• 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

Kynoch's I C I 1800s - 1920s

i agree froth..great photo..quite a few women there as well..of course when ww1 started it was mostly women who worked in munitions which was not without its dangers

lyn
 
I have a small piece of a picture and the writing below this picture states that In 1916-1918, 212,000 women worked in munition factories. By 1918 almost 1,000,000 women were employed by that industry.
 
Some very young faces amongst them. And they made good money. They all seem reasonably well dressed. One bloke is driving a car through the crowd alongside the horse and cart. Maybe he was one of the bosses.

Any chance of locating this view on a map please ? Be interesting to see where it was. A very undeveloped spot, unlike today. Viv.
 
I think we once looked at this before and could not decide position, though cannot find post today. I still cannot fit it to a position on any available map
 
Ok Mike, thanks for trying. A bit obscure, there's obviously factory buildings in the distance, but could be any part of the factory site. Viv.
 
The difficult thing to me was the two chimneys, the position of which can be seen from aerial shots, do not seem to line up with a road going away from the works with no buildings either side
 
156394D0-7D76-4478-A90C-4FD4DEBA3071.jpeg I just wonder, a long shot. This has been discussed before but I also can’t find it. I think that due to the elevation of the photographer the first thought maybe it’s taken from the bridge by Witton Station, but there is nothing to the left, the main factory is in the distance.

Looking again the road seems quite wide, perhaps this is not Kynochs but Ludlows? Taken from around Holdford Farm on this 1905 OS map, or from the track going over the road towards Holdford Mill?
 
I typed this before I saw Pedrocut's post
When I first ever saw the pic my first thoughts were that it was Holford Drive which went from Holford Mills to the Aldridge Rd as shown in the map below. Looking at another aerial view I can see two chimneys at the rear of those works away from the shell packing compounds. However we can't be certain because I would assume that most of the people in pic would walk towards Witton rather than towards the Aldridge Rd which probably seemed out in the countryside in 1912.
HolfordDrive.JPG
 
I typed this before I saw Pedrocut's post
When I first ever saw the pic my first thoughts were that it was Holford Drive which went from Holford Mills to the Aldridge Rd as shown in the map below. Looking at another aerial view I can see two chimneys at the rear of those works away from the shell packing compounds. However we can't be certain because I would assume that most of the people in pic would walk towards Witton rather than towards the Aldridge Rd which probably seemed out in the countryside in 1912.
View attachment 119084

If you move the pointer a little more towards Aldridge Road, maybe the fence boundary on the left can be seen and the other fence boundary coming from the right closer to the main building?
 
Just an observation - unusual to see the same type of boundary fence on both sides of the road. So assume the road/lane might be a cutting through the same owned land on both sides - as a form of protection perhaps? Munitions storage/testing etc? All guesswork. Viv.
 
But did Holford mills have two big chimneys?. The area by the gate did, which is what I had assumed was the buildings in the background
 
This aerial view shows the length of Holford Drive from the Holford Mill to the Aldridge Road and the open land around it. There are at least two chimneys in the works and possibly a third smaller one but this pic was taken in 1947 and does not prove that the chimneys were there in 1912 although it seems likely that they were.
image is from 'britainfromabove'
Holford Drive.JPG
 
Last edited:
Yes, but I would have thought from the aerial view that looking back up the drive, one chimney would be viewed on one left of the road and the other the right side, whereas on the 1912 photo they are both on the left. This does not of course mean there was not another chimney on the left at that time
 
When I zoom in on Holford Drive there appears to be low fences on each side in this view dated 1947.
HolfordFence.JPG
image from 'britainfromabove'
 
If only the background was not so misty. Certainly this seems to be the only place that seems at all likely, though I still have afew doubts.
 
The alternative is they could be walking along Holford Road which is now called Noble Way. This would probably put the chimneys in the 1947 pic in the correct position as shown in the original pic ie: to the left of the road.
 
This view dated 1920 shows Holdford Road on the left (red spot) and once past the houses it is quite open. It seems to me that a view from there would put the chimneys on the left. Also I would think that the crowd in the original pic would be heading towards the trams and trains in Witton (red spot) rather than the Aldridge Road.
Munitions1920.JPG
image from 'britainfromabove'
 
Back
Top