• 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

Siren tests in the 1970s?

Godber

Godber

master brummie
I remember hearing sirens being sounded as a kid quite regularly when I lived in Brandwood in the ‘70s, I believe one was a factory siren but another time I was told one was a test of an Air Raid siren. Does anyone else remember air raid sirens being tested at that time?
 
I can remember the tests in the 60s when I was at school (Edgbaston district). Thursday afternoon, as I recall, about every 2 or 3 months.
 
not air raid sirens but i can well recall the siren or the bull as it was locally known being sounded at lucas gt king st telling workers its time to clock in and out..

lyn
 
There used to be something similar on Sunday mornings around 11.00am in the Marston Green area.

I wondered if it came from the Metro Cammell works.
 
In my shop in the seventies we had the early warning system for atomic bombs we also had the siren in a box in the shed but it was never tested in our area, we did though regularly test the early warning stuff and had to go to Cheltenham police station for training how to use it. We had this on the top shelf in the shop

ewsu.gif
 
Astoness said:
not air raid sirens but i can well recall the siren or the bull as it was locally known being sounded at lucas gt king st telling workers its time to clock in and out..

lyn
Click to expand...
Lyn, the “Bull” name sounds familiar to me. As I recall, the factory siren was a continuous note with an intermittent lower blast sounded on top of it. It’s hard to say what direction it came from but I think it was from the other side of the railway embankment, so that would be Stirchley, Bournville etc. I wonder if it came from GKN or Cadbury?
Donbogen said:
I recall them being mounted on some police stations i worked on
Click to expand...
Makes perfect sense to place them there, Donbogan. Maybe twenty years or so ago I was talking to a chap who also grew up in Brandwood about the air raid siren noise and he said he remembered it and reckoned one was mounted on top of an electricity substation on Brydale avenue, but he was notorious for telling tall tales so I’m not sure about that.
Eric Gibson said:
In my shop in the seventies we had the early warning system for atomic bombs we also had the siren in a box in the shed but it was never tested in our area, we did though regularly test the early warning stuff and had to go to Cheltenham police station for training how to use it. We had this on the top shelf in the shop

View attachment 197562
Click to expand...
Wow Eric, where was your shop and what sort of shop was it? Do you remember what the procedure was if the alarm sounded, were you supposed to then go and sound the siren?

John.
 
Before the advent of pagers sirens were used, post WW2, to summon retained firefighters when a fire, or other emergency, occured in their area. This would probably apply to the suburbs of the city at the perimeter and the surrounding areas of Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Staffordshire.
 
Godber said:
Lyn, the “Bull” name sounds familiar to me. As I recall, the factory siren was a continuous note with an intermittent lower blast sounded on top of it. It’s hard to say what direction it came from but I think it was from the other side of the railway embankment, so that would be Stirchley, Bournville etc. I wonder if it came from GKN or Cadbury?

Makes perfect sense to place them there, Donbogan. Maybe twenty years or so ago I was talking to a chap who also grew up in Brandwood about the air raid siren noise and he said he remembered it and reckoned one was mounted on top of an electricity substation on Brydale avenue, but he was notorious for telling tall tales so I’m not sure about that.

Wow Eric, where was your shop and what sort of shop was it? Do you remember what the procedure was if the alarm sounded, were you supposed to then go and sound the siren?

John.
Click to expand...
We had the local garage and the village shop in Clearwell Forest of Dean (typical open all hours shop), being central to the village community the job fell to us to warn all the locals and that included sounding the siren, the siren however never came out of its box.
 
In the article above there is the added bit entitled DIAL ‘FAIRY’ concerning the Czech Post Office. In 1957 The British Post Office was still combined with Post Office Telephones, Who would think that in 2024 Royal Mail would be owned by Czech Billionaire!
 
Pedro's article in post #15 has sparked a few memories. The siren mentioned in the article would have been south of our house. I remember asking my dad what the sound was and he said it came from somewhere over towards Aldridge Road. I think it was also a factory, but this was in the 1960s.

Would there have been so many in a small area ?
 
Vivienne14 said:
Pedro's article in post #15 has sparked a few memories. The siren mentioned in the article would have been south of our house. I remember asking my dad what the sound was and he said it came from somewhere over towards Aldridge Road. I think it was also a factory, but this was in the 1960s.

Would there have been so many in a small area ?
Click to expand...
I wonder if it was this company, founded in 1949? They are on Aldridge Road.

HOME | Great Barr Sawmills Birmingham - Wood, Timber, Hardwood, Softwood, Plywood, Doors, MDF

Great Barr Sawmills is a Birmingham based timber yard that sells all forms of wood including Hardwood, Softwood, Chipboard and MDF as well as doors, building materials and hardware. Covering the areas of Great Barr, Kingstanding, New Oscott, Sutton Coldfield, Erdington, Perry Barr, Handsworth...
www.greatbarrsawmills.co.uk
 
Also in the Sunday Mercury of December 1982 there is an article remembering the factory bulls by someone who had lived in Aubrey Road. Within range were bulls from BSA, Allday and Onions, Latch and Bachelor, the Singer, James and Lanechester.
 
Pedrocut said:
In the article above there is the added bit entitled DIAL ‘FAIRY’ concerning the Czech Post Office. In 1957 The British Post Office was still combined with Post Office Telephones, Who would think that in 2024 Royal Mail would be owned by Czech Billionaire
Click to expand...
As a child I remember calling a number (when I was allowed to as I was told it was expensive) and listening to a recording of the late Johnny Morris reading a “Bedtime Story”. Looks like the same sort of thing to me.
 
From Wikipedia:
“In the 1970s, Morris read children's bedtime stories for the Post Office to be heard via the telephone. Children could dial 150 and hear a different story over the telephone each week; these included the Peter Pixie stories written by Olive Hyett.”
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top