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Soho Road Handsworth

Don't forget Brother of Janet Pete Grennan No 11 The Crescent off South Road Handsworth
You only asked if Paul or Michael no mention of Janet, here is one from memory bank last time I saw you was when you pulled up outside our house in South Road in a Mini ( car not skirt ) after having its suspension pumped, do you recall that?
 
Yes just you and your mom there
Potted History for me
Apprentice Engineer local factory CW Cheney and Son ( mom worked there)
Royal Navy Communicator
MEB Slot Meter Emptier then MEB became Eon I became Metering Engineer and left in in 2013
House Husband since old Nationalised Industry Pension made me offer could not refuse
Retired at 55
Married 31 years this year to Debbie from South Road
Daughter Hannah 14
Now live not so far away in Water Orton
Kept first Home in Plymouth throwback to Navy Career so now doubles as Holiday Home
Sadly Mom died 5 years ago Dad 32 years ago
Janet in Melbourne Australia about 40 years Two children Adam and Craig plus Grandchildren now
Mick married twice and divorced twice currently living in Jewelry Quarter living the longest Male Menopause known to man no kids.
Phew never done that before how about you?
 
HI MATELOT
I RECALL CHENNEYS IN FACTORY ROAD WAS,NT THAT THE FACTORY SHORT CHANGED THE LONG TERM EMPLOYEES
OF THERE HARD EARNINGS OF CASH PAYED INTO A PENSION FUND FOR THEM ALL THERE WORKING LIFE
THEN THE FIRM WENT BUST AND SOME OF THE OLD LONG TIME WORKERS NEVER GOT THERE PENSIONS MONEY THEY WORKED FOR ALL THERE LIFE
THERE , I used to work down the road from them at the birmingham bottle exchange best wishes Astonian,,,
 
Yes that is correct it was the biggest pension scandal after the Mirror Group luckily for me I had not long started paying in to pension so when I was made redundant I was able to withdraw all my payments but some very dear friends lost so much and their retirement plans were trashed. I remember the bottle exchange In fact had a friend work their for a while John Morris and was a girl I always spoke with but alas no more but she had a wicked smile
 
Retired Printer living in Redditch,married to Ellen over 40 years now.Two daughter's two granddaughter's.sad to hear about your very fond of her, a good friend.Only five years ago I wished I had made more visits to you get to see Janet my first love good friends as kids. I can rember you being born.I think your house was the first to have Tele. The Crescent has been devastated that's why I'm on this site would love to see a picture of the old place. That's it look after yourself remember me to Janet never forgotten her love to have a chat with her Pete G.....
 
Sadly no pictures of crescent was in touch with Tony Jennings up to about 20 years ago, in fact read his moms Meter when she moved out of New town to retirement home small world, next time speak to Jan will remember you to her with pleasure, sounds as if all good your end but probably with usual stugles of life but 2 daughters and 2 grandchildren supberb, because of playing sailors mine a little late but fabulous so strangely still have a beer at Black Eagle in Factory Rd couple of nights a month with some Handsworth mates thanks so much for messaging let's try and keep in touch
 
Will do Paul I'm on the Hockley site it's very good very nostalgic, will definitely be in touch Keep safe.Pete G...
 
George Lawton's Stores on Soho Road. Interesting retail combination of meats, alcohol and bedding out plants. They had their own farm, so doubtless the dairy produce and bedding out plants came from there. They were agents for Kennaway & Co who were wine and sprit merchants who blended their own whisky in Exeter. There's a young lad (shop boy) caught on camera to the left, almost as though it wasn't intended he should be in the photo. But maybe there wasn't enough space in the doorway for him. Or maybe he was a shy family member. Looks like a thriving business. Love the window displays in these photos. Everything neatly stacked and all the perishables religiously moved out of the window each evening, then returned in the morning.Viv.
 

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HI MATLOCK
On the subject of you knowing a girl working there i would have probaly known her
And to mention that my uncle billy smart and his older brother Joe smart from lodge road was running the show
for the owners whom was a solicitors company office on the front
uncle bill ran the production track with the girls i as on the lorries going out all over the midlands
to various dairys and brewerys to fetch the crates in
 
This image looks about 1920s/30s. Geo Mason grocery store on the left. Viv.
 

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nice photo viv..yes thats geo masons...such a shame soho road is in such a state now but i well remember it when it was a lovely shopping area...our mom used drag me around the shops quite a lot...wish i had appreciated them more back then..
 
Hi very nice and serene in thou,s days I would say no hustling and bustlings
I used to deliver milk for midlands counties in those days gone bye of my younger days
It was a huge area I covered far back as grove lane and around the hands worth park
Back and front and the died of it ox hill road included
I recall those days as very nice with all the tree lines I remember I met a young lady
One night through a friend I surprise they called it a blind date her name was Angela
I never told her I was a milk man but the following week a lady came out of a big house
And asked could she please deliver the gold top milk with stera milk as well
I said yes and started to deliver for that week come the following Sunday morning
I had to knock on the door for payment and lord and behold I had a shock ,and I felt
A little embarrassed because that I went out with on the date was her mothers house
And she lived with her mother I did not know where to put myself but we did eventually
Break the ice and became friends for the duration I was delivering milk around hands worth
At the end of my day I used to stop out side the red lion pub on Soho road
And count my crates and return bottles for the yard lads whom unloaded and counts them
Before stacking them up in mol and street my second oldest brother used to be the yard forms at bagot street
Of midland counties which dealt with the commercial customers
He worked there for 25 Yeats service and got a gold watch but sadly he died in the Heartlands
2 years ago quite suddenly of two weeks going into there he was my second oldest brother Billy,
 
image.jpeg image.jpeg The gabled building to the right is still there on Soho Road, although very much altered and without its clock. Viv.
 
Good point Shortie. Could well be a window. It looks like it has 'hands' but it may be window pains. Viv.
 
I think this image shows the view along Soho Road, looking towards the Red Lion pub on the left (note tower in the distance). If so, many of the buildings to the left were replaced around 1920s/30s. If the modern view is the same spot (corner of Alfred Road) a large Co-op building replaced those on the left in the old image. EDIT See note below. Viv.


Edit. See post #667 for an accurate location of this view.
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Would anyone happen to have a picture of Baines baker's shop on the Soho Road please? My mom worked there just after I was born, I think she became the manageress there, she also went to the shop on Charlemont Farm West Bromwich as relief manageress and won a prize for having the best windows when The Baggies won the Cup in 1968. She went to see them bring the Cup home with my dad, they were both huge Baggies fans ( wonder who I support!!) And nearly got trodden on by a police horse!

After she worked on the Soho Road, she moved to the Cape Hill shop and became manageress there, they also had a café in there and my husband used to go in there with his mom every Saturday after shopping. When he first met my mom, he recognised her immediately.

Any information anyone can give me about the Soho Road shop would be great, as I have no memory of her working there, but apparently my nan would walk down there from Smethwick with me in my pram to meet her on Saturday afternoons.
 
hello brummygirl..from one baggies fan to another so pleased that your mom won that prize for best dressed window..back to your request..this is a very long thread so have you been through it all looking for photos of baines shop??...do you have any idea how far up the soho road it was??

lyn
 
What year was she at Soho road. There does not seem to be a Baines bakers listed there in the 1967 Kellys.
 
hello brummygirl..from one baggies fan to another so pleased that your mom won that prize for best dressed window..back to your request..this is a very long thread so have you been through it all looking for photos of baines shop??...do you have any idea how far up the soho road it was??

lyn
I always thought it was near the junction of Grove Lane on the same side and the shop dropped back a little bit. I think the last time I went down there, it was part of the West Brom Building Society.

Yes, every year when it came to Cup matches, mom would mention that she won the prize for best window!
 
What year was she at Soho road. There does not seem to be a Baines bakers listed there in the 1967 Kellys.

I was born in 1966 and I think she was there then as my nan used to push me in one of those old fashioned prams down on a Saturday afternoon.

I know she was at Charlemont Farm in 1968 so perhaps it closed on the Soho Road and she went there, I'm not sure tbh. Thank you for looking though.
 
I always thought it was near the junction of Grove Lane on the same side and the shop dropped back a little bit. I think the last time I went down there, it was part of the West Brom Building Society.

Yes, every year when it came to Cup matches, mom would mention that she won the prize for best window!

There was definitely a baker's shop near that junction, I worked near there for a while and our boss used to buy a sausage and brown sauce sandwich for his breakfast from there!
 
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