• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team
  • HI folks the server that hosts the site completely died including the Hdd's and backups.
    Luckily i create an offsite backup once a week! this has now been restored so we have lost a few days posts.
    im still fixing things at the moment so bear with me and im still working on all images 90% are fine the others im working on now
    we are now using a backup solution

Kodak Photographic Co

B

Boating Bernard

New Member
Hi. This is my first time using this site so apologies if I'm doing it all wrong!
Does anyone have any knowledge of there being a Kodak business in Birmingham, probably around Aston or the City centre?
My Mother and Father met whilst working for Kodak somewhere between 1924 and 1930.
Any information greatly appreciated
Thanks
Boating Bernard
 
In the 1927 directory there is a
Kodak Ltd photographic apparatus mfrs, works 128 Great Charles St, (TA Kodak: T N Central 1,940) and office T N 2875 Central

Boating Bernard said:
Hi. This is my first time using this site so apologies if I'm doing it all wrong!
Does anyone have any knowledge of there being a Kodak business in Birmingham, probably around Aston or the City centre?
My Mother and Father met whilst working for Kodak somewhere between 1924 and 1930.
Any information greatly appreciated
Thanks
Boating Bernard
Click to expand...
 
HI HORSECART
If My memory serves me correctly from my growing up days and i lived down on lichfield road next to HP SAUCE and ANSELLS BREWERY
just yards from the big clock on Aston Cross and continued up towards the city centre from AstonCross ,
That was the start of Aston Road North and as you go further along on your journey it became corporation street
there you was met by midland counties milk dairy,s and then became costa green and the start of corporation street
costa green was still classed ast part Aston it was the boundry of Aston and city centre
as you got as far as the dairy you emediately come to the corner of moland street and the passing of the dairy
continue along ahead of you for about 1oo yards or so thats where the kodac factory was this in the very early 1950
almost ajoining there property about two or three building passing there was halfords warehouse they was very old building on that block

and on pasing halfords there was the birming echange uneployment offices that was a slight moderen office building as it was a very large building
indeed in lengh and in height i attended there my self it took about the thre offices in one along the road
and at that time there was a world chapin swimmer working there by the name of ken; he was an olyimpic champion for england won gold
years before i wet there and met him and interviewed by him and i had a friend whom worked there as well
it was after the big fire of halfords they had gone and the building just before the kodac factory was later became a scrap yards and bulders yards ;
so aston costa geen [ Aston] city centre not quite ] around that time there was a horse trough across the road from them and then further up was them
on the opersite side of the road was the general hospital nurses quarters which incidently almost got burt down as well being facing the halfords and kodac
bussiness and years later they moved up to the hospital for new quaters down side of the birmingham mail office transport side
and later the universary of aston taken over for there research work that was in those days for afew years but i beleive now its accomdation
for students and they also took away the shops of that era and the pub i think it was the the king edward or charles
and they went and built the sack of potoes pub a little away fom the orinigial place best wishes Astonian;
 
Many thanks to both horsencart and Astonian for their prompt replies! Very interesting too!
I had looked in one or two trade directories and not found anything ... Would you mind telling me which directory you found them in please?
Also very interesting to hear reminiscences of the area from Astonian. My mother lived with her Aunty at 203A Aston Road, a drapers shop, and worked for Kodak from when she left school C 1923 to when she married in 1931.
My father lived at Kemlyn Terrace at the junction of Witton Rd with Mansfield Road ... demolished now of course!
Many thanks
Boating Bernard
 
In the 1924 Kellys 128 Gt Charles St was J Pedley & Sons,india rubber manufacturers, and Kodak was at 45 Corporation St, which would just have been offices. No 128 disappears from Kellys between 1940 and 1943, probably because of bombing. the 1940 Kellys states that the building was just offices, no manufacturing
 
On a historic note Birmingham had its own Society in 1904 it was called Birmingham Photographic Society years1904 -5-6 they had a club room at Norwich Union Chambers
 
HI BEARNARD BOATING
Juist read your thread and i found it very intresting Indeed; Yes i could tell you about Aston And the Inhabitants
I note Your Aunty was at 203 A can you give me a name on line or on my email which ever; you cannot do it if she is alive today
Or not ,its entirely up to you ; bearnard .
i was around in the early years of the good old smoke and helping outon the trams and the sandwich man with his boards walking
Along the road [ on his sandwich boards saying the end is nigh ] then comes the monkey and his grinder with the little cheeky monky
and him being a little one shaking the grinders tin cup for pennies
also all those little tiny shops where Ansells brewery built there front and watched them demoing them along the aston road and
Lichfield road courts and house to build there brewery front along and up to portland street i watched the whole Ansells complex
being built, and i was the fasted kid on the block regards running [ not thats worth mentioning ]
but yes i know or should i say i knew Aston as and when it was ;and the familys of yester years
and one hell of alot of family connections best wishes Alan;; Astonian;;
 
Thanks again for your answers. My mother and father were both involved in the processing of photographs during their time at Kodak; developing and printing. So not sure what classification that would have had in Kellys? Not manufacturing but also not office!!!
After their marriage they moved to Coventry and my father set up his own business as an industrial photographer.
Hi Astonian. My great Aunt was Alice Large and she ran a drapers shop in Aston Road. I believe she was there until around 1931 when she retired. Possibly a bit later!
If anyone has any old photos of Aston Road, Great Charles St or Corporation St I would appreciate a look!
Many thanks
Boating Bernard
 
HI bearnard boating and mike ;
first ly mike there was one factory of kodacs just down the road from great charles street to come to think of it
and not so long ago on a fire thread i put about seing peter snow with the fire crew on a shout in brum
and that was a kodac factory but i just cannot think of the road if you could do a quick look when you can mike
to see if you can spot the road
if you come down from birminfhams city throug to summer hill way it used to be called paradise street if i am correct
way back in time before any transformation ever began; and this spot used to be called the parade its a junction its still there today
i know ten years back i wroe about this area and if your at the sand pitts heading towards the city
you come to the junction and on that corner was where mossy and myself used to drink in there at that pub calledd the king edward pub;
was one of the last building standing and the road opersite was edward road and the lyric flee pitt picture house our dear old alf
and myself both spoke about it and to add a little mor info from the warstone clock of hockley you came straight down to the junction which was known as paradies street and then you would be going up the hill to great charles street thats was also kodac;
they had a fire in that building in the fiftys and recolated in ickneild port road next to the stathams garage repairs and they was neibours to old bill landon bathrooms ; thats where they moved to as well from monument road and now they are in droitwich ; best wishes alan;; Astonian;;
 
Alan
In 1950 Kodak are listed as having offices and warehouse at 32 Charlotte St. I did not mention this as i was dealing with Bernard's question concerning the pre-war company
 
hi mike ;
many thanks for your valuable time and thanks for being so quick in your responce with the answer to my part of the question;
best wishes mike Alan;;; Astonian;;
 
Was just wondering if anyone had made any progress with this thread in working out what Kodak actually did in Birmingham, and where?
 
A quick look through the papers shows a mention of Kodak in Birmingham...

1925..looks like a shop where enlargements were on view...45 Corporation St.

1955...12 Charlotte St...Later in 1960 32 Charlotte St...Warehouse

1974....Kodak Midland Sales, Centre Bank House, Cherry St.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top