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Stratford Road

Nice story, Mike. My other half, long before I met her, was working behind behind the counter of a DHSS office in London that dealt solely with vagrants, amongst whom were many claimants, who as well as being homeless, were disposed to drink and/or drugs. For this reason they were paid on a daily basis. Screens to protect the staff went up to the ceiling and there was a back entrance that came out into the yard of a police station. She said that, despite this, several of the claimants, well able to look after themselves, and despite their failings in other facets of their lives, were protective of the staff and were prepared to deal with trouble makers if they happened to be in the office at the time of an incident, and hold them until the police arrived.

Her boss, a finance officer, was walking down the street one day when he was attacked by a claimant with a long knife. What the assilant didn't know was that her boss was an ex-Royal Marine, and he promptly flattened the guy! Like you, she didn't stay there very long either. :)

Maurice :cool:
 
Janice,

You had me thinking there for a minute as the name V.A. Luck was ringing distant bells from the time when I lived in Knowle Road for the whole of the 1940s! And yes, I think I know where you mean now.

Maurice :cool:
 
boringmike said:
You are quite right, The Mermaid was further down the Stratford road on the junction with Warwick Road. Opposite the Mermaid on the Y junction was V A Luck timber merchants. A little further down was a barber shop by the name of Vincenzo Di Matteo which I believe is still there after 55 years and a little further down the car dealership Mario Delliotti. As I mentioned before There was A Ferrari Dealership of Colmore Depot at the top of the hill up from the College Arms, didn't realise what an exotic location it was! Between Doctor Johnson's and the Co Op milkyard was the Post Office where my Mum would pick up the family allowance on her way to Mac Fisheries. I also remember her taxing our car with a big green cardboard log book. Does anyone remember the name of the record shop next to Enterprise hardware, Studio Musica was in Shirley, was it Midland Music?
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Quite right, I have the two pubs mixed up, it was the College Arms opposite V A Lucks, just nother senior moment!
 
sospiri said:
Nice story, Mike. My other half, long before I met her, was working behind behind the counter of a DHSS office in London that dealt solely with vagrants, amongst whom were many claimants, who as well as being homeless, were disposed to drink and/or drugs. For this reason they were paid on a daily basis. Screens to protect the staff went up to the ceiling and there was a back entrance that came out into the yard of a police station. She said that, despite this, several of the claimants, well able to look after themselves, and despite their failings in other facets of their lives, were protective of the staff and were prepared to deal with trouble makers if they happened to be in the office at the time of an incident, and hold them until the police arrived.

Her boss, a finance officer, was walking down the street one day when he was attacked by a claimant with a long knife. What the assilant didn't know was that her boss was an ex-Royal Marine, and he promptly flattened the guy! Like you, she didn't stay there very long either. :)

Maurice :cool:
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One other memory, and I can remember all the names, was when I had a lady came into a cubicle for an interview with her "partner" , she said look what he's done to me, took off her head scarf and lifted her hair and scalp to reveal her her skull, she seemed to think it was acceptable! I will never forget that moment, I had a pretty genteel upbringing and it realy, shocked me, she seemed to think it was acceptable???????????????
 
Mike,

As I don't need to tell you, there are some pretty brutal people about and naturally you would ask "Why do you stay with him?". But some don't have a great deal of choice as the hostels for such women must be full by now. And many cultures regard this as the norm. You either have to have a very thick skin or an extremely caring attitude to remain in a job like that for long.

Maurice :cool:
 
sospiri said:
Janice,

You had me thinking there for a minute as the name V.A. Luck was ringing distant bells from the time when I lived in Knowle Road for the whole of the 1940s! And yes, I think I know where you mean now.

Maurice :cool:
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Maurice. It would have been "round the corner" from Knowle Road. It was on Shaftmoor Lane. (At least I think it is still Shaftmoor at that point). Flats on the site now.
 
Hi Janice,

So presumably opposite what was the back door of the College Arms? I think the front door is now on Shaftmoor Lane. A few years since I took my other half to look at our old house in Knowle Road, and we moved to Kings Heath in 1950. I think my memory bank needs refreshing! :) I quite often used to walk up to Reddings Lane with mates in those days so must have passed it fairly frequently. Also had a schoolmate that lived at 30 Bromyard Road, so must have been close every time I walked around to his house. Happy days! And thanks.

Maurice :cool:
 
Hi Maurice. Timber yard was on corner of Leominster - think it was a bit further down than I remembered. Yello shows Knowle Road - not sure which end you lived (my Nan's cousin was at nummber 7) and the red circle is College Arms with the red marker at the timber yard.
1577974001668.png
 
A bit off thread but College Arms is on corner of Stratford Road. :)
Google street view:
red circle is where Luck's was - now flats.
1577974202367.png
 
Well, Janice, the thread title is Stratford Road and that's near enough for me. Luck's was probably where I though it would be, but so many things have changed in 70 years. Our old house is number 215, immediately before the bombsite on the left. Your Nan's cousin's house would be the fourth one in on the same side from Formans Road end. The blank space on the right hand side of the road was the entrance to the allotments, which follow the River Cole all the way up to Foremans Road. Sadly that entrance is now fenced and locked with keys now only available to allotment holders, presumably due to theft and vandalism, something that was not prevalent in our day.

Cox's the scrapyard on the corner of Knowle Road and Stratford Road has gone and been built on and the first house on that side, which had been converted to Mrs Carter's corner shop, is now back as a house. Come to think of it, she was already a widow and knocking on a bit when I lived there! :):) :)

Maurice :cool:
 
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Maurice - I know where you mean re: allotments, as have walked along Cole to Forman's Road and then back down Knowle Road and then to home.
Visited number 7 on several occasions as a child.
 
There was a Hardware Shop on the Stratford Road in Hall Green and it was called the Ideal Home Supply. It was located opposite Hall Green Parade in the short run of shops between Willmonts (Cubley Road) and the Rialto cinema. My Dad used to go in there for methylated spirits which he used for a heater in his small greenhouse during the Winter. I went in there once to get a clamp that fitted on the base of an old-fashioned flat-iron. That would have been in the mid-1950s. The owner said that he "didn't have much call for them these days". Sounds as if our house was late in using electric irons. The shop completely burned down in January 1958. Perhaps it was due to the methylated spirits not being properly contained. Dave
 
First photograph conveniently says Stratford Road but I'm not sure of the exact location. Could be Sparkbrook or Sparkhill. It was taken in 1987. The second photograph was taken on the same day and shows a run of shops, some of which look in need of repair. Not sure whether this is on the Stratford Road. Dave.
P1000688 (2).JPGP1000687 (2).JPG
 
Dave,

In the second picture the second building from the left says Auto & General Insurance Brokers. This company only seems to have existed from 1966-1972 at just two addresses, 477a Washwood Heath Road, and Ladywell House, Hurst Street. No mention of Stratford Road at all. Can't make out the name of the travel agent (far left) and the Rose of Bengal Indian Tandoori Restaurant is not listed in the directories.

Maurice :)
 
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First building has now been completely rebuilt but is still (as in the photo) Guru Nanak Gurdwara. I think they must have taken over the buildings on the left of the photo as well.
1588192732418.png
 
farmerdave said:
First photograph conveniently says Stratford Road but I'm not sure of the exact location. Could be Sparkbrook or Sparkhill. It was taken in 1987. The second photograph was taken on the same day and shows a run of shops, some of which look in need of repair. Not sure whether this is on the Stratford Road. Dave.
View attachment 144600View attachment 144601
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The second photo - row of shops - is a curious photo. Some shops are still open, a couple to the right seem closed.
Most of the upstairs rooms are empty it seems and many windows are open. The far right of the block roof tiles are missing,
There are two possible explanations I believe the first partial demolition or renovation and the second is that there was a serious fire. The end shop has a boarded up front and has lost Its upper floors. The building to the right has been demolished. The common roof void would have enabled smoke and heat to progress to the upstairs rooms of adjacent properties. Hence the open windows.
My view is that the second option is what has happened i.e. a serious fire.
 
Hi Janice,

My info was from a directory search on Midlands Historical Data, with no listing for the insurance brokers on Stratford Road coming up. So much has changed since the 1940s when I lived in Sparkhill. :)

Maurice :cool:
 
Alan you could be right as the shops to the right beyond where I chopped off the picture are different. Possibly they were rebuilt.
 
Thanks for all your help. First photo was definitely on the Stratford Road and it looks as if the second one was as well. I left Birmingham in 1967 but have been back fairly frequently. Found these photos when I was clearing out a cupboard. They were taken in 1987. I lived near the Stratford Road in Sarehole Road. Nearest points would have been Hall Green Parade or the College Arms. Do we know the original name of the church in photo 1? Dave
 
Will check but it was definitely opposite English Martyrs School.
Up the road from Hall Green Parade and after Sparkhill Park and Baths.
My brain wants to say "Presbyterian" but that could be wrong.
 
jmadone said:
In 1987 Britain suffered the Great Storm famously not predicted by Michael Fish. Some damage was done in Brum as in other parts of the country.
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/michael-fish-hurricane-blunder-27-7941308
Perhaps the damage to the shops was caused by the storm and that is the reason for the photo.
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That's a possibility I had not considered. Sparkbrook, not far away, was badly hit it is reported, as was Moseley and Kings Heath.
That event in 1987 saw me out in it, checking overturned vehicles and dangerous structures in the Torbay area. The major problem was radio contact was not available for some while, until moblle vehicles were sent to higher ground to act as control points. Days later, in many quite rural and hard to reach areas, access was difficult due to the number of fallen trees, shallow rooted pines along the coastal areas were particularly vulnerble.
 
Janice,

I see that the furnishing shop that was once the Springfield Cinema on the corner of Solihull Road is empty again. It's getting difficult to recognise anywhere along there since I lived their in the 1940s - not surpriningly!

Maurice :cool:
 
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