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Charles Harris Lodge Road

sylviasayers

master brummie
Astonian, just picking up on you mentioning that your dad worked for Charles Harris as a bakelite moulder in Lodge Road. Was that in Hockley, not far from the Flat? My mother worked there for years around the same time, she used to do something like trimming castor wheels, it was a dreadful place not a purpose built factory, but I recall going up a couple of steps into a small room like someone's front room, it was dirty and smelly and the last place she should have worked in as she had a bad heart and chronic bronchitis. My dad pleaded with her to give up her job but she was stubborn and liked having her own money, although my dad adored her and was a good provider. I often used to meet her from school or in the holidays and she would take me into Sally Ann's or Glarrys to buy me a dress or a skirt she had seen in their windows. She used to call her boss Carl, and I believe he lived in Bidford-on-Avon.
 
Re: CHARLES HARRIS'S IN LODGE ROAD.

:angel: ASTONIAN WROTE...
« Reply #32 on: June 23, 2006, 11:59:17 AM »

...DAD WOULD HAVE TO GET UP FOR WORK, WHOM WORKED AT CHARLES HARRIS,S IN LODGE ROAD, AS A BAKELITE MOULDER, HE WORKED THERE ALL HIS LIFE UNTIL HE DIED IN 1959 AT THE AGE OF 42, ...

Hi Sylvia and Astonian, Hope you don't mind I've moved your posts here. O0

Chris :angel:
 
good morning sylv, yes you was right it was along the flat just as you come to the end of the flat and start to go up the slight incline of lodge road ,and yes , you had to go up two steps and a little turn to your right then you was in the work place, one day my mom took me to the factory ,she had a problem , we went on the number eight bus from aston cross, as you say , we had to go up two steps , and by golly you was right, the smell of the fumes was over powering of the bakerlite , and i seen him working, and the confined space they had to work in, every body new him, and also my mom ,they was making castor wheel;s mainly because who she was, and carl and mom grew up in the same neck of woods, of worcestershire ,they are neibouring villages, bidford and cow honeybourne, and the jelf,s family was big land owners in them days , but also the fore fathers was high court people if you check records they all lived together in the same area, all lived less than 1oo yards apart there some of the sibling are still ther to day owing the land around worcestershire, some are top postions councilliors in oxford and mp,s in oxford, in the early days ; from 1905 or 1925 there grand father came from oxford to worcester and he was a high court, and on his first case, he sentence a william yarnold to be hung to death on 4th november19o5 for murder of his wife, in worcester jail, if you check the records the jelf,s lived in all the lanes of honey bourne as land owner, s and market gardners, my mom was born in parliment street aston a coulpl of doors from john ,houghton,but when she was little they moved to honeybourne, to live, for a short time, the grand parents wealthy people , bought propery,s in around b,ham, but still lived in worc, they done the b,ham . courts., and this is how they became known in the legal sytem at b,ham for there grand father being known as the hanging judge , his son,s down the line operated in b,ham azises, in the early days the father was the judge and the younger son,s used to be special jurriors for the serios cases, such as hanging cases, in b,ham . as i said the high socieity people they was known in high places with the police , , high ranks of the city leading councillors of era gone by as i have said , they were lland owners with small holdind and during the war years they did supply fruit and veg , eggs , meat and chicken to the wealthy,of b,ham; and they set up bussiness in b,ham, they had one warehouse in 901 tyburn rd erdington , and one big one at the rear of 237 park lane in fact there was two warehouser,s at the rear of 237 park lane where they kept there silver ware for high society wedding and function ,s for various fuctions in the city of b,ham ie the council house functions the old gpo , as itb was known then and the police socitey and of course the highly respected people of b,ham, whom got married , in days ,s i have recently have been told by a bussiness lady of selly park b,ham whom as recently retired from bussiness next to the bbc , said she had her wedding done by the jelf,s and she said if you are somboby it was the thing to get your marriage done by the jelf,s they provided all the fancy food and champayne , and all the cut glasss and silver ware , with the waitres service best of every think. the ordiary folk arond aston thought they was just coffee shops ,but they also had a couple of fish and chip shops dotted around with a couple of resturantss , an d two booking shops ,one in aston , and one in erdington, sorry about wathling off sylv, i do get carried away, there is a lot more of intrest about the jelfs, i could say , what the ordinary people don,t know , any way sylv, getting back to charles harris it was really nice to hear that you knew of harris ,s and telling me about carl and your dear old mom would have known my dad bill stevens, when he died on march the 3oth 1959 aged 42 years the company emplyers had a collection for my dad , and carl looked after my mother financely they sent a large floral arrangements, as well also when i got myself knocked down outside the astoria picture house on the aston cross in 1954;55 the staff at charles harriss sent my dad to bring me alot of goodies, i was in the general hospital for six months , my right leg was completel y smashed and they gave me two/three blood tranfusions to keep me alive in the end , the only way i could walk was to have a metal plate in my leg for the rest of my life. blimey , don,t i wothful on abit i,ll let you go now now slylv , terah for now if you cannot be good be careful, have a nice day, best wishes astonian, ;;;;;;;
 
hi sylv it me again ido recall a ladies shop on the corner a few yards from the factory on the corner by the zebra crossing , it was glarry,s and then it changed it,s name to sally ann,s but that did,t last long , before it closed down it was on the oppersite side to a off licence by the crossing and on the other side which was the continuation of park road, was my grand fathers brother ,coffee shop , , i have good memoryies of the flat and around there , firstly because, i went out with two girls, when i was young , one lived in lodge road more or less oppersite charles harris up the terrace , her name was sylvia peters, and the other one was carol fisher whom just lived in and around park rd., and secondly my grand mother and aunt lived up lodge road they both moved from from white house st, aston off the lichfield rd , my grand mother whom was my dad,s mom , lived up by the eagle pub opp,, the mental hospital on lodge rd, and my aunt maud smart was the caretaker at the church on lodge rd ,for many ,many years shes,s in her late eighties and seanial and in a old peoples home somwhere in king standing she constantly cry,s and does not reconise anybody she,s been there for quite a few years my cousin peter smart used to have a couple of butcher shops , smarts the butchers but they have now finished, i think it was the envoironament of charlis harris, that killed my father , with all that fumes and smoke, with in harris,s chemicals, he did have the oportunety to work inone of grand fathers shop on victoria rd aston , the shop was in my mothers name , when they got married ,but mom said grand dad kept interfereing and telling what to do , in the end he told him to for get it , so he went to charles harris, he would only go and help him out on accasions, like running the chippies , on the cross, driving around to varios shops around b,ham collecting cash or deliving provisions to all his shops , whilst he was globe trotting with my nan , sir billy cotton the big band leader and wee georgie wood , around the word nearly every three months,. ah speaking of coffee shops , i think i will trot off to the kitchen now and pop the kettle on ,see ya, astonian ,;;;;
 
This site really is wonderful isn't it Astonian, it brings back memories that have lain dormant for many years. My mother was still working at Charles Harris' in 1959 when your father died so young - she retired in January 1960 at age 60 but went back for a little while part time. Her generation were real grafters all their lives, and paid for it with their health, they was definitely no air filters that I remember at that little factory which were two or three houses knocked together, and as I said dirty, dusty and smelly.

I remember the flat well, my mom used to buy cream cakes from Smith's the bakers every night for our tea, I think it was next door to Woolworths.
 
does any body recall charles harriss the bake light moulders
at the flat on lodge rd hockley
and can any-body tell me did they closed down permanently under the slum clearance when they redeleveloped the area of the flat
or are they still in excistance ?, or may be the owner as died ,
did they recolated some-where else
i would like to know may be there is some retired employee,s out there
whom as got memories of the oldplace
many thanks to you all and happy new year for 2008 to every member of the forum and look foreward to another year on this brilliant site
best wishes astonian ,,
 
Charles Harris, Lodge Road,

Hi Astonian, we have discussed this before, I seem to remember you posting that your father worked there, and so did my mother, and the owner lived near Broome. I tried the search engine but it brought me back to your latest post. Perhaps one of our clever friends can find the earlier posts.
 
Charles Harris Lodge Road

HI There Sylv; And Colin B,
Many ,Many Thanks For Reproducing My Request And For Your Time And
Efforts , In Doing So .
Just Of Late My Mind Is Playing Havoc With Me , I Recall It Now
THANKS A gain best Of Seasonal Wishes To You Both , ASTONIAN ,;;;
 
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