I'm looking for any info or pictures of Heather Rd Small Heath.According to the 1911 census my grandparents lived at 147 as did my dad, but, when my dad got married, he lived at 240, where he lived after he married in 1929 & I was born there. My other query is, my grandad ran a fish & chip shop the corner of St Benedicts Rd & Somerville Rd. Can anyone help please?
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Heather Rd. Small Heath
- Thread starter handidave
- Start date
John Young
master brummie
Hi handidave,
My wife lived in Somerville Road 1950,s-1973 and remembers Heather & St Ben,s Rds very well, Also the corner Chippie( a Very good Chippie too)
If you wish to post names(G,dad/Dad) then folks may know more & respond,,
If you wish to give Names etc off site (Site policy is non disclosure of living &/or Private info) then please Instant Message me
My wife lived in Somerville Road 1950,s-1973 and remembers Heather & St Ben,s Rds very well, Also the corner Chippie( a Very good Chippie too)
If you wish to post names(G,dad/Dad) then folks may know more & respond,,
If you wish to give Names etc off site (Site policy is non disclosure of living &/or Private info) then please Instant Message me
Last edited by a moderator:
John Young
master brummie
Hi again David & thanks for your I M reply & Ok that you,re using site post as more Members/Guests will view/respond(hopefully).
My wife & her sister attended both Schools as your listing, Sister Margaret Howell left Oldknow 1958, Wife Marilyn left in 1965,
Margaret may remember you & we will ask her this weekend.
Did you have relatives named Lee running a Grocers shop corner of Somerville & Heather Roads ?
To Site ;;Has anyone any photos of roads mentioned &/or Area to share with a Newbie Brummie ,,if so please post for him.
Ta ever so J
My wife & her sister attended both Schools as your listing, Sister Margaret Howell left Oldknow 1958, Wife Marilyn left in 1965,
Margaret may remember you & we will ask her this weekend.
Did you have relatives named Lee running a Grocers shop corner of Somerville & Heather Roads ?
To Site ;;Has anyone any photos of roads mentioned &/or Area to share with a Newbie Brummie ,,if so please post for him.
Ta ever so J
I was born at 222 Heather Road and lived there from 1939 to 1950, my grandparents lived at 224 my name is Ken Weston and some of the names that I remember include Morgan, Mathews, Bridges, Adam's, Jones, Tichen, sharrot, Lee and a family of Italians. My grandma worked at Halls sweet shop on the corner of Heather and Somerville Road, our family was also very friendly with the Higgins family that owned the chemist on the corner of Heather and Somerville road their son was killed on HMS Hood, opposite was McGann's the green grocer and a row of Co-op shops and Webb's sweet shop opposite the Monica Pub. I attended St Benedict's infants and primary school. On the night of the BSA raid me, my mother and grandparents were in the Anderson shelter when a land mine hit the corner of Heather and Somerville Road demolishing about 6 houses killing 3 people and taking the roof off our house. Our playground was Digby Park (Barrage Balloon site), bombed buildings, Heybarn's Rec and crossing the River Rea via stepping stones to the fair I also remember pestering American Servicemen for chewing gum, the chip shop at the corner of St Benedict's Road, fishing for tidlers in Small Heath Park, Green Lane Baths, the Eara Picture house, sitting on the steps of the Monica Pub waiting for a glass of pop, the No8 bus into town, Sunday school and he cub's at St Benedict's Churchl and of course my school days. Is there anybody on the forum who lived in Heather Road during this period?
Pictures of 222 Heather Road, Digby Park and newspaper cutting detailing air raids on the BSA and Small Heath to compliment my post above.
View attachment 89170View attachment 89171View attachment 89172View attachment 89173View attachment 89174
Old Boy
master brummie
Hello Ken (Aggie)
May I refer to your post at No 9. I lived in Carlton Road, Small Heath but had relations in Monica Road so I know the area you write about very well I too sat outside the pub waiting for pop but it was usually The Vine in Green Lane. I must correct you on two small details. The No 8 bus was, and I believe still is, the Inner Circle and the river was the Cole not the Rea.
Did you serve in the Royal Navy? Otherwise why use the name Aggie?
Old Boy
May I refer to your post at No 9. I lived in Carlton Road, Small Heath but had relations in Monica Road so I know the area you write about very well I too sat outside the pub waiting for pop but it was usually The Vine in Green Lane. I must correct you on two small details. The No 8 bus was, and I believe still is, the Inner Circle and the river was the Cole not the Rea.
Did you serve in the Royal Navy? Otherwise why use the name Aggie?
Old Boy
I'm the youngest of the Lee family. My brothers were Bob, Edwin & Bernard. The Bridges were very close friends of my parents;Indeed, when I was born in 1945 my mother was quite ill & Mrs Bridges looked after me. They were the first family to have a car by us, an Autin Seven. Mrs Cooke lived next door. My grandad had the chippie & I also went to St Bens.
The pub you mentioned is the Monica. It was on the corner of Monica Rd & Somerville Rd.
The bomb, did it land on our side of the road or on the other?
The pub you mentioned is the Monica. It was on the corner of Monica Rd & Somerville Rd.
The bomb, did it land on our side of the road or on the other?
Hiya Oldboy Yes its coming back to me now(it was 70 years ago) the river Cole, we used to wonder what the "balloons" were floating down the river, but the number of the bus down St Benedict's Road escapes me? My wife Maureen lived at 137 Carlton Road and her Grandparents lived in Green Lane and Grange Road. With regard to aggie I took it from my Father who was in the Fire Service where most of the men pre-war had served in the navy and used aggie Weston's café so they called my Father aggie.
Hiya, Handidave, Yes I remember Brian Bridges very well he hit me over the head with a stick and cut my head open. The mine landed on our side of the road just up from the boot & shoe repairers the family were killed in their Anderson Shelter we used to play in the crater that was left. Do you remember a blind lad that live above you? Also, I am not sure but Alton Douglas (he who publishes books on Birmingham) may have lived in the Municipal Houses further up the road from you. I say this because I used to knock around with a lad of the same name His father was in the police, I have often wondered whether or not this is the same person? perhaps someone will put me right. Was the bus outside your chippie a No 15 or 17? I know it went up Oldknow Road, Bolton Road, past the BSA, Baker Street and into town stopping outside New Street Station. Another thing that has jogged my memory was the celebrations for VJ day a bonfire was built in the road outside our house which melted the tar, I wonder if there are any pictures of this, VE Day or the coronation celebrations in Heather Road, that would be something. Are your Brothers in my age group Born 1939? aggie
Thanks for posting the photo's. I don't remember your brother but if he remembers the following it's possible that we were together in the 40's. In the school holiday's we were out of the house until it got dark come rain or shine, either in Digby Park,Heybarns Rec or playing in the road. Sometimes we used to get the Trolley Bus to Tigers Island and cross over into Elmdon Park with a bottle of cold tea and jam sandwiches wrapped in newspaper for our lunch. We would spend all day climbing the conker trees and exploring the derelict buildings. Bombed Buildings were a good adventure scavenging for material for bonfire night and playing hide and seek,a prized find was shrapnel from exploded bombs and anti-aircraft fire.
In Heather Road we would race each other with home made Go Carts (no brakes) from the Hobmoor Road end down the centre of the road to Somerville Road. The only way to stop was to crash into the kerb which in my case gave me gravel rash on both knees the pain came when my mother ripped off the dressings which were stuck fast I can hear her now saying "you baby"
Fire cans came out in the dark. A tin can with holes punched in and filled with glowing embers from the fire was swung over the head until the can glowed red hot. Home made bangers were made from two bolts a nut and match heads which when struck on the ground produced a bang and smoke, sometimes we attached them to home made parachutes and flung them up into the air.
Another good weise was to break off the point of a pen nib leaving to sharp prongs which could be lethal when propelled by an elastic bandits a wonder we never had anybodies eye out. There was also a spate of making Bows and Arrows to fire across the road at our "enemies" unfortunately somebody started attaching nails to the arrows, I still have the scar on my chin to prove it,
Heather Road was free of traffic in them days all deliveries were made by horse and cart so foot ball and cricket could be played in the horse road. American Servicemen attending weekly dances at Starbank Road school gave us kids footballs, chewing gum and if we were lucky chocolate. We always looked forward to bonfire night,building the bonfire and collecting a penny for the guy outside the Monica Pub. You could also get money for collecting old newspaper and empty bottles for the deposit so we never missed an opportunity to make a penny or two.
Bicycles were a rarity the one I had was an ASP ( all spareparts ) no brakes and a fixed wheel most of the kids managed to cobble something together and we had great fun chasing around the roads with cardboard resting on the spokes to make a stuttering noise. Some kids including me had roller skates, sometimes you could hang on to a vehicle that was just starting off until you were forced to let go, it's a wonder we didn't kill ourselves.
Annoying the neighbours by tying door knockers together was always good for a laugh as was swinging on the cross arms of the gas lamps and taunting a mad woman the lived opposite the Co-op in Somerville Road looking back now it was a very cruel thing to do. Digby Park was a favourite place for getting up to mischief, watching out for couples lying on the grass and sometimes when they had left we found money that had fell out of their pockets. In the long grass we would tie the tops of the grass together to form a loop to trip people up many a laugh was had this way. At the chip shop in St Benedict's Road you could get a penny's worth of scratching, a favourite saying was "have you any chips left the owner would invariably say yes and we would run out of the shop shouting you shouldn't have cooked so many" Ha Ha. If you bought fish& chips you had to take your newspaper to wrap them in.
Each road had their own gang of kids and you had to watch out if you were out on your own. On one occasion I was on my own doing an errand for my Mother when a rival gang from St Benedict's Road spotted me and gave chase, before I could get back to my end they caught me and gave me a beating. On a lighter note an older girl from Heather Road took us lads to the back of the Co-op and by the light of a torch showed us the difference between a boy and a girl, being an only child I wondered why her bottom extended to the front.
In Heather Road we would race each other with home made Go Carts (no brakes) from the Hobmoor Road end down the centre of the road to Somerville Road. The only way to stop was to crash into the kerb which in my case gave me gravel rash on both knees the pain came when my mother ripped off the dressings which were stuck fast I can hear her now saying "you baby"
Fire cans came out in the dark. A tin can with holes punched in and filled with glowing embers from the fire was swung over the head until the can glowed red hot. Home made bangers were made from two bolts a nut and match heads which when struck on the ground produced a bang and smoke, sometimes we attached them to home made parachutes and flung them up into the air.
Another good weise was to break off the point of a pen nib leaving to sharp prongs which could be lethal when propelled by an elastic bandits a wonder we never had anybodies eye out. There was also a spate of making Bows and Arrows to fire across the road at our "enemies" unfortunately somebody started attaching nails to the arrows, I still have the scar on my chin to prove it,
Heather Road was free of traffic in them days all deliveries were made by horse and cart so foot ball and cricket could be played in the horse road. American Servicemen attending weekly dances at Starbank Road school gave us kids footballs, chewing gum and if we were lucky chocolate. We always looked forward to bonfire night,building the bonfire and collecting a penny for the guy outside the Monica Pub. You could also get money for collecting old newspaper and empty bottles for the deposit so we never missed an opportunity to make a penny or two.
Bicycles were a rarity the one I had was an ASP ( all spareparts ) no brakes and a fixed wheel most of the kids managed to cobble something together and we had great fun chasing around the roads with cardboard resting on the spokes to make a stuttering noise. Some kids including me had roller skates, sometimes you could hang on to a vehicle that was just starting off until you were forced to let go, it's a wonder we didn't kill ourselves.
Annoying the neighbours by tying door knockers together was always good for a laugh as was swinging on the cross arms of the gas lamps and taunting a mad woman the lived opposite the Co-op in Somerville Road looking back now it was a very cruel thing to do. Digby Park was a favourite place for getting up to mischief, watching out for couples lying on the grass and sometimes when they had left we found money that had fell out of their pockets. In the long grass we would tie the tops of the grass together to form a loop to trip people up many a laugh was had this way. At the chip shop in St Benedict's Road you could get a penny's worth of scratching, a favourite saying was "have you any chips left the owner would invariably say yes and we would run out of the shop shouting you shouldn't have cooked so many" Ha Ha. If you bought fish& chips you had to take your newspaper to wrap them in.
Each road had their own gang of kids and you had to watch out if you were out on your own. On one occasion I was on my own doing an errand for my Mother when a rival gang from St Benedict's Road spotted me and gave chase, before I could get back to my end they caught me and gave me a beating. On a lighter note an older girl from Heather Road took us lads to the back of the Co-op and by the light of a torch showed us the difference between a boy and a girl, being an only child I wondered why her bottom extended to the front.
Old Boy
master brummie
Hi Old Boy, My wife's maiden name was Broadhurst she moved to Carlton Road in 1953 and thinks she was friends with a girl called Margaret who lived somewhere in the middle of the road. Maureen had a brother named Clifford and lived next door to a girl called Margaret Griffiths. Her school was an all girls school near the Alsten Road school(Broadway). aggie
Hi Aggie,
Any photo will do. I'm interested the chippie still exists. Do you or anyone else remember the Buckleys, the Spicers or the Truemans? Also, can anyone remember the mother & son that lived just above the Bridges? Has anyone seen "Peeky Blinders" on BBC2? I only watched the first episode. I thought it didn't do justice to a gang that actually existed in Small Heath.
Any photo will do. I'm interested the chippie still exists. Do you or anyone else remember the Buckleys, the Spicers or the Truemans? Also, can anyone remember the mother & son that lived just above the Bridges? Has anyone seen "Peeky Blinders" on BBC2? I only watched the first episode. I thought it didn't do justice to a gang that actually existed in Small Heath.
thomas cooper
New Member
My mother used to live 234 heather road with her parents,agnes and bertie roberts.There next door neighbours were mr+mrs horsbourgh,and there was a family called spicers...she mentioned there was a family who were deaf and dumb aswel.. my mothers name was mary roberts.
thomas cooper
New Member
.........
thomas cooper
New Member
My mother who lived on heather road,remembers the italian family there was Dario+Rillio Capaldy..Also Peter+Barbara Essex..and other familys called Longstaff,Horsbourgh,Spicer,Taylor,Perrin,My mother is Roberts.
