St Chads Hospital, Hagley Road

[Brummygirl66]

Hi, this is my first post on this really interesting site. Hope people from "just over the border" Smethwick are ok to post here!

It was amazing to see the photos above of St Chads, or the "Smethwick Hospital" as us Smethwickians of a certain age call it. I was born there on 12th April 1966 at 6.10 am, it was Easter Tuesday, my husband was also born there on 18th October 1962.

It's a really funny feeling to look at the pictures of the wards and think that my mom or mom in law could've been in them with me or my husband.

We still live in Smethwick and drive down the Hagley Road fairly often past St Chads and we always say, we were born there!

 

[Astoness]

hi brummygirl welcome to the forum and thanks for your post...my sister was born at st chads in november 1969...the youngest of 6...all the rest of us were home births

all the best... enjoy the forum

lyn

 

[DavidGrain]

Hi Brummgirl and welcome. You will find some items relating to Smethwick on this site. I am sure that the thread about Lightwoods Park will interest you.

 

[Brummygirl66]

Hi Lyn and David and thank you for the welcome, I'm really enjoying reading different threads and will be definitely looking at the thread about Lightwoods Park, a favourite place of mine during my teenage years back in the early '80's when I lived in Bearwood, near Warley Woods.

 

[Astonian]

Hi Brummie girl
First of all welcome and i know you will learn alot about your growing up in old bearwood
And secondly I wish you a very happy and healthy and prosperous new year for 2017
I myself and my wife lived just around the corner from st chads it was a great hospital to be born in
and as you know its all gone but like you , even thou i live in worcestershire and have done for twentys years or more
like you i always mention to the wife or my sons and tell them , thats where our nicola was born
6 march 1975 at that period we was living in Balfor house arond on the monument road by the big pub on the corner
Called the Ivy bush pub on Hagley road
Me and a little gang from the area of ladywood would go up there to create problems
for the posh kids with there motorised boats and some times sink them ,
which today if it had been my childs boat i would certainly run around the pool and gave them a clout
but as i said we was not much older than years old our selves
Any way brummie girl we all look foreward to your memories and you will certainly wont regret
you have joined us best wishes Alan,,, Astonian,,,,,

 

[Brummygirl66]

Hi Alan, thank you for your message, hope 2017 ( it seems so strange to type that!) is a good year for you too.

Thank you for your memories of St Chad's and Lightwoods Park, the paddling pool had gone by the time I was spending a lot of time up there, but I have vague memories of it as a little girl.

I must put my memories on the relevant thread, what with that and I have decided to research my husband's family tree, 2017 looks like it is going to be a busy year for me!!

 

[Astonian]

Hi Brummygirl66
many thanks for coming back to me and for your greeting for 2017
well brummygirl you are on the right starting block for such a good start by being on this fantastic forum
And we are all very intrested to learn of your memories ,and knowledge of growing up
As tempus fusus,meaning time flys, there no time like the present ,you will find that on here
we are one happy family and we have alot of experts amongest us whom will help you out
I myself have yet to trace my fathers tree as i was only a nipper really when he died in 1958
I Have been given a little info from a cousin but yet to start , i have been a member for 12 years
Done my mothers side and her father and his family it was amazing and i found out afew skeletons in there cubbards
And that brummygirl does come some times for people now and then
Lookforeward to hearing from you soon so keep posting and keep in touch with us all
on this forum best wishes for 2017 Astonian,,,,,,

 

[gunmaker]

Our daughter was born at St Chad's on 17th March 1963. She was 54 yesterday. I remember it well. My wife had gone into labour early that day and she was born not too long afterwards. I was not present at the birth, I don't think it was encouraged for fathers to be around then. I do remember walking though the snow covered pavements when I visited in the evening. I can remember it like it was yesterday.

 

[Astoness]

hi gunmaker..lovely memories for you....so your daughter was born during the winter of the 62/63 big freeze...i was 10 years old then and remember it well..the snow lasted for months...great for us kids

lyn

 

[hindlip]

hi there
yes i remember the old hockley brook and when the copper stood on the middle of the junction doing is point duty
and of course south rd they was big houses as i recall long before the fly over was ever thought of
and what comes to my mind is there was a big builder merchants on the left hand side of south rd beforer you entered onm to south rd and the shop
facing south rd across the main rd was elvins the builders and painters contractors i think it was an old friend of ours by the name of john harris used tolive in south rd manya donkeys year ago my aunt winn lived just around the corner as did my two cousins barry and bryan phelpsd as i used to come down from spring hill toplay with them and i went to ickneild st school as well astonion

Remember a Brian PhelpsClremont Rd a good friend of my brother Frank Grennan…