Hi,
I’m new to the Forum but very interested in my family history.
I realise this part of the forum is not current in terms of recent posts, but I hope to find old photographs of my family. If anyone has any old photographs of the Pardoe family, I would appreciate seeing them please and will upload what photo's we have available. Hopefully this is of some interest to others.
I am the Grandson of Fred Pardoe, one of Herbert and Martha’s 15 Children.
Fred was one of the elder Brother's of Tommy Pardoe, the Boxer.
Fred was Tommy’s ‘corner man’ in most of Tommy’s fights. The corner man is also referred to as the boxers ‘second’. He would shout advice and encouragement to Tommy and assisted him between rounds. Tommy turned professional and had a memorable fight for the British Welterweight title. He bravely fought against the well known and very experienced Scottish boxer, Benny Lynch.
Tommy was said to have put up a ferocious fight but was defeated in the final rounds.
Fred was born in Cleobury Mortimer, Ludlow in 1900, one of the elder of the 15 children. This was some years before the family moved to Ward End, Birmingham, a journey of about 40 to 50 miles.
I was always aware that we were of Traveller/Gypsy/Romani heritage from the Pardoe side of the family, it was never a secret, my family were proud of their heritage. My Grandmother was from Romany heritage as are people from my Mothers side, they were from Smethwick and had relatives on the Black Patch. When I was growing up I was told stories of our Gypsy heritage including of how we originate from Spanish Romani (Gitanos) who made their way to Britain many generations before Herbert and George.
My grandmother would make things to sell to raise money. Toffee Apples were a favourite, apparently a long que to buy them would form when she had some for sale. To me, it makes perfect sense of why gypsies were allowed to live on Pardoe owned property as by the non gypsy population, they were often frowned upon and not trusted. I doubt any non Traveller / Gypsy would allow a person of Gypsy origon, to live on thier land.
My Dad has recently told me of his memories of visiting his cousins at the 'Big house' as he called it.
I am also hoping to find information on the WW2 bombings in Rocky Lane, Neechalls which are relevant to this side of the Pardoe family. I have posted a separate thread in the hope that someone has photographs of the bombed houses.
In adult life, Fred married and lived at number 1, Rocky lane, with my Grandmother, Two sons
(one of whom is my Father), and two sisters. There was an elder third sister, who had married and moved to Weoley Castle.
During the second world war my Grandfather (Fred Pardoe) lied about his age for the second time. In WW1 he claimed he was older than he was and in WW2 he said he was younger so he would be allowed to fight for his country. He was stationed on the South East coastline. His role was to operate the large anti-aircraft guns that would shoot down Nazi planes and the V1 flying bombs as they flew towards our coastline.
While Fred was away defending our country, my Grandmother took her children to visit her eldest daughter in Weoley Castle who had married and thankfully left home.
My Auntie was obviously worried about her Mother and younger family members going back home to Rocky Lane and insisted that the family stayed the night in Weoley Castle.
Thankfully they took her advice and stayed the night. The next morning they went home to Rocky Lane. When they arrived home their home had been bombed during the night. The house was flattened, with smoke and flames coming from the rubble. All people in neighbouring properties had been presumed killed during the nights bombings.
If it wasn’t for the fact that my auntie had insisted the family stay in Weoley Castle that particular night, this side of the Pardoe family would not exist.
If anyone has any pictures of Rocky Lane during this time, I would very much appreciate seeing them, hopefully some of the bombed houses.
I have many good memories of my Grandfather and our regular fishing trips, he would always catch Brown Trout that were often cooked at the riverside on his old parrafin cooker. He would keep the Eels we caught in a bucket, ready to make 'jellied Eels'. He would put an old sock over his hand as the Eels would wrap themselves around his hand and arm. The sock gave a better grip to hold them. To this day, I've never eaten any, the sight of them put me off, or 'was it the use of the old sock'.
He would fascinate me with his knowledge of the land, he knew about every tree and plant and would collect Mushrooms, fruits and berries for cooking and jam making.
Our fishing trips when I was older always ended in a pub. Fred sadly passed away in or around 1984.
Below is an interesting link to a wartime news feature. It shows the role Fred played during WW2 with fellow servicemen and women desperatley shooting at the flying V1 bombs and enemy aircraft.
CUT AND PASTE IF LINK DOES NOT WORK.
https://www.itnsource.com/de/specials/world-war-ii/shotlist//BHC_RTV/1944/09/07/BGU409190026/