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Working Mens Clubs

The Handsworth Horticultural has been mentioned, and if my memory serves me right it was one of the first Working Men's Clubs in the country to be hauled before the Race Relations Board.

I believe the Club maintained their stance that a new member must be proposed and seconded by a current member.

Anyone remember this?

Best Wishes Pedro
 
does anyone recall John Curley (known as Tom), he worked the clubs as a stand up and his wife Jean had red hair and played the accordion as a warm up act? They were associated with the Variety Atristes Club in Trinity Rd Aston. Any info would be appreciated.
 
Pedrocut said:
The Handsworth Horticultural has been mentioned, and if my memory serves me right it was one of the first Working Men's Clubs in the country to be hauled before the Race Relations Board.

I believe the Club maintained their stance that a new member must be proposed and seconded by a current member.

Anyone remember this?

Best Wishes Pedro
Click to expand...

I was a member many many years ago; remember very clearly having been proposed and seconded etc. that I had to walk around a table where committee members were sat to be vetted, I was accepted and told that they had three rules:
1) If I had a car that I was to park it sensibly as they had little parking space.
2) If I had children with me they had to be under my control at all times.
And the most important rule being
3) If I had any colonial friends I should leave them at home as ‘’they’’ were not welcome. !!!!
There was also a Gents only room, remember being there one Sunday morning and after playing Snooker went into the Gents only room to play cards with a couple of mates , suddenly the room went completely silent and it was as if someone had pressed the pause button on the video player, no one moved and not a sound, out of the corner of my eye I saw a lady at the bar asking for a packet of crisps, she realised what she had done and left quickly and someone pressed the pause button again and the room came to life once more.
At the time I could never understand how they got away with the race rule.
 
my dad was a member of handsworth centeral working mans club for many years.
i remember the christmas and new year parties they had as a kid during the 70's (they were only time we were allowed to stay up late)
Dad took part in the many clubs they had Fishing , darts and snooker clubs and the centeral as ive always know it was a meeting place for my dad and his mates
Every saturday night they either had a group on the ones that toured the local pubs and clubs or they had a DJ on i remember my oldest brother doing a few spots with his wife

But the two things that stick in my mind are the cheese rolls that were wraped in cling film in a glass cabinate on the bar and coca cola in glass bottle with a paper straw that used to fall to bits as soon as it got wet funny how things like that stick in your mind lol

Its sad to hear its closed down as it holds many happy memories for me
 
I have played most of the clubs mentioned in bands, The Millionaires, The Hykells, Three of a Kind good days.
 
The overwhelming majority of clubs, as mentioned ibid, had colour-bars: whites only and Irish at a push! That is, until the government outlawed that vile practice, BUT, even then, the Barn Social held out and on one particular occasion refused to admit a black-man engineer/electrician that paid a visit to that club merely to service the slot machines!

The following is a link to an historic report that cites Birmingham Working-men's Clubs specifically and their infamous despicable practices: https://www.connectinghistories.org...Migration/migration_settlement_20c_lp_02b.asp
 
Now an "Ex Pat" Brummie living in the South West, I spent much of my youth (and later years) in the working men's clubs of Birmingham and the Black Country. I played in a band for 15 years and so got to visit most. Regrettably, now in my later years, I only have 1 photo of those wonderful times. So, just to show I didn't dream 15 years of my life, does anyone remember a group called "VAT59" ? We played most genres of music with a standard line-up of 3 guitars and drums, and later added keyboards and a light show. Maybe we did your wedding, birthday, anniversary ? I would be really pleased to hear from anyone on the subject !!
 
HI Lulco;
I CAN RECALL TOMMY AND JEAN AS WELL ; AS HE WAS ONE OF MY YOUNGER BROTHERS GREAT MATE AND AT THE TIME JEAN WAS HIS GIRL FRIEND
FOR MANY YEARS AND THEY LIVED CLOSE TO US AROUND THE CORNER MANY YEARS AGO AND THEY USED TO COME TO OUR HOUSE
LIKE CLOCK WORK BUT BEFORE HE MET JEAN IN THERE YOUNGER DAYS DAVE MY BROTHER AND TOM USED TO GO ALL OVER THE PLACE
PUBS AND CLUBS AND MANY YEARS AGO IN THE OLD MIDLAND RED BUS STATION AT THE BACK OF THE MARKET HALL ENTRANCE
THEY PLACE A PHONE BOOTH TYPE FOR RECORDING YOUR SELF SINGING AND ONE SUNDAY AFTER NOON THEY WENT IN THERE AND STARTED TO
RECORD A SONG TOGETHER IN THIS BOOTH AND BROUGHT IT BACK WITH THEM AND WE PLAYED IT ; AND WHAT A NOISE IT WAS
WE ALL HAD A LAUGH AT THEM WHILST IT WAS PLAYING AND FROM THERE ON WE NAMED THEM AS PETER AND GORDON ;
WHOM IN THE SIXTYS WAS A DUO CALLED PETER AND GORDON AND TOMMY LOOKED LIKE PETER AND OUR KID LOOKED LIKE GORDON
AND THE NAME STUCK WITH THEM FOR YEARS AT LEAST WITHIN MY BROTHER HOOD AND MOTHER AND WE TOLD PEOPLE ABOUT THEM
BUT SADLY AFTER MEETING JEAN; SLOWLY BUT SURE OUR KID AND TOM AND JEAN SLOWLY DRIFTED APART AND OUR KID MET THE GIRL OF HIS DREAMS
MARY FROM Aston and tom with jean; and they have never met up or seen each other our kid moved to tamworth
and now in his sixtys and still with mary the love of his life , mary used to be a superviser at old woolies on aston cross many years ago
in the fiftys she worked there since a kid our kid dave worked at buttons in portland street and his mate was frenchie ;whom parents run the fruit and veg on lichfield road next to dents the hardware shop opersite mrs cox shop
in later years i met up with tom in the rose taveren of straford rd where he was singing he had not changed all that much best wishes ASTONIAN;;
 
I have just found out that an ancestor of mine was secretary of the Witton Road Working Men's Club opposite the library, unfortunately it is no longer there. It's probably asking a lot but has anyone a photo of it please.
 
It was the Lozells Working Mens Club.

If you scroll down in the pictures reposted by OldM, you can just see it near the bus stop.

Lost Photobucket Pics Aston, Lozells And Witton Pic Reposted...

Aston, Lozells And Witton Pic Reposted... Photobucket replaced all their linked pics in the above thread with their advert pics and the original pics became invisible but the image urls still pointed to the original pics making them recoverable. The posts below are copies of the original posts...
birminghamhistory.co.uk birminghamhistory.co.uk
 
Pedrocut said:
It was the Lozells Working Mens Club.

If you scroll down in the pictures reposted by OldM, you can just see it near the bus stop.

Lost Photobucket Pics Aston, Lozells And Witton Pic Reposted...

Aston, Lozells And Witton Pic Reposted... Photobucket replaced all their linked pics in the above thread with their advert pics and the original pics became invisible but the image urls still pointed to the original pics making them recoverable. The posts below are copies of the original posts...
birminghamhistory.co.uk birminghamhistory.co.uk
Click to expand...
Thank you for the information, I was looking for Witton Road Working Men's Club.
 
Here is the 1940 Kelly's Directory for Witton Road.. The Council House / Library opposite actually had the postal address of Albert Road.


86A57689-E75B-4BA6-B867-83AEB2573862.jpeg
 
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