Recent content by bestcover

Sorry for late reply but yes, the archives were fantastic. First they searched to make sure they had the info and then submitted it for approval to release as it was a closed record. Thenthey emailed the result of why my Nan was in hospital!

Used to live at Maxstoke and had to cross Dukes Bridge to get to Coleshill. Only one bus twice a week so walking 3 miles was often the option as akid. I do have a pic of me perched on the handlebars of my dad's bike on the bridge appx 1954

My main memory of Water Orton as a lad (lived in Maxstoke then) was going to see the dentist, Mr Ashurst who was a kindly many with shiny bald head and gold rimmed glasses. The awful taste and smell of the rubber mask when they gave gas for extractions then..... He also sometimes practiced in a...

There is an earlier Maria: could this be an earlier relative or perhaps the death date is incorrect? Iommi, Maria101913

As a matter of interest, which WEIRs did you live next door to?

Reasons as to why children were sent away varied. Some were genuinly orphaned whereas others lived in such abject poverty, they were often starving and suffered from malnutrition. My Wyre (also known as Weir) family had 6 children sent to Canada in 1923 with a 7th who was too ill to travel...

Don't forget a lot of 'emigration' was via the British Home Children scheme from the late 1800's to around 1970. Usually put forward as charity for deprived children to give them a better life, many ended up being ill treated as virtual slaves. A lot went to Canada and Oz and I now have...

As far as I know not one of mine ;-(

Just like so many creative honest canalboatmen

The Knight family (my gt gt grandparents ran a coal yard at the side of the cut in Glover St. In 1921, Gt grandad was in court for raking the canal bed and taking a load of coal back home in a wheelbarrow. Entreprenurial? Maybe, but it was alleged he and fellow boatmen used to "accidentally"...

I am tempted with a badly spelt Guager - someone who made guages or maybe operated/observed one

So in the 1921, Fred Iles was shown as a fish and chip labourer, own account in Maxstoke St but he died in 1937. In 1939, Florrie was at 51 Maxstoke st (was that the address of the chippie?) but was shown as unpaid domestic duties. Wonder if she owned it and rented it out? I can't see the...

Definitely WAKEFIELD JEWELLERS. TENBY ST

I worked in the Rotunda for the Legal & General 1971-74 and in 1973, we were working overtime on saturday mornings and I stayed later than the others because I was off to watch the Blues in the afternoon. However, I came out of the 13th floor office and found the lifts shut down so walked down...

This may be biased (actually definitely biased) but if you like genealogy related crime novels, then on Amazon is 'Another Day in Paradise' by Tony Knight which is Book 1 in the Tom Harding series. Book 2 is currently being edited and will be 'Another Day in Birmingham' and will be out very soon...