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street cleaner

Astoness

Astoness

TRUE BRUMMIE MODERATOR
Staff member
hi all... ive just come accross this lovely pic...i wonder if anyone can identify where it was taken...caption says tom pitt street cleaner....theres a couple of clues and i thought maybe the city centre.


astoness

pic curtasy of carl chinns birmingham lives...
 
The statue has been moved a couple of times but always in the Bull Ring area. This photo of Nelson is on the Statues thread. Once when being moved the carvings on the original plinth were dammaged.

This was posted by Pro Civitate
They were not bronze plaques, but low relief carving to the originial marble plinth. To the rear of the inscription was a low-relief depiction of Birmingham represented as a woman in a mournful and dejected mood, her children (symbolic of the next generation) offering comfort to their mother by presenting her with a rudder and trident.

When the statue was moved in the 1960's to accommodate the Bull Ring redevelopment it was damaged beyond repair and was replaced by the Portland stone one we know today. A very sad loss, but an accident
 
thanks for that wendy....nice to see a female member definately sort it out.....

well done lencops...

and well done frothy with a bit o prompting from lencops...lol

lyn
 
Thanks for showing picture of Tom Pitt, the street cleaner.
It may be may gt grandfather, William's brother, Thomas born 1878.
I know there are a lot of Pitts about but mine do seem to become cleaners as they get older, after being builders labourers and carters.
Do we have a date or approximate date?
He does look like my gt grandfather too!
Many thanks
Lulibell
 
hi lulibel...woudnt it be wonderful if you could confirm this...sorry it was date unknown but at a guess maybe the 1920s....perhaps someone could get a little closer with the date for us...

lyn
 
How exciting to possibly find a picture of a relative on the forum. I hope you can find out for sure if it is him.
Polly :)
 
Thanks Lyn
I've sent it to Mum and her cousin.
I thought it may be the 1920's, but Tom does look older than 40-50ish!
Thanks for your instant reply!
Lulibell
 
hi lulibell...we could be wrong on the date ....and also folk tended to look older than they were in those days...if you could post a pic of your grandfather that would be great

lyn
 
Hi Lyn and Polly
Sorry, photo not with me .
Sadly found William's death certificate 1943, occupation was cleaner at Bus depot.
I may well research Tom more and may find his descendents!!
Lulibell %))
 
Ernie i would say the photo was taken from the end of Moor ST( or around that area) looking towards the fish market. Dek
 
hi ernie...see wendys post 5...the statue has been moved more than once....may explain why it looks different

cheers

lyn
 
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Nelson must have been moved before this picture was taken,he is looking away from St Martin's.
Moss.
 
Thank you Moss this is what was confusing me i related to Nelson looking up the market i can now relate to the other photo . Dek
 
I too am not so confused now. I wonder if it still has the same base as the first photograph ? I shall have to take a look next time I am in Birmingham.
 
Mystery solved folks, it was bugging me, as I knew Nelson had always faced the church.
Someone printed the photo the wrong way round, here's a comparison photo.
Never trust these archivists, most of them are too young to know anything about the things they are dealing with.
 
I've enlarged a section of the old postcard, and as you can see, the building I 've marked in orange is the one behind Nelson, which makes Dek right when he said it was taken from Moor Street.
It was the downhill slope which was throwing me.
 
Mossg,
I think you'll find that this photo was taken after workmen had removed the statue from it's original place, it's surrounded by site huts and building stuff, and a fence.I don't even think that is the bull ring, buildings are completely wrong, it's on a straight level.
Here's another photo.
 
Thats what i think John.It looks like it has been moved, to what would have been Phillips St or Bell St.
Moss.
 
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