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Good to see pictures of the "Lickey bankers" as this was always an interesting operation to watch. My father (who grew up in Northfield) told me about the "Decapod" which was used for banking Lickey. Also known as Big Bertha or Big Emma. At the time it was the only 10-coupled loco in service...

There were many interesting dealerships in Birmingham. My own first car, a blue Morris Mini, came from Colmore Depot when new. reg. no. 147 BOA and I acquired it in 1965 when i lived in Kidderminster. As a Brummie born & bred, I was very happy when I started working in Birmingham the following...

Yes, Vivienne, he looks like a slightly unsavoury amalgam of W C Fields and Oliver Hardy. Quoting WC Fields, "I love children, but I couldn't eat a whole one!" Nuff sed!

I notice that the earlier photo showed that the Taylor & Challen name was lower down while the Derwent Foundry name was up top. In the 1961 photo these names appear to have been switched round, with a freshly painted Taylor & Challen up top. As far as your query about trains going to Blackpool...

The van is actually a Ford Thames ET7, going through the memorable site of the Minories, but I surely do remember seeing smaller local delivery vans (where I lived in Yardley Wood) and I'm prettyy sure they were small Commer vans. Happy days!

A classical example of a Staffordshire knot, no doubt from a time when Darlaston was in Staffordshire!

Great to see this thread on Cadburys. My grandfather Percy Davis had a job as an electrician in the factory, and was also a trade union official (ETU). After he was widowed in 1935, he became engaged to a colleague Rosa Davies, but he himself died in 1939 before they could marry. His daughters...

I visited the offices of MEM from time to time as part of the audit team from Peat Marwick. About 1968-70. It's a way of life that's long gone now; very deferential and paternalistic. That's not a criticism, just an observation.

Very atmospheric and a happy reminder of spotting at New Street in the 1950s. This is the "Midland side" and was always quieter than the "North Western" side, which always seemed to have something happening. Walking into old New Street from Stephenson Place past the "Moss Gears" display and...

We are very fortunate that there are 3 preserved members of the King class surviving, 6000, 6023 & 6024 out of the original class of 30. I remember seeing them at Snow Hill before they were summarily withdrawn in 1962. They were certainly the largest 4-6-0 locomotives in this country (at 89...

I was horrified when as a youngster in the 1950s I saw the vandalism of great old buildings taking place. I had hoped that wiser counsels would prevail these days, but it would seem the same process is happening even now!

Well said! It's very sad to see the way a priceless national asset was squandered in the name of progress. If only the same wise voices which saved St. Pancras from the same fate had been able to save Snow Hill, then we would all have been better off, if only because there would have been no...

Yes, my great aunt lived in Innage Road, Northfield, (not far from Woodlands Hospital) so it's obviously another Ida. Thanks for the confirmation and topic closed!

Thanks Pedrocut for your quick reply, Your first comment comes as no surprise, because I know she loved playing golf. Your second comment, however, makes me think WHAT!! So far as we in her family were aware, she remained a spinster all her life, so news of her marriage (in her 40s) comes as...

Hi Pedrocut Can you shed some light on how you know she was a golfer? Is there a NWGC thread somewhere?

Thanks for that. Just not quite sure how to respond. It seems like a couple of my interests (railways & IMI) have come together.

Thanks for the further information Chris. It's good to have corroboration of some details. I don't think the Davis(s) you mentioned would have been any relation of mine, as my father was the first of our family to work there and he joined at the age of 14 in 1928. Most of my family worked at...

I'm curious as to whether there are any members who have any historical details about these businesses. I understand Elliotts were taken over by ICI which then hived the metals business off into IMI. My interest comes from the fact that my father Lionel Davis began work at the age of 14 as an...

Probably diverging from the main thrust of this thread, but I wanted to mention that my father Lionel Davis was employed by ICI (Metals Div'n) later IMI and subsequently worked at IMI Summerfield near Kidderminster. Just wondered if there were any others who followed a similar career path?

Yes, indeed she was! She was a leading light in the North Worcestershire Golf Club and I finished up owning her golf clubs after her death. Sadly I wasn't as good at golf as she was.