks to me more of a school cap than a deerstalker, it even has what appears to be a school badge on it. Right up until the 70s certain grammar schools insisted on boys of up to 17yrs of age to wear a cap. He certainly looks a lot younger than the lady accompanying him. The coat he wears looks to be gaberdine "mac", again typical part of a grammar school uniform. As for his size,, at the age of 15 I was a good head above my mom so I don't really think his height can be a factor.
 
I'm sorry but I tend to disagree. I believe he is a schoolboy, albeit of about 16 or so years old. He looks to me a typical, if ever there is one, "grammar" school boy and the hat he's wearing looks to me more of a school cap than a deerstalker, it even has what appears to be a school badge on it. Right up until the 70s certain grammar schools insisted on boys of up to 17yrs of age to wear a cap. He certainly looks a lot younger than the lady accompanying him. The coat he wears looks to be gaberdine "mac", again typical part of a grammar school uniform. As for his size,, at the age of 15 I was a good head above my mom so I don't really think his height can be a factor.
He has a boys face, that is a young face, not a man mid thirties. Not to be argumentative, if only we could enhance that hat. They could if it was CIS Las Vegas or NCIS!!!!!

Bob
 
It is interesting what Phyliss Nicklin captured in that photo.
She was probably photographing the demolition of the Bluecoats school but that man marching across the road (I made up a story about him) and the 'errand boy' on his bike, and the couple in the foreground.
Then there is the optical illusion where the bus shelters appear to be the other side of the railings in the churchyard ... there was much discussion about that some 2000 posts ago .... :)
 
In these days of 'lockdown' I wander through the old posts and back in 2016 (post#1964) we had thoughts about the lady in this pic taken in Northwood Street. Someone suggested her name was Mrs Fagin ... ;)
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"oldMohawk's" photo show's something interesting apart from the kids. Above the window to the left is what appears to be a miniature "potted" garden. Someone has obviously tried to liven a rather drab frontage with pot plants though to the right appears a children's toy house. It's also interesting to see that the window frame apears to be supported by a couple of posts. Was it in fact "coming adrift?" as the widow to the right is not supported. Then, the question, what are the kids up to. The one's at the front on the roadway may have a 'delivery' job. OldBrummie.
 
"oldMohawk's" photo show's something interesting apart from the kids. Above the window to the left is what appears to be a miniature "potted" garden. Someone has obviously tried to liven a rather drab frontage with pot plants though to the right appears a children's toy house. It's also interesting to see that the window frame apears to be supported by a couple of posts. Was it in fact "coming adrift?" as the widow to the right is not supported. Then, the question, what are the kids up to. The one's at the front on the roadway may have a 'delivery' job. OldBrummie.
OldBrummie, yes quite a contrast to Northwood business lady's house with it closed shutters. She appears to like her workers similarly dressed in their jackets, waistcoats, and same caps.
oldmohawk ... :)
 
Wandering through the thread I spotted this ... anyone from Health & Safety cover your eyes !
This is one of my favourite photos...already been on the wheeler st thread but this one has far better clarity...man being very brave leaning out backwards to clean the windows and what i did not notice until now the lady next door at her window.. if you click on the pic 3 times the faces of both are so clear..be great if anyone knew who they were..
Wheeler st dated 1967
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hi mort that is possible but to me they just look as though they have had a bit of a spruce up as so many did..ie brickwork and some new window sills...how well i remember shopping with our mom up and down wheeler st and that photo still gives me the shudders looking at the man leaning out of the window that high up :rolleyes:

lyn
 
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hi mort that is possible but to me they just look as though they have had a bit of a spruce up as so many did..ie brickwork and some new window sills...how well i remember shopping with our mom up and down wheeler st and that photo still gives me the shudders looking at the man leaning out of the window that high up :rolleyes:

lyn
And how right you were to shudder. My Gt.Grandmother's second husband was a window cleaner and indeed died from such a fall in 1946. He died in the General hospital after sustaining injuries, broken spine and pelvis, after falling 20 feet during the course of his trade.
I never met him as he died before I was born but it seems he was a bit accident prone. His service record from WW1 states he was discharged from the army after an "accident with a rifle" ! :eek: Jim
 
gosh how awful jim...my dad was also a window cleaner and very often myself and our kid would go round collecting his window money for him at the end of the week..for a small consideration of course...happy days :)

lyn
 
Gosh Jim that is quite sad. When I went into the building trade at 16 there were around 300 fatality’s a year. Most of them were ladders accident or falls from height.
 
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