Golden Place of Opportunity

[JohnJames]

My mum and dad came to Birmingham in 1953 from Ireland with nothing. They lived in a cold water room before managing to rent a small flat in a house with better facilities. Eventually they bought a house in Mansel Rd Small Heath. From then on they prospered. My Dad's dream was to live in Solihull. He and my mum managed it just before he retired, albeit on the Sheldon end of Solihull on Melton Avenue. By then he was driving a Rover, his dream car. For me growing up close to the A45/Coventry Rd corridor, Solihull seemed to be the ultimate goal of prosperous living . Kicking a ball around Small Heath Park in the 1960s, some of our mates would dissappear to Sheldon or Solihull, never to be seen again. It seemed like Brum was a patchwork of villages at that time. I left home before my parents made it to Solihull but despite living in many parts of the world since then, I always remember my Dad referring to Birmingham as "the golden place of opportunity". I wonder do any other members have similar stories?

 

[Alberta]

What a lovely post John.
I was brought up in a small bungalow in the staffs moorlands , born 1942 when my dad who was only 18 was a miner who hated every minute of it,often not going to work because of how much he hated it.

He applied to Stoke police in 1947 but was not tall enough so came to Birmingham where the height was a bit less.
We came to join him a couple of years later.
We had a police house with such luxuries as Gas and Electric, an indoor toilet and a bath with hot running water.
My Dad loved his new job.

For a young child who ran wild in the Moorlands and whose school had about 50 pupils it was a big change but I am so glad we came and am proud to call myself a Brummie.