Nice article, mikejee. A real character.Old thread, but here are memories of Percy Moseley, who was on a stall in th emarket and also ran a pub in WW2
Mike
That was a really nice piece of writing. As a boy growing up in the 50s, the Bull Ring was the place my Mom took me to find her bargains. The bombed out market hall is clear in my memory, especially the fish stall in the corner, where the lobsters were thrown into boiling water. They squealed. Fascinating for a kid!Percy Moseley in 1945 lived 2 doors away from where I was born, at 10, Lease Lane, off Edgbaston Street, with his wife Flo and children, the youngest was Sammy, Shirley, Joan and there was another son but I cant remember his name. It might have been Maurice!! This was 50 odd years ago!!!
Percy was a real character and even as a child I can remember my parents talking about the things he got up to, all his children worked with him on the 'barrow' . Percy would be up early morning, straight down to Smithfield Market only 50 yards away from Lease Lane, buy the goods to sell, get them set up for sale, then go to an early 'lunch' whilst the 'kids' ran the 'business' he was rather fond of a drink as most market people were in those days after the war.
He always wore his black trilby hat and a cravat ( called a 'daff' by the market people) a military striped one very smart and when he was at work he always wore a white 'Cow Gown' with the collar turned up for some reason, this was his trade mark, he was known by everyone in the market, traders and customers.
After the war Percy always said you could sell anything in the Bull Ring and he was right, with soldiers returning home, people no longer fearing air raids or war and ships now bringing fresh food the Bull Ring was a 'goldmine' for the traders.
I can remember one day Percy 'came up the lane' with a goat on a piece of string, I had never seen a goat before and Percy was keen to show it off the all the local kids, it was a really stroppy animal and tried to head butt anyone in range. Percy said he was going to fatten it up and have it for his Sunday lunch!! he kept it on the bomb peck next to his house for a couple of days and went on to sell it to a man he met in a pub, as was the way in those days!!!
His daughter Shirley Moseley was a dancer in London and when she visited home she would always had a chat with my mother, Shirley as I remember her was very tall and slim well dressed and she wore black fishnet stockings with a seam at the back, very 1940's and very heavy make-up and she also wore a beauty spot on her cheek, I dont think I have seen anyone else wear one since. She looked very much like a 'show girl'.
Shirley married and had a son named Mark Smith who followed on in the family tradition and he has had a stall in the Bull Ring for many years, I believe.
In 1953, Lease Lane was subject to Slum clearance and all the residents were moved out and this broke up a nice little community where doors were never locked and everyone knew everyone else, these people had all gone through the the bombing and war together and now they were allocated houses in various parts of the City, until I read the newspaper article I never knew where Percy had moved to, although I would see him and the family in the Bull Ring.
I have attached 2 photos taken by Phylis Nicklin, the first shows Percy Moseleys 'barrow' on the slope in the Bull Ring the lady serving on the right with red hair is Joan Moseley the eldest daughter and the blond haired man on the left is Sammy Moseley his son. No sign of Percy!!!
The second photo was a marvellous surprise when I found it, again by Phylis Nicklin, this is of my mother and father Jim and Beatie Evans, my mother was always known in the market as Beatie Thorley, she was a flower seller in the Bull Ring all her life, even after she retired she went there most days just to see the old faces and have a chat, it was her life.
My father had served the 8th Army in North Africa, then with the 93rd Company, RASC, Airborne Division and was at Arnhem then Norway, on being demobbed he worked in the Bull Ring market with my mother until his death in1965.
This photo was taken on 12th September 1959, the clock on St Martins says it is ten minutes past five and my father has only one last bunch of flowers to sell, after a long day on her feet my mother is taking a rest sitting on an apple box.
I dont know who the lady selling flowers standing next to her is, can anyone name her?
Behind them is a man on a dumper truck showing that the 'old' Bull Ring redevelopment had just begun and Nelson's Statue is encased in scaffolding and about to be moved prior to work beginning on the 'new' Bull Ring, the end of an Era!!
This is a great photo looking down the Bull Ring towards Spicel Street and Jamaica Row with Smithfield Market behind St Martins Church, Woolworths is just visible on the right, all of which was my playground as a child.
Smiler
Omg that my grandad.Old thread, but here are memories of Percy Moseley, who was on a stall in th emarket and also ran a pub in WW2
Mike
Have few family photos. Iris, Shirley ect ect. Will definitely post them.glad you have found a photo of your grandad toni..if you have anymore to share with us we would love to see them
lyn
Thank you for letting me join.Have few family photos. Iris, Shirley ect ect. Will definitely post them.
How do I upload a photo . thank you.you are most welcome toni great to find a rellie of percys...he sounds like he was a real character in the bull ring..a proper brummie...look forward to seeing the photos when time permits
lyn
Joy went to London not Shirley.Percy Moseley in 1945 lived 2 doors away from where I was born, at 10, Lease Lane, off Edgbaston Street, with his wife Flo and children, the youngest was Sammy, Shirley, Joan and there was another son but I cant remember his name. It might have been Maurice!! This was 50 odd years ago!!!
Percy was a real character and even as a child I can remember my parents talking about the things he got up to, all his children worked with him on the 'barrow' . Percy would be up early morning, straight down to Smithfield Market only 50 yards away from Lease Lane, buy the goods to sell, get them set up for sale, then go to an early 'lunch' whilst the 'kids' ran the 'business' he was rather fond of a drink as most market people were in those days after the war.
He always wore his black trilby hat and a cravat ( called a 'daff' by the market people) a military striped one very smart and when he was at work he always wore a white 'Cow Gown' with the collar turned up for some reason, this was his trade mark, he was known by everyone in the market, traders and customers.
After the war Percy always said you could sell anything in the Bull Ring and he was right, with soldiers returning home, people no longer fearing air raids or war and ships now bringing fresh food the Bull Ring was a 'goldmine' for the traders.
I can remember one day Percy 'came up the lane' with a goat on a piece of string, I had never seen a goat before and Percy was keen to show it off the all the local kids, it was a really stroppy animal and tried to head butt anyone in range. Percy said he was going to fatten it up and have it for his Sunday lunch!! he kept it on the bomb peck next to his house for a couple of days and went on to sell it to a man he met in a pub, as was the way in those days!!!
His daughter Shirley Moseley was a dancer in London and when she visited home she would always had a chat with my mother, Shirley as I remember her was very tall and slim well dressed and she wore black fishnet stockings with a seam at the back, very 1940's and very heavy make-up and she also wore a beauty spot on her cheek, I dont think I have seen anyone else wear one since. She looked very much like a 'show girl'.
Shirley married and had a son named Mark Smith who followed on in the family tradition and he has had a stall in the Bull Ring for many years, I believe.
In 1953, Lease Lane was subject to Slum clearance and all the residents were moved out and this broke up a nice little community where doors were never locked and everyone knew everyone else, these people had all gone through the the bombing and war together and now they were allocated houses in various parts of the City, until I read the newspaper article I never knew where Percy had moved to, although I would see him and the family in the Bull Ring.
I have attached 2 photos taken by Phylis Nicklin, the first shows Percy Moseleys 'barrow' on the slope in the Bull Ring the lady serving on the right with red hair is Joan Moseley the eldest daughter and the blond haired man on the left is Sammy Moseley his son. No sign of Percy!!!
The second photo was a marvellous surprise when I found it, again by Phylis Nicklin, this is of my mother and father Jim and Beatie Evans, my mother was always known in the market as Beatie Thorley, she was a flower seller in the Bull Ring all her life, even after she retired she went there most days just to see the old faces and have a chat, it was her life.
My father had served the 8th Army in North Africa, then with the 93rd Company, RASC, Airborne Division and was at Arnhem then Norway, on being demobbed he worked in the Bull Ring market with my mother until his death in1965.
This photo was taken on 12th September 1959, the clock on St Martins says it is ten minutes past five and my father has only one last bunch of flowers to sell, after a long day on her feet my mother is taking a rest sitting on an apple box.
I dont know who the lady selling flowers standing next to her is, can anyone name her?
Behind them is a man on a dumper truck showing that the 'old' Bull Ring redevelopment had just begun and Nelson's Statue is encased in scaffolding and about to be moved prior to work beginning on the 'new' Bull Ring, the end of an Era!!
This is a great photo looking down the Bull Ring towards Spicel Street and Jamaica Row with Smithfield Market behind St Martins Church, Woolworths is just visible on the right, all of which was my playground as a child.
Smiler
you forgot Sid. And Maurice is my dad.Joy went to London not Shirley.
Shirley married Lennie Smith they had 1 son Mark. ( bo-bo ).
Percy moved to the prefab in Stirchley eventually.Percy Moseley in 1945 lived 2 doors away from where I was born, at 10, Lease Lane, off Edgbaston Street, with his wife Flo and children, the youngest was Sammy, Shirley, Joan and there was another son but I cant remember his name. It might have been Maurice!! This was 50 odd years ago!!!
Percy was a real character and even as a child I can remember my parents talking about the things he got up to, all his children worked with him on the 'barrow' . Percy would be up early morning, straight down to Smithfield Market only 50 yards away from Lease Lane, buy the goods to sell, get them set up for sale, then go to an early 'lunch' whilst the 'kids' ran the 'business' he was rather fond of a drink as most market people were in those days after the war.
He always wore his black trilby hat and a cravat ( called a 'daff' by the market people) a military striped one very smart and when he was at work he always wore a white 'Cow Gown' with the collar turned up for some reason, this was his trade mark, he was known by everyone in the market, traders and customers.
After the war Percy always said you could sell anything in the Bull Ring and he was right, with soldiers returning home, people no longer fearing air raids or war and ships now bringing fresh food the Bull Ring was a 'goldmine' for the traders.
I can remember one day Percy 'came up the lane' with a goat on a piece of string, I had never seen a goat before and Percy was keen to show it off the all the local kids, it was a really stroppy animal and tried to head butt anyone in range. Percy said he was going to fatten it up and have it for his Sunday lunch!! he kept it on the bomb peck next to his house for a couple of days and went on to sell it to a man he met in a pub, as was the way in those days!!!
His daughter Shirley Moseley was a dancer in London and when she visited home she would always had a chat with my mother, Shirley as I remember her was very tall and slim well dressed and she wore black fishnet stockings with a seam at the back, very 1940's and very heavy make-up and she also wore a beauty spot on her cheek, I dont think I have seen anyone else wear one since. She looked very much like a 'show girl'.
Shirley married and had a son named Mark Smith who followed on in the family tradition and he has had a stall in the Bull Ring for many years, I believe.
In 1953, Lease Lane was subject to Slum clearance and all the residents were moved out and this broke up a nice little community where doors were never locked and everyone knew everyone else, these people had all gone through the the bombing and war together and now they were allocated houses in various parts of the City, until I read the newspaper article I never knew where Percy had moved to, although I would see him and the family in the Bull Ring.
I have attached 2 photos taken by Phylis Nicklin, the first shows Percy Moseleys 'barrow' on the slope in the Bull Ring the lady serving on the right with red hair is Joan Moseley the eldest daughter and the blond haired man on the left is Sammy Moseley his son. No sign of Percy!!!
The second photo was a marvellous surprise when I found it, again by Phylis Nicklin, this is of my mother and father Jim and Beatie Evans, my mother was always known in the market as Beatie Thorley, she was a flower seller in the Bull Ring all her life, even after she retired she went there most days just to see the old faces and have a chat, it was her life.
My father had served the 8th Army in North Africa, then with the 93rd Company, RASC, Airborne Division and was at Arnhem then Norway, on being demobbed he worked in the Bull Ring market with my mother until his death in1965.
This photo was taken on 12th September 1959, the clock on St Martins says it is ten minutes past five and my father has only one last bunch of flowers to sell, after a long day on her feet my mother is taking a rest sitting on an apple box.
I dont know who the lady selling flowers standing next to her is, can anyone name her?
Behind them is a man on a dumper truck showing that the 'old' Bull Ring redevelopment had just begun and Nelson's Statue is encased in scaffolding and about to be moved prior to work beginning on the 'new' Bull Ring, the end of an Era!!
This is a great photo looking down the Bull Ring towards Spicel Street and Jamaica Row with Smithfield Market behind St Martins Church, Woolworths is just visible on the right, all of which was my playground as a child.
Smiler
Iris & Susan Moseley.
View attachment 128438
glad you have found a photo of your grandad toni..if you have anymore to share with us we would love to see them
lyn
Remember Nan ( Flo ) counting the takings. Every a notes put down, 1 we shoved under her armpit. XPercy Moseley in 1945 lived 2 doors away from where I was born, at 10, Lease Lane, off Edgbaston Street, with his wife Flo and children, the youngest was Sammy, Shirley, Joan and there was another son but I cant remember his name. It might have been Maurice!! This was 50 odd years ago!!!
Percy was a real character and even as a child I can remember my parents talking about the things he got up to, all his children worked with him on the 'barrow' . Percy would be up early morning, straight down to Smithfield Market only 50 yards away from Lease Lane, buy the goods to sell, get them set up for sale, then go to an early 'lunch' whilst the 'kids' ran the 'business' he was rather fond of a drink as most market people were in those days after the war.
He always wore his black trilby hat and a cravat ( called a 'daff' by the market people) a military striped one very smart and when he was at work he always wore a white 'Cow Gown' with the collar turned up for some reason, this was his trade mark, he was known by everyone in the market, traders and customers.
After the war Percy always said you could sell anything in the Bull Ring and he was right, with soldiers returning home, people no longer fearing air raids or war and ships now bringing fresh food the Bull Ring was a 'goldmine' for the traders.
I can remember one day Percy 'came up the lane' with a goat on a piece of string, I had never seen a goat before and Percy was keen to show it off the all the local kids, it was a really stroppy animal and tried to head butt anyone in range. Percy said he was going to fatten it up and have it for his Sunday lunch!! he kept it on the bomb peck next to his house for a couple of days and went on to sell it to a man he met in a pub, as was the way in those days!!!
His daughter Shirley Moseley was a dancer in London and when she visited home she would always had a chat with my mother, Shirley as I remember her was very tall and slim well dressed and she wore black fishnet stockings with a seam at the back, very 1940's and very heavy make-up and she also wore a beauty spot on her cheek, I dont think I have seen anyone else wear one since. She looked very much like a 'show girl'.
Shirley married and had a son named Mark Smith who followed on in the family tradition and he has had a stall in the Bull Ring for many years, I believe.
In 1953, Lease Lane was subject to Slum clearance and all the residents were moved out and this broke up a nice little community where doors were never locked and everyone knew everyone else, these people had all gone through the the bombing and war together and now they were allocated houses in various parts of the City, until I read the newspaper article I never knew where Percy had moved to, although I would see him and the family in the Bull Ring.
I have attached 2 photos taken by Phylis Nicklin, the first shows Percy Moseleys 'barrow' on the slope in the Bull Ring the lady serving on the right with red hair is Joan Moseley the eldest daughter and the blond haired man on the left is Sammy Moseley his son. No sign of Percy!!!
The second photo was a marvellous surprise when I found it, again by Phylis Nicklin, this is of my mother and father Jim and Beatie Evans, my mother was always known in the market as Beatie Thorley, she was a flower seller in the Bull Ring all her life, even after she retired she went there most days just to see the old faces and have a chat, it was her life.
My father had served the 8th Army in North Africa, then with the 93rd Company, RASC, Airborne Division and was at Arnhem then Norway, on being demobbed he worked in the Bull Ring market with my mother until his death in1965.
This photo was taken on 12th September 1959, the clock on St Martins says it is ten minutes past five and my father has only one last bunch of flowers to sell, after a long day on her feet my mother is taking a rest sitting on an apple box.
I dont know who the lady selling flowers standing next to her is, can anyone name her?
Behind them is a man on a dumper truck showing that the 'old' Bull Ring redevelopment had just begun and Nelson's Statue is encased in scaffolding and about to be moved prior to work beginning on the 'new' Bull Ring, the end of an Era!!
This is a great photo looking down the Bull Ring towards Spicel Street and Jamaica Row with Smithfield Market behind St Martins Church, Woolworths is just visible on the right, all of which was my playground as a child.
Smiler
Remember Nan ( Flo ) counting the takings. Every 3rd notes put down, 1 was shoved under her armpit. X
3 for Percy.
1 for Flo. Lol.
Percy Moseley in 1945 lived 2 doors away from where I was born, at 10, Lease Lane, off Edgbaston Street, with his wife Flo and children, the youngest was Sammy, Shirley, Joan and there was another son but I cant remember his name. It might have been Maurice!! This was 50 odd years ago!!!
Percy was a real character and even as a child I can remember my parents talking about the things he got up to, all his children worked with him on the 'barrow' . Percy would be up early morning, straight down to Smithfield Market only 50 yards away from Lease Lane, buy the goods to sell, get them set up for sale, then go to an early 'lunch' whilst the 'kids' ran the 'business' he was rather fond of a drink as most market people were in those days after the war.
He always wore his black trilby hat and a cravat ( called a 'daff' by the market people) a military striped one very smart and when he was at work he always wore a white 'Cow Gown' with the collar turned up for some reason, this was his trade mark, he was known by everyone in the market, traders and customers.
After the war Percy always said you could sell anything in the Bull Ring and he was right, with soldiers returning home, people no longer fearing air raids or war and ships now bringing fresh food the Bull Ring was a 'goldmine' for the traders.
I can remember one day Percy 'came up the lane' with a goat on a piece of string, I had never seen a goat before and Percy was keen to show it off the all the local kids, it was a really stroppy animal and tried to head butt anyone in range. Percy said he was going to fatten it up and have it for his Sunday lunch!! he kept it on the bomb peck next to his house for a couple of days and went on to sell it to a man he met in a pub, as was the way in those days!!!
His daughter Shirley Moseley was a dancer in London and when she visited home she would always had a chat with my mother, Shirley as I remember her was very tall and slim well dressed and she wore black fishnet stockings with a seam at the back, very 1940's and very heavy make-up and she also wore a beauty spot on her cheek, I dont think I have seen anyone else wear one since. She looked very much like a 'show girl'.
Shirley married and had a son named Mark Smith who followed on in the family tradition and he has had a stall in the Bull Ring for many years, I believe.
In 1953, Lease Lane was subject to Slum clearance and all the residents were moved out and this broke up a nice little community where doors were never locked and everyone knew everyone else, these people had all gone through the the bombing and war together and now they were allocated houses in various parts of the City, until I read the newspaper article I never knew where Percy had moved to, although I would see him and the family in the Bull Ring.
I have attached 2 photos taken by Phylis Nicklin, the first shows Percy Moseleys 'barrow' on the slope in the Bull Ring the lady serving on the right with red hair is Joan Moseley the eldest daughter and the blond haired man on the left is Sammy Moseley his son. No sign of Percy!!!
The second photo was a marvellous surprise when I found it, again by Phylis Nicklin, this is of my mother and father Jim and Beatie Evans, my mother was always known in the market as Beatie Thorley, she was a flower seller in the Bull Ring all her life, even after she retired she went there most days just to see the old faces and have a chat, it was her life.
My father had served the 8th Army in North Africa, then with the 93rd Company, RASC, Airborne Division and was at Arnhem then Norway, on being demobbed he worked in the Bull Ring market with my mother until his death in1965.
This photo was taken on 12th September 1959, the clock on St Martins says it is ten minutes past five and my father has only one last bunch of flowers to sell, after a long day on her feet my mother is taking a rest sitting on an apple box.
I dont know who the lady selling flowers standing next to her is, can anyone name her?
Behind them is a man on a dumper truck showing that the 'old' Bull Ring redevelopment had just begun and Nelson's Statue is encased in scaffolding and about to be moved prior to work beginning on the 'new' Bull Ring, the end of an Era!!
This is a great photo looking down the Bull Ring towards Spicel Street and Jamaica Row with Smithfield Market behind St Martins Church, Woolworths is just visible on the right, all of which was my playground as a child.
Smiler