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Hockley Brook Flood- 1920 - PC William Bell

Welcome Graham and thank you for sharing that account of PC Bell’s bravery. A very sad day when the Brook flooded, but his actions saved lives. And to have gone through and survived WW1 too. A very brave man. Viv
 
The two boys who sadly drowned were Leslie Neale (14) and George Hubbard (12).

Viv.
 
Sounds good Graham. I’m sure if you want to share any more on here there will be lots of interest.

Apologies that I missed the two named boys in your article. I was so absorbed in the events you’ve written about.

And finding the best place to post threads etc can be confusing. Especially a post like yours which could fit into several sections Thanks for posting.
Viv.
 
I have a couple of write ups on the floods, the first one definitely related to PC Bell but the other one is saying July. So presume there was more than one flood?
 

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Yes Carolina. I think there were several floods there. Viv.
i remember living in Phillips st. the brook was at the bottom of the garden. all that stopped you falling in was a 3 foot wall.
my dad put up a high fence to stop us kids form going over...Due to very heavy rain the brook flash flooded. looking ate the flow was a bit frightening. the amount of rubbish and other items etc that was washed down was cought in a net down river
in 196O's C Bryant and son + JJ gallagher put flood gates in under elkington st. excess water opend the gates and diverted a lot of water into the main hockley sewer. that runs down aston brook st.
 
Hello,

Sorry I didn't reply to some of the above sooner.

There is flood history for Hockley Brook going back into the 19th century, but three 'major' floods were 1920, 23 and 25. There were two in either 23 or 25 (can't remember without looking). I am looking into Superintendent Arthur Penrice and his 'fifty men' too. Many received Royal Humane Society certificates too.

Thanks

Graham
 
Mort,

No joy with the online newspapers for 1970s/1980s as there is just no coverage and nothing showing on the nationwide news.

Maurice :cool:
 
Hello,

this is my first post. I want to share a new article on the 1920 Hockley Brook Flood. A link to the article is here - A Policeman's Warning Shout

Thank you,

Graham
Hi Graham, unfortunately this link isn't working for me.I'm interested in the Hockley Brook flood of 1920 and would like to read more about PC Bell but can't find anything when I use the search engine of the West Midland's Police Museum site.Do you know of any other way I can access information?

Best wishes

Sheila
 
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Birmingham Daily Gazette - Wednesday 18 August 1920

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The full article is quite long so haven't posted all of it.
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The full article and others can be read here (but you need a subscription).
 

Birmingham Daily Gazette - Wednesday 18 August 1920

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The full article is quite long so haven't posted all of it.
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The full article and others can be read here (but you need a subscription).
 
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