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Midlands Electricity Board MEB

Following on from the posts about what happend to MEB. This is the latest in the saga. Copied from The Business Desk, a news website. (I did a copy and paste so the spelling is not my responsibility.)


Warwick-based National Grid is set to buy Western Power, the UK’s largest electricity distribution business in a deal worth £7.8bn.

As part of the deal, National Grid will sell The Narragansett Electric Company (NECO) to PPL Emnergy Holdings – a subsidiary of PPL WLD Investments, the holding company of Western Power, in a £2.7bn deal.

In a futher move, National Grid has announces that it will start a process later this year for the sale of a majority stake in National Grid Gas, the owner of the national gas transmission system.
 
Bob,

That figures with surrunding towns of Nazareth & Bethlehem! Spent most of my time over there in Wysox, 20 miles south of the upstate NY border - lovely country up there. Have driven past Allenstown on my way to Philly a couple of times, but much prefer the rural north.

Maurice :cool:
 
My brother Cliff (Clifford) Commander did his apprentiship at Summer Lane, anyone remember him. He was most upset when he got verbally attacked on the bus during the power strike, he had his M.E.B donkey jacket on it must have been before he started driving or his car broke down
 
Out in the sticks Brummy said:
My brother Cliff (Clifford) Commander did his apprentiship at Summer Lane, anyone remember him. He was most upset when he got verbally attacked on the bus during the power strike, he had his M.E.B donkey jacket on it must have been before he started driving or his car broke down
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Yes. I think that i did my apprenticeship at the same time as him. Started at Summer Lane training school in 1967.



Steve.
 
pjmburns said:
My Dad, Bernard Campbell, worked for the MEB as a commercial engineer. He was in Summer Lane until early 1960s and then moved to Solihull until his retirement in the 1980s.
Wharf Lane goes off Moat Lane.
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My dad started his apprenticeship at MEB George road erdington in the 70's, he eventually went on to become a full electrician but was forced into redundancy when they sold the company off around the 90's/ early 2000. I remember as a little girl me and my younger brother used to attend the MEB kids Christmas parties, they used to throw a brilliant party every year we would go, and they would also get us a coach to go and watch a panto before returning to MEB site to meet Santa and eat food. I have some amazing memories of our times there. This is also a massive coincidence too! I now live on wharf Lane Solihull, moved here 15 years ago massive housing estate now.
 
lemja5 said:
My dad started his apprenticeship at MEB George road erdington in the 70's, he eventually went on to become a full electrician but was forced into redundancy when they sold the company off around the 90's/ early 2000. I remember as a little girl me and my younger brother used to attend the MEB kids Christmas parties, they used to throw a brilliant party every year we would go, and they would also get us a coach to go and watch a panto before returning to MEB site to meet Santa and eat food. I have some amazing memories of our times there. This is also a massive coincidence too! I now live on wharf Lane Solihull, moved here 15 years ago massive housing estate now.
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The other thing I forgot to mention was we lived in hathersage Road Great Barr and last year I googled our property and it still has the same alarm system up my dad fitted with the MEB logo on the front. Sadly we moved from that property in 1993.
 
lemja5 said:
Walsall lumination lights 1989 we went there as kids too.
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We used to go to the lights in Walsall too. Living now in the North East this year I went with my son and his family to the illuminations in Sunderland, held in Roker Park. A superb show and memories of Walsall came flooding back.
 
jmadone said:
We used to go to the lights in Walsall too. Living now in the North East this year I went with my son and his family to the illuminations in Sunderland, held in Roker Park. A superb show and memories of Walsall came flooding back.
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Shame they closed down Walsall lights! I have 5 kids 2 adults, one teen and 2 under 10 we managed to take my older ones in their 20's as kids and took our now teen when he was a toddler sadly my other two never got to go because the closure came in 2011. We are hoping to take a day trip to Blackpool this year with our younger 3 the view the lights.
 
Williamstreeter said:
I went in there once the social club we must have played the only game of snooker with four players , I worked across the road from the club at ERD . The board as we knew them were one of our biggest customers .
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jukebox said:
I was with the MEB from 1960 to 1967. At that time Birmingham Area was divided into 5 'districts' - Birmingham North-West (Henrietta Street then Summer Lane), Birmingham North-East (not sure if it was then in George Road as I never went there), Birmingham South-West (Kings Road, Kings Heath), Birmingham South-East (Third Avenue, Bordesley Green) and Solihull (Wharf Lane, Solihull). There was also a building in Water Street (bottom of Snow Hill, opposite Summer Lane) where they did silk screen printing for producing advertising posters.

On second thoughts - I think Birmingham North-East may have been in Cheston Road at that time.
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Does anyone remember my dad Ron Stansbie ?
 
Dave Ackrill said:
OK, so tell me if this is not on topic and I'll delete it.

MEB Birmingham Area in 1978 was divided up into the Area offices (Summer Lane) and three divisional offices Birmingham Northern Division (George Road, Erdington), Eastern Division (Moat Lane, Solihull) and Southern Division (Kings Road, Kings Heath).

None of which still exist.
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Hi Dave Birmingham Area was actually split up a long time before that.I worked at Birmingham North(George Road ) around 1968 and Birmingham South(Kings Road) in 1970.
 
Mike Robinson said:
Water Street was also the home of the Radio and TV workshop when the MEB offered that service to customers. That service was obtained via the showroom staff.
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Hi Mike it was actually Chester Street off Rocky Land Aston great memories of working there.
 
Hi everyone,

I wonder if anyone is still active in this forum?

My parents, and my auntie, worked at MEB in George Road (though my dad later in his career travelled all over) in the 70s/80s/90s.

Colin Smith, Julie Brown (then Smith), Patrica Burman

Anyone about that knows/remembers them?
 
Hi I knew the people you have mentioned.Colin was a meter reader at George Road and married Julie Smith who worked for me on the Call centre at George Road.Pat Burman worked for the MEB for many years and lives not far from me with her husband Rod Burman.
 
Barryh said:
Hi I knew the people you have mentioned.Colin was a meter reader at George Road and married Julie Smith who worked for me on the Call centre at George Road.Pat Burman worked for the MEB for many years and lives not far from me with her husband Rod Burman.
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Ha, fantastic! I'm Colin and Julie's daughter. There's a photo of me somewhere, as a baby, at my Auntie Pat's retirement do with a phone propped up next to me.

I found this forum trying to explain to my husband where the George Road office was (which is now a new-ish build housing estate I think?)

We live in Sheffield and he's from the Lake District so the MEB makes no sense to him.

Are you still in touch with my parents or Pat and Rod?
 
ceri_1994 said:
Ha, fantastic! I'm Colin and Julie's daughter. There's a photo of me somewhere, as a baby, at my Auntie Pat's retirement do with a phone propped up next to me.

I found this forum trying to explain to my husband where the George Road office was (which is now a new-ish build housing estate I think?)

We live in Sheffield and he's from the Lake District so the MEB makes no sense to him.

Are you still in touch with my parents or Pat and Rod?
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Ceri, welcome to The Forum, a great place to be!
 
Hi you are quite right about George Road it is now a housing estate.I retired back in 1999 and have not seen Julie or Colin since my retirement.I occasionally saw Pat whilst shopping at our local Asda but have not seen her since Covid hit us all.I occasionally see Rod and understand Pat has not been very well.
 
Barryh said:
Hi you are quite right about George Road it is now a housing estate.I retired back in 1999 and have not seen Julie or Colin since my retirement.I occasionally saw Pat whilst shopping at our local Asda but have not seen her since Covid hit us all.I occasionally see Rod and understand Pat has not been very well.
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Hi...
This thread has brought back some child hood memories !
My late mother worked in the restaurant there and on the afternoon tea trolley runs
....
It was a ideal job for mom , very local as we lived just up on summer lane...
In the early 60's me and our sis used to go to the kids Christmas parties..
We loved them , eating cakes , biscuits and jelly.. also getting a pressie from Santa..
When we moved from Aston to Kingstanding in 1965 our mom still kept her job...
It is very warming to read these threads from ex employees who probably was served their dinners from our dear old mom...
Thank you ...
 
My dad used to work for the MEB, Ron Coates was is name. 43 years he worked for them, I remember the Christmas parties my sister and I used to go to at summer lane every year. Does anyone else remember these Christmas parties for the kids ?
 
I saw this and I had to comment , I worked for a company that had the streetlighting contract for MEB South Staffs Victoria Road Fenton when they sent in an order you have never seen so manny lamps go out on one van in all your life . Made you wonder what they did with them
 
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