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Bannisters of Butler Street 1905

Greenstreet

New Member
My dad Charles Bannister lived at No 44 (?) Butler Street in 1905. He attended St Aidan's Chuch as a lad. The Priest (Fr. Dencer ) allowed the boy Charles to sit in the vicarage library there on wet days, mainly because Charles' mother found him a bit of a handful. FR. Dencer was my godfather. My dad left school at 12 years. but he was hooked on reading and remained so all his life. My grandfather William, previous to his marriage lived in Garrison Lane. He was skilled in instrument making, gunsights. clocks, watches etc. and worked at B.S.A.. My aunt Amice trained as a teacher and taught at Tindall Street before becoming a headmistress in Gloucesterhire (circa 1945). In 1944 I was taken to the Circus at the bottom end of New Street with all the kids she taught at Tindall Street. I still remember the beautiful lady contortionist who was billed as "The Boneless Wonder" Charles remembered being out of work for 3 years in 1926. Later he had various jobs, including Dunlop Rubber, Pearl Button cutting. Eventually he trained as a Psychiatric Nurse and worked at Rubery Asylum for the rest of his working life. He was a kind and gentle man who taught me many things. Years later (1970's) my son Tim, Williams great great grandson helped to start the Birmingham Wheels Project & Urban Farm almost under the shadow of St Aidan's. What goes around,comes around !
 
August 1943 from the Mail, Yvonne...

View attachment 139840
Thank you Yvonne. Wonderful you connected with my memory of almost 75 years ago. Made my life a bit more real Greenstreet. 10/12/19
August 1943 from the Mail, Yvonne...

View attachment 139840
Dear Yvonne, I've read your poster again and again. It brings back my circus visit so clearly. Now I am wondering. Would you be the Yvonne mentioned as a star on the poster. ? I'd dearly love to know, and to hear more about the life you had with the Circus. Or am I getting ahead of myself ? Best regards, Greensstreet
 
Hi Greensstreet, sorry I confused you, I am Pedro and not Yvonne. Thanks for bringing a circus performer, the Boneless Wonder to the attention of the Forum.
 
Was the Church that your father attended the St Aidan‘s in Herbert Street ? It is interesting as there is a Thread for All Saints, Small Heath, that was formerly known by that name before it became All Saints.

As it would be known by many as St. Aidan we come start a thread under that name and maybe more info can be found.
 
Thanks for your contribution, Greenstreet. The perfect first post, crammed with interesting information!

A couple of random comments....

Bannister is always an interesting family name for me. My father's mother was a Bannister - but her roots were all Black Country where the surname seems to have been very common.

Mention of the circus is also interesting. I have a clear memory of a visit myself, but I think it was the previous year, 1943, or perhaps even 1942. This is my memory, standing in New Street and looking across the Big Top site:

A vast expanse of flat ground, not a trace of the Victorian and Edwardian buildings which once towered there. Nothing. The rubble which spilled out over New Street the morning after the bombing has all gone and with it every vestige of this part of the earlier Birmingham. One can see right across to High Street where the row of buses probably includes our own. The flat area acquires the name of Big Top when a vast marquee is erected on it for the purpose of circus or other entertainment. I shall be there in a few weeks, as a treat for my birthday in early April, to see the circus. We will go on a day of strong wind and be surrounded by the noise of slapping canvas and creaking structure as we laugh at the clowns and watch the parading horses. It will be a relief to my mother to emerge unscathed. I shall find it all quite exciting and have no idea what she was so worried about. A day or so later, after a further increase in the strength of the winds, we will read in the Evening Mail that the tent has blown down.

No memory of Yvonne, regrettably......

Chris
 
Thanks for your contribution, Greenstreet. The perfect first post, crammed with interesting information!

A couple of random comments....

Bannister is always an interesting family name for me. My father's mother was a Bannister - but her roots were all Black Country where the surname seems to have been very common.

Mention of the circus is also interesting. I have a clear memory of a visit myself, but I think it was the previous year, 1943, or perhaps even 1942. This is my memory, standing in New Street and looking across the Big Top site:

A vast expanse of flat ground, not a trace of the Victorian and Edwardian buildings which once towered there. Nothing. The rubble which spilled out over New Street the morning after the bombing has all gone and with it every vestige of this part of the earlier Birmingham. One can see right across to High Street where the row of buses probably includes our own. The flat area acquires the name of Big Top when a vast marquee is erected on it for the purpose of circus or other entertainment. I shall be there in a few weeks, as a treat for my birthday in early April, to see the circus. We will go on a day of strong wind and be surrounded by the noise of slapping canvas and creaking structure as we laugh at the clowns and watch the parading horses. It will be a relief to my mother to emerge unscathed. I shall find it all quite exciting and have no idea what she was so worried about. A day or so later, after a further increase in the strength of the winds, we will read in the Evening Mail that the tent has blown down.

No memory of Yvonne, regrettably......

Chris

Evening Despatch 17 April 1943...

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