A Book on Saltley, Duddeston & Nechells
Hi Ger22van
There is a book covering these areas and it it published in the Images of England Series compiled by Maria Twist isbn 0-7524-2279-0 Tempus Publishing and I got my copy from the Birmingham Library.
It has many black and white photgraphs taken from the archives in the Local Studies and History section of Birmingham Library and many of the places discussed on this thread of the forum are mentioned.
Chapter one is about Ashted and Gosta Green with pictures of Ashted Row in 1961, Hennage Street, Henry Street, Great Lister Street, Coleshill Street, A.B.Row,Fisher Street.
Chapter two: Is about Industry and it has pictures of Dudeston Flour Mill, Park Mills and Pool, Union Glass Works Duddeston, Bag workers & machine works at Smith, Stone & Knights paper Mills, Metropolitan works Saltley, J Wright & sons, Windsor St Gas Works, Gas Explosion at Saltley Gas works.
Th part that interested me the most was the Duddeston and Nechells chapter because that is where my ancestors lived for nearly two centuries and where I was bought up in the 1950's & 60's.
Pictures are of Vauxhall Road, Great Brook Street, Lupin Street, Windsor Street, Midland Street, New Canal Street. Richrd Street, Rowland Street, Lawley Street, Bloomsbury Street, Landoe Street, Holt Street, Lawford St, Adderley Street, Bloomsbury Street and so many more.
There are not just pictures of buildings but of people too.
On page 82/3 there are pictures of the inside of a house in Bloomsbury Street dated 1950's just like the one I lived in and of Nechells Place 1968 and High Park Corner Nechells with Wimbushes Cake Shop right in the fore where the girls from Newtons factory later called GKN used to get cakes in the lunch hour. Lathams the drapers is on the other corner and the chemists was facing that but I cant remember the name of it and I should because that is where my mother used to take me for sulphur tablets to purify the blood and liquorice root for your bowels.
Old Dr Gibson used to be a few doors up from Lathams and then Dr Rogowski took over. I remember when I was about 8 my sister and I had yellow Jaundice and had to stay off school and be good while my mother worked her shift in Newtons on the hand rolling section. We were feeling pretty sorry for ourselves and the doctor told my mother we could have boiled potatoes and a bit of fish but no pop, so as my mother was at work we sneaked my fathers bottle of lemonade which was kept under the living room table and we drank it between us. I was never so sick in the whole of my life and I got a good hidng into the bargain being the eldest and 'responsible'.
The funniest thing was that the doctor told my mother to get us to pee in a bottle and bring it to the doctors for a test. needless to say we both peed in the same pop bottle and being the eldest I had to take it to the doctors as my mother was at work, but the doctors was closed so only being 8 and not understanding I left it on his step. The pop bottle had no name on it or anything and I often wonder how I thought the doctor would know who it was from and even more I wonder what actually happened to it.
Anyway my sister and I got better even without the test. It makes you think about the amount of responsibilty the eldest child in the family had in those days especially if both parents worked.
It would not happen in todays worls but I think that despite it all the amount of life experience I learned through it all has benifited me greatly over the years and although I didnt appreciate it at the time it has actually stood me in great steed and I dont let anything beat me now.