• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

Priory Road Uxb May 2017

little bit of smoke there froth...is that flying debris to the right of the smoke

lyn
 
Didn't hear anything here, but we're used to big Chinese fireworks! :-) I think the forthcoming storm will probably be louder, but at least you should soon have the traffic on the move again and Lady P won't be able to skive off work tomorrow. :-)

Maurice
 
hi eric your sister in law was living very close to the UXB in the 1950s..map showing her house no 43 and just to the right the ground where priory works was which is where the bomb lay undiscovered for some 76 years..by luck it missed those houses and the school and houses on the other side of the road..

map c 1950 showing 43 Priory road.jpg
 
Hi Guys
Here isabit of info about the german bombers taken from the birmingham post august 15 1940
and the first of bombing was in stechford 1940 regarding the uxb my theory would say he was making his way acros to ICI
Witton for the Ammo factory in stead he dropped a clanger but in the wrong postion
so the poor people caught out instead god bless them all and there familys
Here is the photograph taken best wishes Alan ,, Astonian,,,,
 

Attachments

  • bombshell.JPG
    bombshell.JPG
    274.7 KB · Views: 20
We may never know Alan. But it does raise the question of whether the bomb could be identified by date, which planes carried them etc. Were bombs listed when they were issued to various squadrons eg ID numbers? Have absolutely no idea as to how this worked. Am asking this as its a piece of 75 year old local history which in future may be of interest.

Wondering if we now need a separate thread for the Priory Works UXB ? Viv.
 
There appears to be a couple of threads where this topic might happily fit Vivienne.
Section: Blitz & Homefront - Bombing Brum or Birmingham Air Raids
Possibly others. ;)
 
Hi viv
Thanks for replying to my thread but what got me thinking about the UXB Bomb was firstly i have missed out a page
out of the birmingham post which i have got lots of there copies for those periods even 1912 upwards
But this particular page as the picture and story and date but the reason i thought what i did
and say for the reason there is an paragraph writen by the journists and the birmingham post
which states that the germams came in through the north of birmingham and stechford was there first targets
on and in birmingham but bearing in mind our air planes was built over the tyburn road castle vale
and of corse our big amminition and things was being produced there during the war years as we know
and if you have ever been in the ICI COMPLEX During there early years it was a huge massive place
it was like an city within a city i worked there and so did my younger brother and still does on security
and with all there closey knitt building and roads in and around the miles its in
may be the pilot mis judge priory road with the complex of all the factorys close together and of course there was loads of close knitted houses as i recall as a kid in those early years and may be he thought that was is mission
After all coming acros from the north of brum and seeing all these rivers and waters which as we know the river and the resovior
as i said it could have been a missed target on his own but also for the size of that one bomb it in my eyes was destined for
a certain target such as ICI For what we was making there i know its only suposingly on my part
I dont know whether it could be traced back i would not of thought so thou
best wishes as always ... Alan,,, Astonian,,,
 
Looks to me like the bomb landed maybe in the yard of one of the houses?
This is the way I see it............
 

Attachments

  • Priory road.PNG
    Priory road.PNG
    520.3 KB · Views: 33
  • Priory road 2.PNG
    Priory road 2.PNG
    517 KB · Views: 32
  • Priory road 3.PNG
    Priory road 3.PNG
    189.3 KB · Views: 33
hi froth i have seen footage of the bomb being detonated and it was definately near to the edge of the road opposite the patio doors co so providing you have the correct position of the patio doors co marked out on your map then yes i agree with you in which case this would be incredible


lyn
 
Sadly large areas of the world are littered with various forms of ordnance much of it known and equally much of it buried.
 
erics sister in law lived at no 43 the 1950s froth so looking at your map (post 270) you have put the bomb about 6 doors to the left of her house...map below

priory road map 1950 showing no 43.jpg
 
Hi Froth and Lyn, it might be interesting to try and determine as near as possible where it did land. If it had gone through a house they would usually have known there was a bomb somewhere in the debris. If it was in a back garden or the gap showing on your map, someone may have simply looked at the hole and possibly not reported it. In the 1951 pics the houses look in good condition and also I cannot see a gap. However it was 10 years later than the bombing and they may have filled in the gap.
 
The symbol on the map is a covered entry. It also appears on the c1937 map, though in this there appear to be ywo additional buildings in the yard behind it. this may or may not be connected

map c 1937 Priory road.jpg
 
The map on Post 275 seems to show house numbers 55 and 57 possibly under the same ownership. I suggest this as the gardens seem to have been replaced by a yard or there was a yard in the first instance when the terrace was built. There is, of course, the strong likelihood that the terrace was constructed in that manner and I would not be surprised to find that this was a builders yard but on the other hand it might be another trade.
 
In 1940, and for some years before, no 57 was occupied by Jessie Hopkins, shopkeeper. In 1913 Jesse is there listed as a dairyman, and in 1899 Edmund Garland, dairyman. the houses would seem to have been built shortly before that, as the 1897 Kellys does not list any of that row. The last occupants listed on the online electoral roll is John & Joan Swann in 1965 (the last year online). Mrs J. Swann is listed in Kellys for 1965 as a greengrocer
 
Hello Mike,
Indeed. since my post I had though that the two houses, 55/57 could have been shops. The yard being for the delivery carts and horses.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top