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Off to town on the 53 bus

postie

The buck stops here
Staff member
ALL ABOARD THE 53. 1950/60


Alighting the 53 bus at stechford on our journey to the City Centre, we wait for the Driver and conductor to finish their " fag break ", they punch in at the Bundy clock and at last we are on our way.
On the right is the Dame Elizabeth Cadbury Hall, lots of good dances held there.
On the left is the Richmond pub, they have a very good bowling and darts teams and again lots of good times are enjoyed there.
Here we are passing the Ritz park, which, at one time boasted a very well used baseball diamond, mainly played on by American workers from Cincinatee Engineering .
Adjacent to the park is the Ritz cinema complete with its Saturday morning ABC minors club, where kids go to cheer the heros and boo the vilians, Roy Rogers, hopalong Cassidy, Cisco Kid and of course Flash Gordon with his arch rival Emperor Ming the merciless.
Next, on the left is East Birmingham Hospital, which used to once be a fever Hospital.
Opposite the Hospital is Alston Road School where I have spent many a happy day having knowledge bashed into me.I also went to the scouts there as well, I was in the peewit patrol.
We are now at the Broadway with the most peculiar named Belchers Lane crossing the main road.
The Broadway is another pub with good sports facilities like bowling and darts.Onward now towards Bordesley Green.
Whats that shop crowded with children of all ages ? ah yes, Gardners sweet shop.
After passing Finnemore Road, rows of neat houses known as Batchelors Farm Estate hide a little known gem of tranquility which we call The Grass Park, with its beautifully kept grass and flower beds, on the left hand side.Behind the houses on the right hand side is another oasis in the form of a massive allotments, complete with various ponds.
On the left hand side are Bordesley Green Schools, junior and infants and of course the Girls senior school, hang on a minute I know those three girls, Susan Jones, Jackie Moore and Anne Burdett, shouldn't they be at school.
As we approach Blake Lane we see the Era cinema with its unique balcony which is only two steps higher, but still costs you an extra three pence to sit there.
Passing Blake Lane, we come to the builders yard of Jim Plumley and if we look carefully we can see Kenny Baker having a crafty fag.
Its a very busy little shopping area with Bruces fruit and veg and Kens bike shop, I’ve spent loads of money on batteries for my torch, in there.
Down past the Post Office towards Fordrough Lane on the right, it seems that millions of people work down there at the GPO.
On the corner of Botha road is a general store and sweetshop called Scrivens who do very nice bottles of home made pop at a penny a bottle.
On the corner of Pretoria Road is a kids treasure trove , a sweetshop containg every known sweet and run by Dorothy Simkiss and her Mother.
To the left looms the great big tall chimneys of the brickworks and an area of derelict land known affectionately as “the tip“.
On the right hand side, just before Humpage Road is the Police and Fire Station, a marvelous old building that commands respect.
On the left hand side as we go past Imperial Road is a neat row of terrace houses that belie the fact that there is a massive park behind them, nicknamed "the gravel park”, because thats exactly what its covered with, even to this day I still carry the scars from falling over in that park.
The bottom half of the park contains loads of playthings such as , the witches hat, the pirate ship, a massive sea saw, roundabout and rows of swings. The top half was just one massive open space again covered in gravel
There was a downs syndrom Girl who seemed to live in the park, her name was Iris, she was a big girl and kids, being kids, were scared to death of her.
One day I fell over and hurt my knee, she came running over to me, picked me I thought she was going to eat me but she picked me up and carried me to the Parkies hut, I was never scared of her again.
Leaving the park behind, we pass the Coach and Horses pub and carry on towards another row of shops which includes Bert Guy and of course another great Cycle shop Harry Craigs.
Just before Victoria St is the strange combination of Pearks grocers and, next door, the grocers shop of George Mason. Continuing on we pass the Court Steam Laundry quickly followed by my second home, Willie Holtes snooker hall run by Percy and Mrs Reeves.
Further on we come to the dividing of the ways, the Atlas Pub, Turn right into garrison lane and left into Cattel Rd, we are taking the right hand lane.
On the right hand side is the scrap metal and rag merchant, Thomas (Raggy) Allens, crowded as usual with tatters and their handcarts.
After the Royal George pub are some of the earliest blocks of flats in Birmingham, The Homes.Behind them is a football stadium belonging to some team or other ( lol ).
The rest of the journey is mostly through one industrial area or another and we finally alight in town at Carrs Lane.
“ Terminus, all off “
Ding Ding
 

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I don't live or come from that area of Birmingham, But if I qwint my eyes just as little I can visualise your decription.
Thanks Lawrence
 
Postie,
Having just read 'ALL ABOARD THE 53' I was transported back to my childhood and teenage years. The Dame Elizabeth Cadbury Hall' we called the YWCA. Opposite the bus terminus was a day nursery. My father used to patronise the Richmond PH and play bowls there. Before moving to Stechford we lived in Belchers Lane and dad's watering hole and bowling green was the Broadway. As a youngster my brother and I brought fleas home from the Ritz cinema after attending the Saturday matinee. My brother went to Alston Road Boys' where the poor teachers tried to instill knowledge into him. One of the teachers later became my brother in law. Still is. Hence my comment about 'poor teachers'. Two of my aunts worked at Gardners sweet shop. The grass park we knew as Drummond Road Park. My bicycle came from Ken's bike shop - a Dawes Daisy Belle. I paid 3/6d a week for it. I had to buy it myself as I wasn't allowed one as I was a girl !!! The Police station used to have stables in the yard at the back but the mounted branch were no longer there as I was growing up. I remember my mother telling me that her first job was at Bert Guy, pressing seams in men's caps for 6/6d a week. The year was 1929 and she left school the day after her 14th birthday in December of that year. The hours she worked were 8am to 6pm - for 6/6 a week. (Her next job was at Hughes's Biscuit Factory for 7/6d a week. Consequently we never had biscuits at home as she said "I've seen them made".)
Thanks for a trip down 'memory lane'.
Batmadviv
 
Jim that is brilliant, am going to take it for dad to read, his patch although a few years before you, but it brings some memories for me, my great aunts lived in Stechford, on Station Road, oposite the cop shop, so used that bus route when we went to Town or to see that brilliant football team you mentioned :p. I don't think it was a 53 when I went on it though, am sure it was a 97 or 97A - but that may be wrong it was some time ago!
And batmadviv, my grandad used the Richmond and my mother in law lived in Belchers Lane before she married.
Sue
 
Hi Patricia,

Now you've got me puzzled. There is a 53 bus on Network West Midlands website,
which starts at the old 99 terminus in Lanchester Way Smiths Wood, just down the road from me
and wends its way up Auckland Drive to Hurst Lane North, and from there through Shard End
and Glebe Farm to Audley Road Stechford. Unfortunately the map finishes there (being a Solihull
Area map), so I am not sure where it goes from there. I expect someone can advise where.
I wonder if your 53 route is run by another company, as I have seen a 53 in our area recently
suggesing the map is up to date.
I remember the old route well exactly as Postie describes, and later when the route was extended
up to the Poolway. There was a very nice glass fronted shelter at the Poolway facing the Meadway.
The shelter was later converted into a florists shop. Not quite sure whether both the 53 and 54 were
extended to the Poolway.

Kind regards

Dave
 
the smethwick buses were all scrapped - and replaced with new bus routes and new numbers at the end of october, I go to work on the 53 now and I use a west midlands bus travel card . I get on at the Queens Head in Smethwick and go to Bearwood Road. Also, the 99 bus runs along Harborne High street and goes past Halesowen, it used to be the 636, that change happened a few months ago

I've just found out that the 53 goes to Merry Hill too
 
Sorry, I have just amended the title it should have been dated 1950/60.
Ooops
 
Thats a very atmospheric ride there Postie, I'm only familiar with the original Quinton9 and the outer circle 11 but even so that was a nice ride. I just had a quick look in a rather interesting book by the well known local transport author, Malcolm Keeley, who has recently published a book called "Birmingham Buses Route by Route" this is slightly different as it looks at the routes served by BCT and the buses that operated on those routes. In many ways this book just might interests forum members who might not have any interest in the vehicles themselves but may well find the many illustrations of interest. These illustrations do feature the buses but many of them are really well depicted in their natural environment so there are some really good shots of the city centre and the suburbs that many I suspect will recongise.
I did look up the route 53 along with a few others and they are listed thus:

51 City-Fazely Street-Bordesley Green (Belchers Lane)

52 City-Deritend-Bordesley Green (Belchers Lane)

53 City-Fazely St -Bordesely Green-Stechford- Tile Cross

54 City-Deritend-Bordesley Green-Stechford

There is a photo of a Daimler HOV 997 displaying the blind reading 53A Belchers lane via Fazeley St also another Daimler but a later one ,JOJ 633, one on route 53 displaying Stechford via Fazeley Street then finally and just into the days of the W.M.P.T.E a front entrance Daimler Fleetline, KOX 755F, with the blind reading Shirestone Road via Medway. apparently the Medway reference was due to the service being extended to Kitts Green.

Hope this might be of interests.
 
Postie I have cut and pasted your journey and sent it to my cousin's hubby in Canada as he lived in Pretoria Road. He has emailed me back saying he has got goosebumps reading it and it brought back so many happy memories for him. He wondered if you knew him, his name is Michael Edwards.
 
I don't recognise the name but probably knew him by site as I lived opposite Pretoria Rd, in Third Ave.
I bet he knows Frank Laws shop on the corner of Pretoria Rd.
 
Postie this is part of his message.

for someone to mention about the Ritz Park and the baseball diamond run by the Yanks they had 2 teams play there the Beavers and the Braves I played for the Braves junior team was about 12-14 yrs old 1955-57. We hung out at the billiard or snooker hall but our Cafe was Gwenns we had a c ouple o trips out to Brownhills to the Station pub to have a knuckle with the so-called tough guys from Brownhills, Carol Istill have bumps on my arms and hairs standing up
 
I can remember the park behind Charles Road, back in the days when they still had a 'Parkie'.

The only Post Office that I recall was at the junction with Little Green Lane, virtually opposite the Snooker Hall. My sister got her 1st job there. And wasn't there a triangular shaped 'refuge' at the junction with an underground (gents) toilet?

Skool lunchtimes I can remember, going into Wimbush's, getting 'half a (stick type) loaf', consuming the centre, and then over the road to the 'chippie' for the 'carcass' to be filled with totally unhealthy fried potato slices. Which possibly explains my current girth.:ambivalence:

The Fever Hospital? Wasn't that the other side of Yardley Green Road, which became the Chest Hospital and, when TB became a cause for concern, an Isolation Hospital. I worked in the area for a number of years but always gave that establishment a wide berth.
 
Hi Bill,
Very interested in the mention of routes 51 and 52 as 'shortened' versions of the 53 and 54.
Those routes are not listed in the 1956 BCT guide, and your mention of HOV 997 displaying 53A
for what would have been the 51 suggests that perhaps the routes were closed prior to this.
I lived in the area between the early 50's and 1969, and I dont remember ever seeing them.
I wonder if your Bus route book shows when they stopped, as I am sure these routes were reused
in another area in the 1960s

Kind regards

Dave
 
The 51 route City to Scots Arms 52 route City to Beeches Estate. The 51 was later extended to Walsall taking in the old Midlands Red 118.
 
Just thought you might like to know a bit more information on the 53 and its sister service 54.
Services 53 "STECHFORD VIA FAZELEY STREET" AND 54 "STECHFORD VIA DERITEND" both began on the 3rd October 1948 replacing tram services 84 & 90. They were actually supposed to be converted in 1940 (The imminent widening of digbeth would cause enormous cost in track and overhead re-alignment) but something happened on the 3rd Sep 1939 that gave them an 8 year repreive. The new services faithfully followed the old tram routes and terminated at Stuarts Road. This arrangement lasted into the 60's (with the odd alteration to the City Terminal point). Throughout the 50's and 60's considerable building had taken place beyond Station road and Meadway, but the buses (Birminghams anyway) were restricted to stechford the reason being the police would not let open platform buses operate along the Meadway for safety reasons (!). This of course didn't apply to Midland Red whos buses had doors. Finally on 27 Feb 66 the 53 was extended to Garretts Green Lane as "53 KITTS GREEN VIA MEADWAY" (the 53 and 54 now being operated by Fleetlines with powered doors) It was extended again on the 12 Nov 67 as "53 SHIRESTONE ROAD VIA MEADWAY".
There was an experimental service that followed the 14 route as far as Kitts Green then East Meadway, Tile Cross Road to Shirestone Road numbered "23 SHIRESTONE ROAD VIA EAST MEADWAY" but this only lasted from 5 Feb - 11 Nov 1967.
So the 53 and 54 soldiered on into PTE days and beyond. Beyond in fact the WMPTE's take over of Midland Reds services within the new county boundary . So a ridiculous situation arose from 3 Dec 73 whereas the PTE were now running the Chelmsley Wood services complete with MR old picking up / setting down restrictions (Designed to stop journeys wholly within the City boundary). This wasteful duplication carried on until mid 1975 when the Chelmsley Wood services were re-organised and the 53 became "97 CHELMSLEY WOOD SOUTH VIA MEADWAY" although regular short workings to Shirestone Road continued as 97E (as from 2 Aug 1975 all short workings carried a suffix letter E - for exception). The 54 re-invented itself as a 98 (Marston Green) & 99 (Chelmsley wood North).

Interestingly - Short workings 51 and 52 did appear on Liverpool street garage motor bus blinds 1n 1949 but Coventry Road( who ran the services) blinds dated 1948 show 53, 53A/B & 54, 54A/B

Short workings for the 53 were:-
initially,
53A Garrison Lane / Cattell Road
53B Belchers Lane via Fazeley Street

These were relettered (about 1963) and by the early 70's ended up as:-
53B Garrison Lane / Tilton Road
53D Garrison Lane / Cattell Road
53E Belchers Lane via fazeley Street
53F Stechford via Fazeley Street
53H Garretts Green Lane / Meadway

Hope this is interesting
Roland
 
Thank you ! Loved reading `All Aboard The 53`. Memories came flooding back.

The mention of the Ritz Park made me recall when I `ran away` with the boy next door, Tommy Dodd. We used `money off the bottles` to pay for our trip on the No.53, from Victoria Street to the Ritz Park, which, at age ten, seemed miles away.
After spending hours messing about in the park, paddling in the water (River Cole?) and balancing across the bridge above, we started to head for home. No money for the return journey - it seemed like a never-ending walk following the No.53 route; almost at the Police Station, after Fordrough Lane, my dad was coming towards us, with a search party - it seemed like the whole of Victoria Street was out looking for us.
Tommy Dodd got a clip across the ear and a kick up the backside - his face was then as red as his hair. I was marched the rest of the way home, at the head of the group in the tight grip of my dad.
It took a good while to live down that `little adventure` - but, it seems, I may have been spotted a few years later, now `playing the wag` along the No.53 route.
I have a friend who still lives in Finnemore Road and we have always referred to that area, including the grass park, as the Ideal Village.
Iris`s gravel park was known to us as Charles Road Park.
The four blocks of flats in Garrison Lane were East, West, South and North Holme. They were still there when I walked the route about eight years ago - looking for St.Andrew`s Church, which is no longer. It was certainly somewhere near there in 1916 and 1976.
Many thanks for taking me on the No.53 again.

Annie
 
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