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Birmingham Great War Trail appeal

A

Alan Tucker

master brummie
A while back I started a thread to get some reaction to the Centenary of the Great War in 1914. The Birmingham branch of the Western Front Association has started to collect information on Birmingham sites relevant to the period 1914-1918. We currently have 112. We may have missed some. War memorials (particularly anything a bit different), memorials to VCs, memorials to individuals in churches etc, buildings still existing, commemorations, sites once important and what is there now (e.g. munitions factories). All aspects of the war covered.
 
Hi Alan

Haven't forgot your request for 20 memorials. I will bring the info when we meet on the 10th. Meanwhile, I have put some of the memorials on the History image hosting site.

Tony
 
1914/1918 war. Nothing against our soldiers; but I wonder what the result for Britain would have been if it had ignored the whole thing and let them all get on with it. Sacrifice is what we are remembering...was it for freedom...would we have been any less free if this one had been sat out? Britain was pretty much bankrupt after that war which hampered it's endeavours from then on...but worse were the results of the loss of manpower, loss of tallent and potential talent. We remember of course but not like we remember the great victory at Trafalgar; which must have some meaning.
 
Interesting point Rupert, Bernard recently started a thread which included a transcript of a letter by a soldier at the front. He said "its pontless", and he was right there in the middle of it. Now of course we have a highly modified version of events to reflect upon.

Back to the topic in hand, Alan; I have a friend whose uncle is buried in Aston Parish church. Alf Wilcox was awarded the VC; his precise grave is not known although there is a memorial to him at the back of Aston Parish Church.

He has connections with Moseley as well in that he was, after the war, landlord ofwhat used to the Trafalgar. More details are avalible.

 
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A head stone for Alf Wilcox was erected in 2006.


A_Wilcox_VC.JPG


Colin
 
Sorry Rupert - you have been watching too much Black Adder and Oh What a Lovely War! All war is wasteful and the nature of the stalemate in the trenches and modern industrialised warfare made it even more so. But our own security would have been at risk if the German Navy had taken control of the Channel ports following a military defeat of France. The economic consequences of German dominated continent would also have been very serious (just like a Napoleonic dominated Europe). The integrity of Belgium was also an important issue if not the most important. It does not seem as black and white as 1939 and today we might not think that fighting to preserve the Empire as well might not be praiseworthy but standing aside was not an option.
 
Agree with Alan. The archives show that Germany had detailed plans about the "germanisation" of Belgium, and a series of forts on the channel towns, and the isolation of Britain from Europe so that they could develop a large merchant marine and Navy. War would have come with disputes over colonies and we would not have had France with us. If Germany had agreed to withdrtaw from French and Belgian Soil at any time, the war would have ended.
 
You know, most of this was achieved 20 years later anyway. At a time when Britain was still suffering from manpower losses and treasure losses from taking part in WW1. It all ended badly for the other side...they could not hang on to their vastly increased territory with longer lines of communication. They would have been streached thinly in a hostile environment back then also; had they reached the channel. Then what.
 
Can I just remind members that this thread is drifting slightly' off topic' the thread was about Birmingham memorials etc. relevant to 1914-1918.
Thanks :encouragement:
 
It would be nice to see a few more church memorials. The problem we have is most churches are closed week days and have sevices on Sunday so may not appriciate snappers in the church.
 
The problem is rupert you cannot have peace without war, this country was not the aggressor in either of the great European wars of the last century had we not intervened then Europe and us would have been controlled by Germany, if you want to feel sad for anybody the Poor French were invaded by Germany,no less than 5 times between 1850 and 1940. The same with 18/19th century's when France was the great great aggressor this country was always the saviour of Europe militarily. The young lads had no say in the matter and it will be the same in the future too, sadly.
paul
 
Thanks for that Paul. But I am mindfull of straying from the thread and this side topic might make for an interesting discourse elswhere...perhaps in WW1. section.
Rupert.
 
Hi Wendy
I have tried to post pictures of Birmingham War Memorials but it appears I need permission!!!!. Instead I have started putting them in the Birmingham History Imaging section.

Tony
 
TopsyTurvey

This is one I have not come across. Could you provide its location and address please as I would very much like to add it to my database,

Thank you

Tony
 
I will sort out the link to the instructions when I get back to the PC.

Sent from my HTC Wildfire using Tapatalk
 
Old Bill. This came from St Georges Church Newtown .The original Church is no longer there . I am not sure but there are a couple of pictures on the St Georges thread of the inside of the old church. They could be the same inscriptions as in one of the pics.
 
In the Birmingham Mail, Thursday 10 November, there is a very detailed and moving tribute to the 20 Birmingham Mail staff who lost their lives in the First World War. It includes a little personal information on each of the soldiers - their parents names, and wives if married, address, who they served under, when and where they died and where they were buried. Almost half have no known grave....One Cpl. Edward Parker, a 26 year old newspaper clerk of Balsall Heath of the 1/6th battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment died on the first day of the Somme. He had previously been awarded the Military Medal. His name is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial....All 20 names are recorded on a memorial in the Birmingham Mail Newsroom.

Also shown in the article is a photo of a war memorial plaque in the BPM offices in Fort Dunlop. Doesn't say whether it is the First World War or not. Unfortunatelt it is impossible to read. Hope this helps....Florence
 
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