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Spion Kop Park Mount Street Nechells

K

Kandor

Guest
There's a park at the bottom of Mount St, Nechells..just a few hundred
yards from where Poms Mom now lives.
It doesn't have much of a claim to fame , it nestles along the the 'banks'
of the River Rea and the Canal that goes from Nechells to Spaghetti
Junction..
It does have a small hill in it though..
Which is why gangs of us used to meet up and play soldiers.
They call it 'Spion Kop' park.
I wasn't really up on the Boer War back then so didn't know where the name came from, sure, I could ask Dennis all about it and the battles he fought there but then again, the memories may be too painful for him to dwell on 8)
Whether I misheard it as a kid or the person who told its name wasn't too
sure about it either, but I always called it 'Spying Cob'
It's where we played out our battles and campaigns
It was a really good park for us kids...the defenders used to roll down rocks on
us as we struggled to take it from the 'Enemy'
I cant ever remember being hurt during those battles..I do remember hurting
someone though.
It was the was the second time I made such a shot..
I threw a stone at one of the defenders who was looking out for us via a
4ft piece of cast iron rain water pipe..
It was a shot in a hundred as it rattled along the pipe and I heard a
scream as it bounced off his forehead..he had a lump like Torchy the battery boy for weeks after.
Just up from there is my longest surviving piece of work..a handrail that I put in when I was 18 (cough)... 14 years ago.
But the park was cool, just over the fence is a piece of graffitti still scratched into the stone..it says 'Robbo 1959'
It was done by my brother Robert just above the Rea right next to the 'dark half hour'
He was 10 years old.
The park isn't what it used to be of course, time and faded memories have taken care of that..
But if I close my eyes I can still see Norman Lumbley charging up the hill, Clive Hayes falling almost from the top to the bottom with a lump on his head like a coconut...that's what it's all about you know...memories
 
I have never been to that park Kandy, but in the 60's when our children were just babes Brian's Uncle and Aunt took them whenever we were all at Gran's in Cuckoo Road. The hill was christened 'Grippy Shoes Mountain'. :D
 
Hello. My mom was was born in Wharton Street, Nechells in 1917. She often used to mention playing in the 'Spying Cop' as a child. I think it was some sort of park or children's play area. Does anyone have any information about this place? Thankyou. Eileen.
 
Cromwell. Thank you so much for your response. I thought I might have had the spelling wrong. It is so nice to see the place where my mom used to play and spent many happy hours. Kind regards, Eileen
 
me and 2 friends used to go there in the hot summer of '73 when we were 14.
I'm afraid we were wagging school. One of my friend's uncle's (who was quite young) used to let us doss at his house and put our make-up on first...then we might go for a drink in The Villa Tavern or The New Inns, (he lived on Stuart St.)
Scary to me now as my youngest, my daughter, was 14 last week. :(

On the way home to the 65 bus stop we used to go in the park for an hour or so to kill time, and sunbathe.
I can't explain it but it was quite a magical time...even that park...
I suppose we were dreaming about some boy or other...but the friendships were good, and the park was usually peaceful so we could have some good talks.
 
Mazbeth - hi. It was nice to read about your happy memories of the park. Thank you. Eileen
 
Hello Eileen...thanks :)
were you brought up in Nechells as well as your mom?
 
Hi. No I was born and brought up in Shard End, so don't know too much about the Nechells area. Eileen
 
eileen said:
Hello. My mom was was born in Wharton Street, Nechells in 1917. She often used to mention playing in the 'Spying Cop' as a child. I think it was some sort of park or children's play area. Does anyone have any information about this place? Thankyou. Eileen.
Click to expand...

Eileen don't worry I have trouble spelling never fear most Spelling go un-noticed so don't worry. By the way there is a SPELL CHECK AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE
 
Alf. Thanks for your message. I don't think the spell check would have picked up the error. Eileen
 
re spion cop

hello. I remember the park,we played there through the 50s and early 60s.I can remember them building a fort to climb on.When we was fed up in the park we would climb over the fence and play by the cut,and on the slack heap.My dad worked across the road,and the park keeper was always telling him.He never did get my name right,for some reason he called me tailer,its pete
 
Kandor said:
There's a park at the bottom of Mount St, Nechells..just a few hundred
yards from where Poms Mom now lives.
It doesn't have much of a claim to fame , it nestles along the the 'banks'
of the River Rea and the Canal that goes from Nechells to Spaghetti
Junction..
It does have a small hill in it though..
Which is why gangs of us used to meet up and play soldiers.
They call it 'Spion Kop' park.
I wasn't really up on the Boer War back then so didn't know where the name came from, sure, I could ask Dennis all about it and the battles he fought there but then again, the memories may be too painful for him to dwell on 8)
Whether I misheard it as a kid or the person who told its name wasn't too
sure about it either, but I always called it 'Spying Cob'
It's where we played out our battles and campaigns
It was a really good park for us kids...the defenders used to roll down rocks on
us as we struggled to take it from the 'Enemy'
I cant ever remember being hurt during those battles..I do remember hurting
someone though.
It was the was the second time I made such a shot..
I threw a stone at one of the defenders who was looking out for us via a
4ft piece of cast iron rain water pipe..
It was a shot in a hundred as it rattled along the pipe and I heard a
scream as it bounced off his forehead..he had a lump like Torchy the battery boy for weeks after.
Just up from there is my longest surviving piece of work..a handrail that I put in when I was 18 (cough)... 14 years ago.
But the park was cool, just over the fence is a piece of graffitti still scratched into the stone..it says 'Robbo 1959'
It was done by my brother Robert just above the Rea right next to the 'dark half hour'
He was 10 years old.
The park isn't what it used to be of course, time and faded memories have taken care of that..
But if I close my eyes I can still see Norman Lumbley charging up the hill, Clive Hayes falling almost from the top to the bottom with a lump on his head like a coconut...that's what it's all about you know...memories
Click to expand...
'The Dark Half Hour' ------bloody hell, I wouldn't do it now! We must have been mad!
 
the "DARK HALF HOUR" was in aston church rd,it was a small stream that runs from where Taroni is now,and comes out into the rea just by the power station it took about half a hour to walk it in pitch darkness, trying not to slip on the :poop: that run down there.just ofer the fence of the park under the rea bridge was a hot pipe we sat on to get dry after falling in the water.if you fell off the Tarzan,a swing of rope over the water
 
grassy banks dark half hour x is where it started
 

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  • dark half hour start grassy banks.png
    dark half hour start grassy banks.png
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That's right. Total blackness! We were told that occasionally floodgates would open and a torrent of water would sweep through! ----I don't think it ever did, but we were always wary of it.
 
miger1 said:
That's right. Total blackness! We were told that occasionally floodgates would open and a torrent of water would sweep through! ----I don't think it ever did, but we were always wary of it.
Click to expand...
we was told that too. we called the rea the runner.and the cut was were jimmy the lock (the lock keeper)would throw you in if he caught you. and in the winter when the cut froze we would walk over on the ice to mooch in the old power station
 
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