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Cathcart Street

Hello Gerald
Sorry I' ve just been to the dentist so I might be writing a bit funny.HaHa. Had a raging pain which seemed like toothache but good news? Its not a bad tooth but some kind of infection in the lymph glands on the side of my face. Going to the 'quack' tonight for anti biotics.
So first your question re. shop on corner of Duddeston Mill Road and Devon St opposite the'Vic'. Yes owned by my parents and later my brother. Somewhere I have a good picture of the inside with mother at the counter. Must find it and put on forum.
I have no idea who lived in 47 Cathcart St. before we moved in. But I do remember the wall mounted gas lamps on the bedroom walls.
I confess I did once turn one on and there was a rush of gas!
Yes I still live in Brum. Used to be called Great Barr but now changed to Old Oscott. Was born in the city at No. 38 Garrison street opposite Wrights Ropes. Lived all my life within different districts. For a very short time in about 1937 we moved into Kingstanding at Dormington Road. But in those hard times it was better to stay near family so we moved back to the inner city at Lawley St before being bombed out. As I've mentioned we finally ended up in Cathcart St. You are so right what happened to the folks we lived among. In the rush to modernise we lost contact between the next door neighbour and that spirit of help each other.
Talking about seeing cows my first taste of country side was when I was evacuated to Burbage in Leicestershire.
Will look out that photo of the shop we talked about.
Les.
 
lesg128 said:
Hello Gerald
Sorry I' ve just been to the dentist so I might be writing a bit funny.HaHa. Had a raging pain which seemed like toothache but good news? Its not a bad tooth but some kind of infection in the lymph glands on the side of my face. Going to the 'quack' tonight for anti biotics.
So first your question re. shop on corner of Duddeston Mill Road and Devon St opposite the'Vic'. Yes owned by my parents and later my brother. Somewhere I have a good picture of the inside with mother at the counter. Must find it and put on forum.
I have no idea who lived in 47 Cathcart St. before we moved in. But I do remember the wall mounted gas lamps on the bedroom walls.
I confess I did once turn one on and there was a rush of gas!
Yes I still live in Brum. Used to be called Great Barr but now changed to Old Oscott. Was born in the city at No. 38 Garrison street opposite Wrights Ropes. Lived all my life within different districts. For a very short time in about 1937 we moved into Kingstanding at Dormington Road. But in those hard times it was better to stay near family so we moved back to the inner city at Lawley St before being bombed out. As I've mentioned we finally ended up in Cathcart St. You are so right what happened to the folks we lived among. In the rush to modernise we lost contact between the next door neighbour and that spirit of help each other.
Talking about seeing cows my first taste of country side was when I was evacuated to Burbage in Leicestershire.
Will look out that photo of the shop we talked about.
Les.
Click to expand...

Hello Les.. I hope the antibiotics work wonders for you. I have been looking up a few more things about our old street. I had a brother but we got split up in the war and were brought up by different families, I had excellent adoptive parents at 59 Cathcart Street. A few yeas ago the government contacted to say my brother had died and if he owed any tax money I would have to pay. That was when I first got a full and proper birth certificate. It was very difficult to read the writing but my sons have had it under a glass and wait for it, I was born at number 47, the house with all the metal work in the cellar, the house you lived in. The Dixons did live there when I was born and their eldest daughter became the lead dancer with the Tiller Girls. I kept in touch with the son but a couple of yeas ago I did not get any replies so I expect he passed away. he was the same age as me. Catch up some more very soon...Garden Gerald.
 
Hi Gerald
Your info on your private life is astounding I am just a bit concerned about it being freely available!!
gardengerald said:
Hello Les.. I hope the antibiotics work wonders for you. I have been looking up a few more things about our old street. I had a brother but we got split up in the war and were brought up by different families, I had excellent adoptive parents at 59 Cathcart Street. A few yeas ago the government contacted to say my brother had died and if he owed any tax money I would have to pay. That was when I first got a full and proper birth certificate. It was very difficult to read the writing but my sons have had it under a glass and wait for it, I was born at number 47, the house with all the metal work in the cellar, the house you lived in. The Dixons did live there when I was born and their eldest daughter became the lead dancer with the Tiller Girls. I kept in touch with the son but a couple of yeas ago I did not get any replies so I expect he passed away. he was the same age as me. Catch up some more very soon...Garden Gerald.
Click to expand...
 
Hi gardenergerald
What a tremendous coincidence we both lived in 47 Cathcart street. If you like we can also email each other with anything we feel is personal.
gardengerald said:
Hello Les.. I hope the antibiotics work wonders for you. I have been looking up a few more things about our old street. I had a brother but we got split up in the war and were brought up by different families, I had excellent adoptive parents at 59 Cathcart Street. A few yeas ago the government contacted to say my brother had died and if he owed any tax money I would have to pay. That was when I first got a full and proper birth certificate. It was very difficult to read the writing but my sons have had it under a glass and wait for it, I was born at number 47, the house with all the metal work in the cellar, the house you lived in. The Dixons did live there when I was born and their eldest daughter became the lead dancer with the Tiller Girls. I kept in touch with the son but a couple of yeas ago I did not get any replies so I expect he passed away. he was the same age as me. Catch up some more very soon...Garden Gerald.
Click to expand...
 
gardengerald said:
Hello Les.. I hope the antibiotics work wonders for you. I have been looking up a few more things about our old street. I had a brother but we got split up in the war and were brought up by different families, I had excellent adoptive parents at 59 Cathcart Street. A few yeas ago the government contacted to say my brother had died and if he owed any tax money I would have to pay. That was when I first got a full and proper birth certificate. It was very difficult to read the writing but my sons have had it under a glass and wait for it, I was born at number 47, the house with all the metal work in the cellar, the house you lived in. The Dixons did live there when I was born and their eldest daughter became the lead dancer with the Tiller Girls. I kept in touch with the son but a couple of yeas ago I did not get any replies so I expect he passed away. he was the same age as me. Catch up some more very soon...Garden Gerald
Click to expand...
 
hi again gerald
Sorry if this may seem disjointed.First the Dr did not dispense ani-biotics for my tooth problem. Said my bodies natural defences would take care of it! Gave me some stronger painkillers and told me to come back in a couple of weeks. He disputes the dentists findings. So contacted the dentist who has arranged a review visit in about 3 weeks. So much for NHS.
I have sent you a message with my email address but apparently if we use conversation on this forum for sensitive material we are o.k.
So you were born at 47 what a surprise. What was No.59 like, was the layout identical.Had they also got the extension for kitchen and outdoor toilet?
The Dixons, you say they had a daughter who was a Tiller lead dancer. Is there any connection between her and the Laura Dixon Dance Studio in the city centre. I met my wife there in 1955. Oh how I remember those days.
On another subject I have just learned about a TV program called Peaky Blinders all about gangs who terrorised the Bordesley,Small Heath area back in the 1920's. I was born in Garrison St near the area they frequented,so its possible my parents would have known about them. But I can assure you during my early years I have no recollections of trouble. Must do a bit of research.
Sorry to hear about the loss of your brother,my brother Bill also passed away in 1995. But I still have an older sister name Sheila she used to be a Bus Clippie in the 50's.
Good to keep in contact
Les
 
hi, i must admit this has been very enlightening to read.
I am trying to do my son in laws family tree for him and just found that his grandmother was a resident of Cathcart street, her name was daisy jones ( 1919- 2003 ) i believe her parents were George Albert and Rosa ( nee longdon ) Jones and lived at number 39 cathcart street. Daisy married John Roland Hughes ( he was living in cromwell street ) on the 27th April 1940 , he was a metal roller and daisy was an airplane parts dismantler i assume at the spitfire plant at castle bromwich ( was the jaguar car plant ). so reading about the neighbourhood and the houses has given me an incite into life in Birmingham during those turbulant, yet fun filled years.
tim
 
timgriffiths said:
hi, i must admit this has been very enlightening to read.
I am trying to do my son in laws family tree for him and just found that his grandmother was a resident of Cathcart street, her name was daisy jones ( 1919- 2003 ) i believe her parents were George Albert and Rosa ( nee longdon ) Jones and lived at number 39 cathcart street. Daisy married John Roland Hughes ( he was living in cromwell street ) on the 27th April 1940 , he was a metal roller and daisy was an airplane parts dismantler i assume at the spitfire plant at castle bromwich ( was the jaguar car plant ). so reading about the neighbourhood and the houses has given me an incite into life in Birmingham during those turbulant, yet fun filled years.
tim
Click to expand...

Hi Tim
My family lived in Cathcart Street- No.47 - from about 1942 to 1970. We moved their after being bombed out of Lawley Street.
Yes the information from members given about Cathcart St. is correct. I remember it being quiet, as children we did not play too much in the street but mainly used a bomb site at the back of the house. This was a large space bordered by Inkerman Street and Galton St.
No. 47 was some distance from your grandmothers house which would be near the corner of Cathcart and Galton srteets at the river Rea end of the Street. I believe that some houses were true back-to back and a few ours included had been modified to more of a villa type house. If you look at the map supplied by Mikejee you can see extensions at the rear.
Another of our members 'gardenergerald' is a very good source of the history of Cathcart St. I will ask him to have a look at the names you have given. he has a marvellous memory. With my limited knowledge 1942 to 1957 the only names of people living their is Mrs Foden an elderly women and her daughter (a Nurse) who lived next door at No. 45 and a Mr Trouton living at the back.
Les Green.
 
lesg128 said:
Hi Tim
My family lived in Cathcart Street- No.47 - from about 1942 to 1970. We moved their after being bombed out of Lawley Street.
Yes the information from members given about Cathcart St. is correct. I remember it being quiet, as children we did not play too much in the street but mainly used a bomb site at the back of the house. This was a large space bordered by Inkerman Street and Galton St.
No. 47 was some distance from your grandmothers house which would be near the corner of Cathcart and Galton srteets at the river Rea end of the Street. I believe that some houses were true back-to back and a few ours included had been modified to more of a villa type house. If you look at the map supplied by Mikejee you can see extensions at the rear.
Another of our members 'gardenergerald' is a very good source of the history of Cathcart St. I will ask him to have a look at the names you have given. he has a marvellous memory. With my limited knowledge 1942 to 1957 the only names of people living their is Mrs Foden an elderly women and her daughter (a Nurse) who lived next door at No. 45 and a Mr Trouton living at the back.
Les Green.
Click to expand...

timgriffiths said:
hi, i must admit this has been very enlightening to read.
I am trying to do my son in laws family tree for him and just found that his grandmother was a resident of Cathcart street, her name was daisy jones ( 1919- 2003 ) i believe her parents were George Albert and Rosa ( nee longdon ) Jones and lived at number 39 cathcart street. Daisy married John Roland Hughes ( he was living in cromwell street ) on the 27th April 1940 , he was a metal roller and daisy was an airplane parts dismantler i assume at the spitfire plant at castle bromwich ( was the jaguar car plant ). so reading about the neighbourhood and the houses has given me an incite into life in Birmingham during those turbulant, yet fun filled years.
tim
Click to expand...

Hi Tim,

My paternal grandmother was Daisy Jones' sister, Nellie Jones, I'm not sure how far you have got with your research as this post was from some time ago but if I can help in any way with the Jones/Longdon side I would be more than happy to do so as luckily my father (Nellie's son) is still alive and has quite a good memory and has been very useful for my research.

Sandra
 
Hi Lesg128,

I was born at 63 Cathcart Street in 1950. I don't think my parents lived there that long but there's always an off-chance you might remember them, our surname is Bedford, Mum was Irish and Dad was mixed race.
We moved back up to Yorkshire about nine months after I was born, I have a sister who was three at the time and a brother who was six.
Obviously I don't remember Brum as I was only months old when we left but I would love to know more about where I was born. Cheers, Denis
 
yorkieinlincs said:
Hi Lesg128,

I was born at 63 Cathcart Street in 1950. I don't think my parents lived there that long but there's always an off-chance you might remember them, our surname is Bedford, Mum was Irish and Dad was mixed race.
We moved back up to Yorkshire about nine months after I was born, I have a sister who was three at the time and a brother who was six.
Obviously I don't remember Brum as I was only months old when we left but I would love to know more about where I was born. Cheers, Denis
Click to expand...
Hi Denis
Welcome to Birmingham History. I hope you have managed to catch up with all the news on Neighbours & Streets.
Yes I lived in Cathcart Street between 1943 and 1957. We moved there, that is my Mother Annie ,Father Jim together with my Brother Bill and Sister Sheila.
Our move to the Street was forced. Almost all our family the Green's and the Burt's had lived in Lawley St.; near the railway sidings for years but one night Birmingham was heavily bombed with an attempt to demolish the railway and both our family and Grandad' house were hit.
That is when in 1943 we moved to Cathcart St.
I can vividly remember lying in bed listening to the sounds of the railway engines and an occasional German Dornier flying over. I can also remember as a child playing in the street. Our next door neighbour was a Nellie Foden who had a daughter who was a nurse. Sadly I seem to recall the daughter in her later years was diagnosed with cancer.
Unfortunately I did not get to know many people in Cathcart St. except the Fodens and another family called Trouton.
Nice to hear someone from Yorkshire. My wifes mothers family were born there and from what my wife (now deceased)
told me they were real family. She loved them all.
Well goodluck with all the stories that people have published but if I can help please let me know.
Les:)
 
Hello,
Thank you to everyone for the information on Cathcart Street, very interesting. I wondered if anyone knew of William and Mary Young who lived at 32 Cathcart Street around 1917? I don't know exactly when they moved there but they had a son, John, in 1917. I'm trying to trace my family history and would welcome any information.
 
Hi my Nan was Ivy Ethel Thompson
Her parents were Eli and Fanny
Her Siblings were Alice, Albert,Eli and lily
I believe they lived at number 6 or 3
 
Eli and Fanny are listed at no. 4 on the ERs up to the 1930s and his son, Charles and his wife until 1950s.
 
MWS said:
Eli and Fanny are listed at no. 4 on the ERs up to the 1930s and his son, Charles and his wife until 1950s.
Click to expand...
Hi
Thank you for this information
I have Eli living at number 9 in 1891 he was 14 with his father George and mother Emma also sister Clara
In 1911 his occupation is listed as a gas stoker and he lived with his family
 
So your family were in Cathcart St for a good few years.

Eli appears to be in hospital on the 1939 register, whilst Fanny is living on Ralph Road, having remarried.
 
Seems to be a completely unrelated (James) Eli Thompson in hospital in 1939, sorry.

Eli Charles (son) appears to have died in 1932, just a year or so after he married?
 
MWS said:
Seems to be a completely unrelated (James) Eli Thompson in hospital in 1939, sorry.

Eli Charles (son) appears to have died in 1932, just a year or so after he married?
Click to expand...
Thank you for all of this information!!
My dad Ivy Ethel’s son , did say ‘Sonny’ Eli died young
Who was Fanny remarried too ?
I believe there was also a son called Len but havnt found him on records yet
 
Fanny married Alfred Batson, she died in 1942.

Leonard was born 16 May 1920 and died in 1975. He and Alice are with there mom at Ralph Road in 1939.
 
I am also researching the Burnside family
John and Jeanie Burnside from Lanark Glasgow moved to Birmingham
Children
James Wallace, Margaret, Elizabeth,John,James. Jeanie and Agnes
Agnes was my dads,dads mother
I believe James Wallace was a safe maker and the family owned the Burnside safe company but have been unable to find any information on this
 
Can only see 2 mentions of Burnside in relation to safes in Bham newspapers.

One is at the death of James, he is described as a safe manufacturer. And the other is in a case against the Birmingham Safe Company of 44 Coleshill St for the illicit exportation of arms - 10 Jul 1902 - Mr Burnside (no first name) is described as Manager.
 
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