Farm street infants and juniors.

[Astoness]

bri i wish the girl bottom row third from the right would come forward as she looks like me but i dont think it is as i was born nov 53 unless i was a late intake?

lyn

 

[Key Hill Brian]

Lyn, I'm beginning to doubt the year. My sister was born Jun 52, I was April 55
I was in Mr Williams class - 3rd year Sep 64-Jul 65, I was Mr Brown Sep 65- Apr 66 when we wrer bulldozed out after 11 plus but before leaving Infants.
She should be 2 or 3 years ahead of me. I'm thinking it could be 62?

Maybe it is you? who can really remember what we looked like so long ago? Very few pics taken at the time!

 

[Astoness]

bri martin was born aug 52 i was born nov 53 so i dont think its possible we were in the same year...what would you think as i think in those days there used to be intakes twice a year? also its strange but before i even zoomed into that class photo i was drawn to the girl third from right bottom row...think i have a couple of family photos i can compere with so will have a look tomorrow but i think its just wishful thinking on my part...

lyn

 

[Key Hill Brian]

As you are over 12 months apart - must be differant years, although he fits with my sister Jun 52.
I think she must be 2 years above me & you 1 year above me? I left 66 just aged 11 - a lifetime ago now!

 

[martin607]

I may be able to shed some light on the girl third from right bottom row
Amongst my memories of my time at Farm St is this
One day the entire class was assembled in the big hall to have eye tests.One by one we had a short eye test.Those who "passed" could leave the hall.Those deemed to have a problem were required to stay.
I was required to stay which I recall upset and distressed me greatly.Tears certainly flowed
I think the girl third from right bottom row also stayed behind.My recollection is that this was no surprise as she already wore spectacles, very thick lenses
The girl third from right bottom row showed me great kindness by comforting me and was so significant to me that I have never forgotten it.I thought her name was Christine but I may be mistaken
A zoom in on the girl appears to reveal her holding her glasses in her right hand but again I may be wrong
So is that you Lyn
If not perhaps Brian's sister Annette may recall the girl with the very strong specs

 

[Astoness]

I may be able to shed some light on the girl third from right bottom row
Amongst my memories of my time at Farm St is this
One day the entire class was assembled in the big hall to have eye tests.One by one we had a short eye test.Those who "passed" could leave the hall.Those deemed to have a problem were required to stay.
I was required to stay which I recall upset and distressed me greatly.Tears certainly flowed
I think the girl third from right bottom row also stayed behind.My recollection is that this was no surprise as she already wore spectacles, very thick lenses
The girl third from right bottom row showed me great kindness by comforting me and was so significant to me that I have never forgotten it.I thought her name was Christine but I may be mistaken
A zoom in on the girl appears to reveal her holding her glasses in her right hand but again I may be wrong
So is that you Lyn
If not perhaps Brian's sister Annette may recall the girl with the very strong specs

happy to report martin that i only had to start wearing specs about 5 years ago so that is deffo not me 3rd from right bottom row...

lyn

 

[Astoness]

On further checking I think the date of photo is mid 1963
Reason being our move to Cannock was delayed by the big freeze winter of 1962/3 which I mistakenly thought was 63/64

hi martin could you confirm what month and year you were born...the more i look at that class photo the more i am thinking i am on it...

lyn

 

[Terry01]

I think it would be really wonderful to find who who she was.

I think my sister Susan Terry May have been the Mary to your Joseph. She was born in 1952, I was born in 1954, we both appeared in the same nativity where she was Mary and I was an angel, I remember it so well. Sadly Susan died of a brain haemorrhage in 2012, I miss her every day, she was a beautiful child with curly hair everyone called her Shirley Temple.
I also remember Colleen Steadman, if I remember correctly she was an only child and I went to her birthday party we ended up in her back yard where she directed us in a play of Cinderella she nominated me as Buttons. Also remember Tom Bannister, Josephine Wiley, Christine Whitehouse and Gerald Burgess. I saw Gerald years after leaving Hockley, he hadn’t changed a bit and Iwent up to him saying “Hello Gerald” but never would tell him who I was, I didn’t want him to recall the scruffy urchin that once was me. lol. Such happy memories of Hockley, we lived in New John St West, hadn’t a bean but I recall those days with fondness. Happy days

 

[Astoness]

hi terry...as you may have read i was born in nov 53 and also attended farm st i was usually in the choir for nativity plays....well fancy you remembering colleen steadman..she was one of my best friends and her entry was dead opposite my house in villa st up the entry first on the left lived in a back to back...you are quite correct she was an only child ...she suffered from asthma and was sent to switzerland for some months courtesy of the give a girl health fund...i have been looking for her for a long time because i have a newspaper cutting showing her and others on their return home...i am the eldest of 6 like most of us money was scarce but i am proud of my roots and would not have changed my childhood for all the tea in china...very happy days but they instilled in me that things were not handed to you on a plate..we have to earn them...do you recognise any of the pupils in the photo on post 83 ?

lyn (linda harrington 118 villa st)

 

[Terry01]

hi terry...as you may have read i was born in nov 53 and also attended farm st i was usually in the choir for nativity plays....well fancy you remembering colleen steadman..she was one of my best friends and her entry was dead opposite my house in villa st up the entry first on the left lived in a back to back...you are quite correct she was an only child ...she suffered from asthma and was sent to switzerland for some months courtesy of the give a girl health fund...i have been looking for her for a long time because i have a newspaper cutting showing her and others on their return home...i am the eldest of 6 like most of us money was scarce but i am proud of my roots and would not have changed my childhood for all the tea in china...very happy days but they instilled in me that things were not handed to you on a plate..we have to earn them...do you recognise any of the pupils in the photo on post 83 ?

lyn (linda harrington 118 villa st)

Hi Lyn, Thanks for your response, your name rings a bell but could be because I’ve been reading your posts. The photo in post 83, solemn looking child 2nd row, 2nd from right could be me as I remember myself although the fringe looks wrong, mine was a full fringe not on the side and the Welsh teacher with fair curly hair (Mr Williams? Evans?) he used to call me Cleopatra but as I have no photo’s of me I can’t say it’s definitely me. I am the middle child from a family of five children, which is probably why I remember Colleen being an only child that appeared to be quite rare, our neighbours had five kids too!
I also recall a girl called Shelly I think she came from Turkey.
Remember walking to school with snow piled higher than myself during winter of 62/63 also the concrete ball and chain demolishing the properties opposite our house and also remember when they started to build Hockley flyover. Burbury Park - a boy called Robert Moss kissed me when I was about 8, and the boys arguing who was going to win on the day Ali was to fight Sonny Liston. Going shopping ‘on the Flat’. Saturday matinees at the pictures, Handswoth Park and the beautiful flower displays that Birmingham Corporation planted every year. Wow my mind is crammed full of those times, I could be here all day tapping away, I too wouldn’t change those days for all the tea in China but I must admit being an only child did seem to appeal at the time LOL.

 

[Astoness]

hi terry the girl 3rd from right bottom row looks uncannily like me...i do have a couple of photos of myself taken at farm st school one by myself and one with my brother mark but my scanner is playing up but as soon as i can i will scan and post so that you can compere them..yes i remember mr williams..mr smith the head..do you remember miss or mrs dugard...oh gosh i remember that winter of 62/3 very well..loads of fun for months it seems...i remember opening our front door and was met with a wall of snow...luckily i did not have to walk far to school but we did get there..these days schools close after a little flurry lol..mom used to drag me to flat as well but the shops were wonderful...used to use the villa cross pic house every saturday morning...mom and dad walked us handsworth park all the time...please continue with your memories its what keeps this forum going...oh did you finish at farm st if so what senior school did you attend....

lyn

 

[NoddKD]

I think my sister Susan Terry May have been the Mary to your Joseph. She was born in 1952, I was born in 1954, we both appeared in the same nativity where she was Mary and I was an angel, I remember it so well. Sadly Susan died of a brain haemorrhage in 2012, I miss her every day, she was a beautiful child with curly hair everyone called her Shirley Temple.
I also remember Colleen Steadman, if I remember correctly she was an only child and I went to her birthday party we ended up in her back yard where she directed us in a play of Cinderella she nominated me as Buttons. Also remember Tom Bannister, Josephine Wiley, Christine Whitehouse and Gerald Burgess. I saw Gerald years after leaving Hockley, he hadn’t changed a bit and Iwent up to him saying “Hello Gerald” but never would tell him who I was, I didn’t want him to recall the scruffy urchin that once was me. lol. Such happy memories of Hockley, we lived in New John St West, hadn’t a bean but I recall those days with fondness. Happy days

Hi Terry,thank you very much for your reply. So sorry to hear your sister passed away at such an early age. Though I recall the Nativty I really can't recall much else. Susan was probably the first girl I put my arm around!
The only name that I recognise from your list is Gerald Burgess. I remember that he played cricket rather well.Names I do recall are William Boyle,Peter Clinton,Michael Moore and Sandra Rose.
We,the Dunn's, only lived in Hockley for two years,not long enough to establish lasting friendships. They were happy days though I seemed to visit Mr Smith and his cane quite often.
Once again thank you for your reply.

Stay safe,NoddK-D

 

[Astoness]

I think my sister Susan Terry May have been the Mary to your Joseph. She was born in 1952, I was born in 1954, we both appeared in the same nativity where she was Mary and I was an angel, I remember it so well. Sadly Susan died of a brain haemorrhage in 2012, I miss her every day, she was a beautiful child with curly hair everyone called her Shirley Temple.
I also remember Colleen Steadman, if I remember correctly she was an only child and I went to her birthday party we ended up in her back yard where she directed us in a play of Cinderella she nominated me as Buttons. Also remember Tom Bannister, Josephine Wiley, Christine Whitehouse and Gerald Burgess. I saw Gerald years after leaving Hockley, he hadn’t changed a bit and Iwent up to him saying “Hello Gerald” but never would tell him who I was, I didn’t want him to recall the scruffy urchin that once was me. lol. Such happy memories of Hockley, we lived in New John St West, hadn’t a bean but I recall those days with fondness. Happy days

hi terry ...i have some good news for you.. after all these years i am now in contact with colleen steadman could i ask what your first name is please so that i can tell colleen that you remember her....thanks

lyn

 

[Terry01]

hi terry the girl 3rd from right bottom row looks uncannily like me...i do have a couple of photos of myself taken at farm st school one by myself and one with my brother mark but my scanner is playing up but as soon as i can i will scan and post so that you can compere them..yes i remember mr williams..mr smith the head..do you remember miss or mrs dugard...oh gosh i remember that winter of 62/3 very well..loads of fun for months it seems...i remember opening our front door and was met with a wall of snow...luckily i did not have to walk far to school but we did get there..these days schools close after a little flurry lol..mom used to drag me to flat as well but the shops were wonderful...used to use the villa cross pic house every saturday morning...mom and dad walked us handsworth park all the time...please continue with your memories its what keeps this forum going...oh did you finish at farm st if so what senior school did you attend....

lyn

Hi Lyn, I don't really remember Mrs Dugard but her name rings a bell, on the other hand I remember Mr Smith very well, he was always so kind to me, I recall being given the responsibility of taking the register(s) to him in his office in the tower and feeling very important. His office smelt of tobacco from his pipe, every time I see Arthur Lowe (Dad's Army's Captain Mainwaring) he reminds me of Mr Smith. Remember being a milk monitor in that winter of 62/63 the tops came off the bottles when the frozen milk forced the tops off. Mom took us to the Villa Cross to see Cliff in Summer Holiday, that's the only time I recall going to that cinema, we used the Palladium on the Soho Road it was just round the corner from us, before the Saturday matinee all the kids used to sing (or should I say shout) the ABC song, do you remember that. We left Hockley in the spring of 1964 moving to Bordesley Green, my last year of junior school was Alston Road then went on to Bordesley Green Girls' School.
Mom and dad both worked at Howletts on Hockley Hill, every year they used to do a wonderful Christmas party, a magician followed by cartoons then food - sandwiches, jelly and ice cream. Mums and Dads came after and everyone had a dance, I remember twisting away to Chubby Checker. At the end Father Christmas gave us a present and a very cold apple and sour orange ... LOL...did you ever go to them?

 

[Astoness]

hi terry i think you may have missed my post 103 where i told you i am now in contact with colleen steadman and i wanted to know what your first name is so that i can tell her that you remember her?

i think that the pally you went to was on soho hill not soho road unless there was another one its still standing but only just so sad to see it in such an awful state...i only ever used the villa cross cinema..

oh gosh i well remember that winter and all the silver tops on the milk bottles slowly rising higher from the cold and formed a peak of frozen milk...thinking back mr smith did look like arthur lowe lol

what did howletts do terry cant say as ive heard of them...in the winter months dad used to work at the lucas factory gt king st he refused to clean windows in the winter then come spring he would be back on the windows but working for lucas i used to go to their christmas partys...great fun i shall always remember them..its little things like this that we dont forget..

lyn

 

[Terry01]

hi terry ...i have some good news for you.. after all these years i am now in contact with colleen steadman could i ask what your first name is please so that i can tell colleen that you remember her....thanks

lyn

Hi Lyn, how strange you have found her now after looking for so long, I hope she has been keeping well and happy, please say hello to her. My name is/was Rose Terry

 

[Astoness]

rose (hope its ok to call you that) found her through ancestry with help from janice who is a member of this forum... colleen is good and of course i will be passing on your regards to her will let you know if she remembers you...we only started catching up yesterday so lots to talk about but i will tell her about this forum as she may fancy joining and adding her own memories of farm st school...

lyn

 

[Terry01]

hi terry i think you may have missed my post 103 where i told you i am now in contact with colleen steadman and i wanted to know what your first name is so that i can tell her that you remember her?

i think that the pally you went to was on soho hill not soho road unless there was another one its still standing but only just so sad to see it in such an awful state...i only ever used the villa cross cinema..

oh gosh i well remember that winter and all the silver tops on the milk bottles slowly rising higher from the cold and formed a peak of frozen milk...thinking back mr smith did look like arthur lowe lol

what did howletts do terry cant say as ive heard of them...in the winter months dad used to work at the lucas factory gt king st he refused to clean windows in the winter then come spring he would be back on the windows but working for lucas i used to go to their christmas partys...great fun i shall always remember them..its little things like this that we dont forget..

lyn

You are right Lynn the Palladium we went to was on Soho Hill.
Howletts was a factory that did gas controls/boilers later changed name becoming Radiation Gas and moved to Thimbermill Lane, Aston. Mom worked there till she retired but we never had Christmas parties after they moved from Hockley Hill.

Rose

 

[Astoness]

rose if memory serves me right there was a big explosion at radiation gas thimblemill lane. not sure what year that would have been though..

it was amazing how back then the bigger companies always looked after their staff and their children...do not really hear of it these days..

just going back to farm st school i was in the choir that was chosen to sing at the town hall just wondered if you also went...cant really understand why i was chosen as i am tone deaf and have no voice at all

lyn

 

[Terry01]

rose if memory serves me right there was a big explosion at radiation gas thimblemill lane. not sure what year that would have been though..

it was amazing how back then the bigger companies always looked after their staff and their children...do not really hear of it these days..

just going back to farm st school i was in the choir that was chosen to sing at the town hall just wondered if you also went...cant really understand why i was chosen as i am tone deaf and have no voice at all

lyn

Ahh yes I did go to the Town Hall but I didn't recall it was because I was in the choir just thought it was to listen to the classical music, such a memorable experience being there, the sound of the symbols banging together was a particular memory, I've never been since so it must be that school visit I remember. Beautiful building both inside and out. Thinking about it I may also have been in the choir because I recall now standing on a long bench and singing, I'd forgotten all about that but never the Town Hall visit.

 

[Astoness]

hi agree rose the town hall is lovely inside although i have not visited for a few years now..must make the effort to go again one day

lyn

 

[oldMohawk]

For reference from another thread, two aerial views of Farm Street School dated 1948.

Farm St school and St Saviour Church in this aerial view looking west over Hockley dated 1950. Bridge St West runs diagonally from bottom left and Farm St from bottom changing direction where Villa St crosses it.

A aerial view looking north dated 1948 shows the school and church from another direction.

images from 'britainfromabove'

 

[Astoness]

hi folks does anyone remember pamela holsey who went to farm st from about 59 to 64 ?

lyn

 

[Astoness]

still looking for more class photos of farm st folks ..would also like to welcome any new members who attended the school

lyn

 

[Terry Biles]

Hello. I attended Farm St School from 1960 to 1966 when I passed my eleven plus to go to Handsworth Grammar school.
I lived in New John St West.
I noticed there seemed to be some pictures of Farm St School. Can someone please tell me how I can access them. I would love to see them. The headmaster was Mr Smith.
A lovely man.
Terry Biles June 2023

 

[brummy-lad]

Hi Terry, welcome to the forum. There are some pictures here.

Farm street infants and juniors.

hi all. i attended farm st school hockley from 1958 to 1963. would anyone out there have any photos of the old school or its classrooms or playgrounds. im sure we must have had class photos in them days but unfortunately i dont have any. thanks in advance.

birminghamhistory.co.uk

 

[Terry Biles]

Hi Terry, welcome to the forum. There are some pictures here.

Farm street infants and juniors.

hi all. i attended farm st school hockley from 1958 to 1963. would anyone out there have any photos of the old school or its classrooms or playgrounds. im sure we must have had class photos in them days but unfortunately i dont have any. thanks in advance.

birminghamhistory.co.uk

Thank you so much. I am completely computer literate etc but I cannot see any photos. I am viewing this on my Samsung galaxy. I can see the reports and people are talking about pictures but I cannot see any. Would absolutely love to see them.