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Birmingham on Sea

bob56 said:
Weston Super Mare has been a Holiday destination for Millions of of Brummies over the years and Its' 2 Piers were a popular spot to visit until 1994, when sadly, Birnbeck Pier was closed to the Public on H&S grounds...However, there Is now a Facebook Group called "Lets save Birnbeck Pier" who have teamed up with The National Piers Society to try and save this magnificent structure from complete ruin.
I thought that there might be a few of you out there who may be Interested In what the future holds for Birnbeck or indeed Its illustrious past.....


https://www.facebook.com/groups/letssavebirnbeck/?fref=nf


Admin, please delete this post If It breaks any Forum rules on posting links, Ta.


Bobby.
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It has my vote as well as John Cleese and Timothy West.

Memories of boarding the Britannia for a day trip to Barry Island and back circa 1948 perhaps (see https://www.paddlesteamers.info/Britannia.htm) and going with my grandfather to see the engine room and paddle wheels. Also trips from there to Flat Holm.

Birnbeck_Pier_101110_044.jpg

As seen in 2010 nothing that a good lick of paint wouldn't fix though I suspect this might be a bridge too far.

That said Clevedon was in a similar sorry state until their "buy a plank" offer coupled with your name engraved on a plate nailed to the floorboards in return.

Famous also for an episode of Eddie Shoestring (aka Trevor Eve) from our old Sony Black and White TV days. (see https://rhevans.co.uk/shoestringfilminglocations/S1E9FindLady.html)
 
Thursday 20th August 2015 Banksy`s exhibition inside the old Tropicana
 

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Thank you Speedwing, it's so sad that it has been allowed to get into such a state! I thought there had been plans to restore it, probably it has become too expensive.
rosie.
 
Brean Down, again?!!
My father, a South Wales Miner who came to Birmingham in the 40s to seek his fortune, and my mother, a born and bred brummie daughter of a Hockley Jeweller, didn't always have a meeting of minds when it came to our annual holiday destination. From my age 0-14 nearly every year was spent in a caravan at Brean Down, my father, who was, of course, pay-rolling the jolly always exercised his powers of veto - Brean Down here we come again!
Ah! Happy Days.
My apologies in advance if Brean Down is where you achieve your Nirvana
Peg.
PS Is the fort still standing?

Brean caravan.jpg
 
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My last visit to Weston-super-Mare was with my Mom for a Turkey and Tinsel weekend as part of Fisher & Ludlow's club. She was in her late 80's. The hotel we stayed in was opposite the Marina and I've got a feeling it bore that name too. It had seen better days and all the rooms had been partitioned to create en-suites and more bedrooms so the walls were thinner than the originals. I used to creep off to bed to read my book and be dozing off around midnight when the revellers would return from bingo and dancing. Lots of talking and flushing later I managed to get to sleep. Next thing I know the tele is on next door (6am-ish) and everyone is raring to go again. Down for breakfast and a walk along the prom to get a coffee, somewhere for lunch, then afternoon tea and cake, back to the hotel to get ready for the evening (everyone looking really smart) down for a 3 course meal and more bingo and dancing! Mom was using a wheelchair at the time and liked to 'go for a walk' after our evening meal. So back down the prom went I, pushing Mom, luckily it's flat. Nobody else seemed to be flagging, only me - I did wonder if they had a supply of foo-foo pills somewhere!
They were a lovely crowd and sadly I think they have all gone now.
 
A moment in Beesands, a crab-fishing village in the South Hams of Devon (the area of Kingsbridge, Salcombe, Dartmouth) - then, and probably still, a favourite of Birmingham holiday-makers. It's late July or August 1948.

Beesandsca1948.jpg
In the foreground is a man named Bert Ward. He is a "furriner" as the local would call him, a visitor from the Kings Norton area of Birmingham, a survivor of the Great War, a stalwart of the Birmingham Home Guard in WW2 and a nice man, very kind to me during the war and later. He is a good friend of my father who is taking the photograph - he, similarly, a survivor and a Home Guard man. They are both on holiday in the third summer of peace. To the left Bert's wife, Mary, proceeds majestically towards us, clutching a vast handbag. Between them my mother, similarly equipped, looks towards the doorway of the Cricket Inn where I, a 12-year-old, loll - and am perhaps negotiating with her the purchase of a shandy before we depart.

Bert gazes up at the strange building which shelters a mid-1930s limousine - I think the latter serves as the local taxi. The state of the building suggests the aftermath of the tragic Luftwaffe hit-and-run in 1942 when several villagers lost their lives and perhaps it reminds Bert that it wasn't only Brum which had suffered grievously in the very recent past.

In a moment he'll drain his tankard and return it to the pub before starting the climb, with the rest of us, up the narrow, twisting lane towards the tiny village of Beeson where we are all staying.......

Chris
 
ChrisM said:
A moment in Beesands, a crab-fishing village in the South Hams of Devon (the area of Kingsbridge, Salcombe, Dartmouth) - then, and probably still, a favourite of Birmingham holiday-makers. It's late July or August 1948.

View attachment 194800
It looks almost as peaceful today. The pub (The Cricketers) has expanded into the former garage, but in keeping with the atmosphere of the area.Beesands .jpg

Chris
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Thanks for that, Lloyd.

The change is, in addition to the appearance of "modern life", mainly the sea defences. When my photo was taken, the fisherman could still walk out of their cottages, across the track and straight on to the shingle where their open boats had been hauled up on chains the evening before and empty crab pots awaited their attention. Now there seems to be a concrete wall and a huge strip of rock, needed to protect the village against southerly gales. No fishermen any more and you perhaps have to wonder how many locals still live in the cottages anyway.

This is me and my mum, on the beach in front of the village and nearer the sea. As it was then, 1946 or 1947.

Chris

FMCMBeesandsca1946img658.jpg
 
ChrisM said:
A moment in Beesands, a crab-fishing village in the South Hams of Devon (the area of Kingsbridge, Salcombe, Dartmouth) - then, and probably still, a favourite of Birmingham holiday-makers. It's late July or August 1948.

View attachment 194800
In the foreground is a man named Bert Ward. He is a "furriner" as the local would call him, a visitor from the Kings Norton area of Birmingham, a survivor of the Great War, a stalwart of the Birmingham Home Guard in WW2 and a nice man, very kind to me during the war and later. He is a good friend of my father who is taking the photograph - he, similarly, a survivor and a Home Guard man. They are both on holiday in the third summer of peace. To the left Bert's wife, Mary, proceeds majestically towards us, clutching a vast handbag. Between them my mother, similarly equipped, looks towards the doorway of the Cricket Inn where I, a 12-year-old, loll - and am perhaps negotiating with her the purchase of a shandy before we depart.

Bert gazes up at the strange building which shelters a mid-1930s limousine - I think the latter serves as the local taxi. The state of the building suggests the aftermath of the tragic Luftwaffe hit-and-run in 1942 when several villagers lost their lives and perhaps it reminds Bert that it wasn't only Brum which had suffered grievously in the very recent past.

In a moment he'll drain his tankard and return it to the pub before starting the climb, with the rest of us, up the narrow, twisting lane towards the tiny village of Beeson where we are all staying.......

Chris
Click to expand...
It seems there may have been a fair few who fought in WW1 and then went on to be in the Home Guard in WW2 Chris. My grandfather was another, like your father and Bert. Thank you for sharing those photographs.
 
John L said:
It seems there may have been a fair few who fought in WW1 and then went on to be in the Home Guard in WW2 Chris. My grandfather was another, like your father and Bert. Thank you for sharing those photographs.
Click to expand...
Thanks, John. You are absolutely right. And when the Home Guard was formed in May 1940, those volunteers with previous military service were welcomed with open arms. Many of them were immediately appointed to positions of authority, as NCOs or officers. In that way my own father immediately became a platoon commander in Streetly/Little Aston and I suspect that Bert Ward, in Kings Norton, fell into a similar category.

Bert was a good man and very kind to me when I was a boy. He survived gassing during the Great War and suffered from a bubbly chest for the rest of his life. I paid him a bit of a tribute online in this page: (It's safe to click on).
My own father survived as well, probably as result of being wounded in the leg by shrapnel in early 1918 and thus being sent home to safety.

But there they both were, one behind the camera and one in front of it, 30 years later after service in another world war, and still able to enjoy a holiday in South Devon with friends and family. A remarkable generation!

Chris
 
ChrisM said:
Thanks, John. You are absolutely right. And when the Home Guard was formed in May 1940, those volunteers with previous military service were welcomed with open arms. Many of them were immediately appointed to positions of authority, as NCOs or officers. In that way my own father immediately became a platoon commander in Streetly/Little Aston and I suspect that Bert Ward, in Kings Norton, fell into a similar category.

Bert was a good man and very kind to me when I was a boy. He survived gassing during the Great War and suffered from a bubbly chest for the rest of his life. I paid him a bit of a tribute online in this page: (It's safe to click on).
My own father survived as well, probably as result of being wounded in the leg by shrapnel in early 1918 and thus being sent home to safety.

But there they both were, one behind the camera and one in front of it, 30 years later after service in another world war, and still able to enjoy a holiday in South Devon with friends and family. A remarkable generation!

Chris
Click to expand...
My grandfather was like Bert gassed and always had a weak chest following that. He was sent back to Blighty for hospital treatment, before returning to battle and seeing out the war. They were indeed a splendid generation and they went through so much. Nice to think that 30 years on they were all back safe and sound, having done their bit for a second time. Thank you for the link Chris.
 
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