• 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

Osborne Road Police Station

sss65

proper brummie kid
My grandfather was a police sargeant at this station in Erdington. He and his family including my mum, aunt and uncle lived in the police houses in osborne Road. He later became a police motorbike rider. I have seen a message posted by Alberta who said that her father was also a ploice man in Erdington and would love to hear from her if possible to see if her father and my granfather new each other.
 
Hi ,what was your fathers name.
My Dad was stationed at Wilton road Erdington and we lived in Marsh lane police houses.
Policemen were already riding small motorbikes in the late 50s but it was decided to introduce the faster,more powerful BSA Gold Flash bikes.
My Dad was a bike 'nut' and joined up straight away in 1959/60(I think).
He loved his time on the bikes but as he got older he settled for cars.
He joined the force in 1947, worked as a police officer for 30 years and then worked as a Fleet controller (civilian) at Queens Road until the late 8os.
His name was Tom Moore,known to his mates as 'Dad'(why i don't know)
 
Grandad

It was my Grandad who was a sargeant at Wilton Road. Mum and the family lived in Osborne Road police houses. Grandad's name was Charles Bakewell. His nick name was "Chesty" Bakewell. He had a motorbike with a sidecar. He was also a boxer and played cricket for the police too.
 
my father was a policeman at erdington police station and we lived in the police houses in osbourne road no 41 till 1969 i was 11 yrs when we moved our neighbours included the camerons the griffins and whites cant remember the others i remember the police kennels at the bottom of our garden they then built the friendship hall
 
I dont suppose you have any photos of the houses? they are all long gone now. Mum and my grandparents - the Bakewells, lived at no 33.
 
My grandad Charles Bakewell was a policeman at Osborne road in the 1930s to 1950ish. He and his family lived at No 33 Osborne road. I am desperately trying to find pictures of the houses that were eventually knocked down and the old police station.
Does anyone have any or any memories of this?

:disillusionment:
 
Hi sss65: You might ring Erdington Library( Phone No: and ask them if they have any photos of the old Police houses in Osborne Road. Erdington has a Local History group that might have photos. Their contact info is: https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/cs/Sa...092730756&pagename=BCC/Common/Wrapper/Wrapper On the Group's programme for 2013 for the month of September is a man called Don Shipman who was
giving a talk on the local history of the Police. The group meets in the St. Barnabas Church Centre these days. Info on the link.

I have a good friend Margaret who lives on the corner of Osborne and Wilton Road, a property recently renovated to use space taken up by her hairdressing salon which closed years ago.

I remember the area from the early l950's as we often took shortcuts to reach Marsh Lane from the bypass. Also, I attended pottery classes many afternoons in the l950's at Osborne Road School. I remember the police station very well. My friend and I often used to watch the wedding parties have their photos taken at the Parish Church in the High Street. One Saturday we spotted a man in the side Churchyard area digging up one of the graves and throwing sods all over the place. We decided to walk
to Wilton Road to the Police station and report this. A policeman came back with us to the Churchyard and apprehended the disturbed man and took him away.
They treated us very well even though we were only about ten years old at that time in the early 1950's.
 
My dad was a policeman in Erdington in the 50s, we lived in the police houses in Marsh Lane, He was stationed at Wilton Road for a few years.
I remember the block of flats next to the police station, they were the quarters for unmarried police officers, there were a few houses in Wilton Road occupied
by policemen but i never knew that there were police houses in Osborn Road.
 
My dad was a policeman in Erdington in the 50s, we lived in the police houses in Marsh Lane, He was stationed at Wilton Road for a few years.
I remember the block of flats next to the police station, they were the quarters for unmarried police officers, there were a few houses in Wilton Road occupied
by policemen but i never knew that there were police houses in Osborn Road.

I wonder if it was your dad that nicked me for fighting in Slade road in late 50`s. This policeman was riding one of those very quiet motor-bikes (velocipede? ). Cost me a 15 bob fine :-}
 
I think you mean a Velocette LE Smudger.

Here is a photo courtesy of https://www.policebikes.org.uk

View attachment 89993

Thanks for that Bernard, although i wasn`t far out when i said velocipde which is a man powered wheeled vehicle, such as a penny farthing or today, a bike! While we`re on the subject of Police, i got collared by the old bill for urinating in Brum city centre in the 50`s. It was well after midnight & i was on my way to catch the mail train to Worcester for a spot of fishing. It was as they say "a fair cop" but i wonder what the old bill or anyone for that matter would do if they were desperate for a pee? Make sure there`s no-one lurking in the shadows, or carry an empty milk bottle.
 
Those Police Velocette's were water cooled and were so quite. It was easy to get run over by one, you couldn't hear them coming.
 
Hi all thanks for replies- Alberta you and I have spoken before but I think your Dad was younger than my Grandad Bakewell.
Still no luck with photos of the houses from the corner of Wilton Road and Osborne Road or of the original police station??
 
Hi sss65: I have spoken today to my friend Margaret who lives on the corner of Wilton Road and Osborne Road and has done for decades. She said that the newer
houses were police houses and that the Police Station was in Wilton Road. Maybe some photos will turn up eventually.
 
Thanks. My Mum lived at no 33 Osborne Road. She was born in 1934 and her maiden name was Bakewell. Their neighbours were the Adams, Gambles, Baldwin. My mums best friend Muriel Cranmer lived at no 3 Osborne road.
 
My dad was a policeman in Erdington in the 50s, we lived in the police houses in Marsh Lane, He was stationed at Wilton Road for a few years.
I remember the block of flats next to the police station, they were the quarters for unmarried police officers, there were a few houses in Wilton Road occupied
by policemen but i never knew that there were police houses in Osborn Road.

Did you now the Bridgments and the Banks'?
 
There was a family called Bridgment lived in the police houses when I did, I didn't know a Banks family but my grandmother lived with us her surname was Banks.

My memory a bit hazy but was PC Bridgment, a dog handler with a dog called Otto? 2 children one Susan perhaps the other Alan.
 
Last edited:
There was a family called Bridgment lived in the police houses when I did, I didn't know a Banks family but my grandmother lived with us her surname was Banks.

My memory a bit hazy but was PC Bridgment, a dog handler with a dog called Otto? 2 children one Susan perhaps the other Alan.

Don't know about the dog handler bit, but I went to school with Alan Bridgment and Rosalind Banks. Alan and his family emigrated to Australia, think 1962/3. A few years back, I got in touch with him via Friends Reunited and went out to visit him and his family. He's been over here a couple of times as well. He still keeps in touch with Rosalind, they used to go out together. He was devastated when they left this country, he was in the middle of an apprenticeship, but apparently his dad didn't get on with the inspector at the time at Wilton Rd, and that was one of the main reasons he left.
 
I lived at 105 Marsh Lane police houses.My Dad was stationed at Wilton Road.I remember Dad Moore and his daughters Alberta and Norma.Also the Littles.I was friends with Susan Bridgemont. MyDad was Jim Davies,he was badly injured on a police motorbike early sixties
 
Thanks. My Mum lived at no 33 Osborne Road. She was born in 1934 and her maiden name was Bakewell. Their neighbours were the Adams, Gambles, Baldwin. My mums best friend Muriel Cranmer lived at no 3 Osborne road.
Hi. what years you are talking about. I currently live here and interested to know how old my house is.
 
I can remember the police houses near the Marsh Lane clinic. They are of course still there but were always called the "police houses" by local people. I vaguely remember the new police station being built in the 1970's when I was a child. Some of the houses on the site became admin offices in later years.
 
Back
Top