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Vegetarian Store and Restaurant (WW2)

S

Susan King

proper brummie kid
My mom was a Brummie and told me a story about working in a vegetarian store with a restaurant during WW2. I'm curious whether it is possible to identify it given that I don't know the name. I do know from the 1939 Register that she lived at 15 Gainsborough Road, so presumably it might have been nearby.

Is this at all possible? I'm in Canada and not too clued in about Birmingham, so please excuse my ignorance.
 
hello and welcome to the forum susan...hopefully some of our members will be able to help with your enquiry

lyn
 
Would it have been Prana - something about it mentioned in this thread...

Prana (health food shop and restaurant)

It became Holland & Barratt - does any one remember it? Opposite Lewis's back entrance (I haven't got an A-Z here at the moment) and across a circular underpass with shops around the edge, which has been filled in, as I found a few years ago when visiting. I still have a silver ring I bought...
birminghamhistory.co.uk birminghamhistory.co.uk
 
A Sparks said:
Would it have been Prana - something about it mentioned in this thread...

Prana (health food shop and restaurant)

It became Holland & Barratt - does any one remember it? Opposite Lewis's back entrance (I haven't got an A-Z here at the moment) and across a circular underpass with shops around the edge, which has been filled in, as I found a few years ago when visiting. I still have a silver ring I bought...
birminghamhistory.co.uk birminghamhistory.co.uk
Click to expand...
Thanks for directing me here, A Sparks. I googled Old Square after reading through the Prana thread and had a chuckle at this:
During World War II, a hole was dug next to Lewis's Department Store and above it, a bomb shelter was built. The shelter did not suffer any damage however nearby areas along Corporation Street did suffer direct hits.[1]

I chuckled because the story my mom told involved her and a coworker stopping work for a tea break, which they used to have in the restaurant. "One night as we tucked into our eggs and chips the siren started again. This was the second day in a row it had happened. We looked at each other and shook our heads - we were ...damned... if we were going to miss our dinner again." My mother always paused before she said "damn" (the only curse she ever uttered) and then out it would come with a breathlessness that expressed her frustration that only this word would convey her feelings.

It could very well have been Prana; I might vaguely remember her saying that the restaurant was upstairs.
 
Astoness said:
hello and welcome to the forum susan...hopefully some of our members will be able to help with your enquiry

lyn
Click to expand...
Thanks for the welcome, Lyn! I was reminded of your forum by Anne Bennett. She used your forum when researching her book "Far From Home" and spoke warmly in the Acknowledgements of all of the help she was given. Would you be able to direct me to the area where I might view any photographs or other discussions of Birmingham during the war years?
 
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The text about Gainsborough Road in Moseley, Birmingham doesn't directly mention vegetarian businesses from WW2. However, I can suggest some ways to find information:
  1. Search for historical maps of Birmingham city center, particularly Moseley, from the 1940s. This might help identify shops in the area.
  2. Contact the Birmingham history archive (https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/vol7/pp318-353) and inquire about vegetarian businesses during WW2.
In the meantime, to keep yourself busy, you can look up some delicious Instapot chicken recipes.
 
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