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Pigs Escaped From Slaughterhouse

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dalehunt

knowlegable brummie
When I was a young lad around 7 - 9 years old I was on my school holidays and had to go with my mom and dad who worked at my Grandfather's wood yard in Chapel Street in the
Centre of Birmingham, the one thing I remember more than anything was the Marsh and Baxters Slaughter house across the road, one day the pigs pulled up and the workers got the fencing out to lead the poor souls to their fate, when one of the wooden railings fell down and the pigs all made a run for it, it was like the keystone cops , the workers falling over themselves trying to catch these pigs running up Chapel st, while my Brother and I chased the pigs towards the city centre, I do not know if it happened often I never saw it happen again
but when I got married my Wife told me she was standing across the road from the main Birmingham Fire Station Waiting for her dad to come out the Labour from signing on and a load of
pigs came running down the road, wonder if the caught them all. and I wonder if it was the same day, if so just think my future spouse was yards away.
 
According to my uncle who lived with us for nearly 30 years my mother's brother. He worked as a slaughter man in the meat market. Animals escaping was a common incident. Michael told me he was driving a 56 bus when it terminated in Union Street, as he turned right into Union St at about 5am a bull ran out in front of his bus so fast it's hooves were skidding across the road. This would have been winter about 1967.
 
I remember a similar incident when the pigs escaped from the lorry herding them into Richardsons the Pork Butchers, the corner of Aston Brook Street and Newtown Row. The pigs raced off towards town with the drovers racing after them. We kids often used to watch the unloading of the pigs, and that evening we were all hoping the pigs wouldn't get caught.
 
i remember that place silvia.the screams were terrible.i saw them kill the poor piggy and hang it up.did i cry.
i would leg it too if some one was going to slit my throat.
 
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