Sutton Park History

[Alberta]

We took the dogs to walk over the bridges as far as the beach in Autumn 2013, beautiful day in a beautiful season.
I didn't spend much time in Sutton park as a youngster but my husband and his mates used to cycle from Alum rock to the park and spend time swimming to the island.

Sadly nowadays due to irresponsible dog owners much of the park is not nice to walk in.

 

[csmith604]

My grans first husband Sidney Nicholls lived at The Coldfield,which I think was next to Sutton Park. It must have been so beautiful and 'spacey' in those days.

 

[John Owen]

View attachment 78689....View attachment 78690
From a recent issue of the Mail.
No1 mounted Home Guard in sutton Park. 1940
No2 Swimmers just before their annual Christmas Day dip.

This is the only evidence I have found so far of the existence of the mounted section. There was some connection with the Steele-Bodgers - did they own the horses/stables? Were they a section of the 6th Warwickshire (Sutton) Battalion? Members included S/M Priddy, Sgt. Whitehead, Cpl. Price, Vtr. Greensell, Vtr. Owen. Does anyone have any further information?

Newbie Brummie

 

[Rupert]

#1228
I love dogs but with the number around, a 'stoop and scoop' routine is a must have and most dog owners adhere to this mandated requirement around here. It's not much to do. In large parks I think that less care is taken to follow this requirement especially so if the animal is running free. Frequently located collection bins help to encourage adherence. Carrying a used bag for an hour is a chore.

 

[ChrisM]

This is the only evidence I have found so far of the existence of the mounted section.........

Thanks for that interesting comment and question, John. The Steele-Bodgers were vets, weren't they? In which case the horse connection sounds likely. Can you tell us more about this and HG activities in general in the Park of which you aware?

Chris

 

[Stephen0002002]

Next to Powels pool on the side opposite the boat houses there are a few small hillocks and lumps in the grass - I'm guessing they were the remnants of the dredging for Powels pool when it was built ?

 

[pipmk]

Steele-Bodgers rather more famous for Rugby. Steele-Bodgers XV v Cambridge University a fixture for rugger fans.

 

[Morturn]

There was a vet in Tamworth called Steele-Bodger, when I mentioned this to my mom, she said that my grandfather used a vet called Steele-Bodger when he kept pigs at Short Heath, Erdington. I would imagine that they were a local vet.

 

[Rupert]

#1233.
Powels Pool was a mill pond for a water mill and the current road runs over where the dam was. Maybe the mounds had something to do with a concrete exit chute to the tailrace which has been covered over. There should still be a stream leading away which would have been the tailrace to the mill. Steel mill if you can believe it. Map ref below:
There is a photo on here somewhere.

 

[Wendy]

Steele-Bodgers vets is still in Tamworth only under a new name. It is in Lichfield Street Tamworth. Sounds like a large veterinarian family. My aunt Gwendoline Jennings would swim in Powels Pool for her training she was a champion swimmer.

 

[Stephen0002002]

Thx Rupert.
Great pic Wendy - I am assuming swimming runs in the family then ?

 

[Morturn]

Nice map Rupert, but I think the mounds we are talking about are in the vicinity of the red square in the top left hand corner. I certainly would like to know more about the steel mill, if you have any more information.

I know that they made steel wire at what is now the Pens Hall Hotel, the lake being the water sully to the mill.

 

[Lloyd]

Re the Steele-Bodger family:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Steele-Bodger
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alasdair_Steele-Bodger
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micky_Steele-Bodger
and plenty more references here: https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en#hl=en&q="Steele-Bodger"+vet&start=0

 

[John Owen]

None of these mention any connection either with Sutton Coldfield or with the Home Guard, which is what I am interested in.

 

[John Owen]

This was the younger son, Micky. His father, Harry, seems to have been very eminent in vet. circles.

 

[Stephen0002002]

yes the mounds I referred to were on the opposite side to the boat house, across the field from where the roundabouts use to be.
As if you were walking along the side of the pool towards the trees (walking parallel to Monmouth Drive) and past the ship (mid pool).
I'm pretty sure they came from the pool.

 

[Rupert]

The pool there is not very deep. We used to free fly our model aeroplanes on the hill behind the pool. We lost one in a thermal one time and never heard about it again even though it had my friends name and address on it. Just went up and up after the motor run ended and we ran eastward to the park gates but it was a tiny dot in the sky by that time.
Another acquaintance had in mind an attempt on the model floatplane endurance record and waded out into the pool with his model, about at the place in question. There were rushes then, as I recall. Anyway he started the engine and set the plane in the water, but I think he did not check the wind direction properly and, when released, the model banked on lift off and dipped a wing into the water, which ended that days proceedings. Ah well, sometimes you rode home elated and sometimes rode with broken parts. Hmm..sometimes with a box strapped to your back with nothing in it. Them's the breaks.

 

[oldMohawk]

Sutton Park had it uses over the years, I flew model aeroplanes there but I've already mentioned that in this long thread. Two photos of Powells Pool here, one from 1945 and shows a POW/Army camp on the triangle of land towards the top of the image. The second image from 2013 shows no trace of the camp apart from the triangle of land but 68 years have passed. The sea scout's boat was there in 1945 just under the 'W' in the text and a boat still there in 2013 but has moved to the west.
Powells Pool 1945

Powells Pool 2013

 

[Roy Blakey]

Just read your piece Rupert and it brought to mind an occasion when a few of us lads turned up to watch the Model Aircraft perform on the park area around the Powell's pool, Longmoor pool cross roads. It was at the time when propeller
model's were driven by wound up elastic ( hand held drills with turns carefully counted ).
It would have been I guess around 1946.
On this occasion one of the propeller models had been launched and it caught in a thermal or some such thing and it drifted away doing it's circles and it, as you describe it Rupert, just became a tiny spot in the sky heading towards Banners
Gate and beyond.
I've got a vague notion that this model had been named by its owner and was called " Peewit the Twelth" or something like
that.
I don't know whether the owner got to retrieve his model but I always hoped so because these ' model makers ' had obviously spent a lot of time and effort building these Balsa Wood planes.

 

[Austin K2]

I was watching some airplane models being flown, must have in the '60's, when this bloke pedalled up on his bicycle.
He then proceeded to get all the parts of his plane from within various bags on his bike, then assembled quite a large plane, engine driven, all set, go.
The plane did a super rather steep climb to a good height, then the engine stopped, the plane just turned on it's tail and nosedived into the ground smashing the plane into many pieces.
The fella just gathered up all the bits, stuffed them into his panniers and other bags and cycled off.
Never said a word.
Not even a swear word. Just silence.
I recon that spoilt his Sunday morning.

 

[Stephen0002002]

Thx for the pic Phil - interesting how the boats moved or been replaced and moved over.
Do they still have the planes on aeropane hill ? .. they dont seem to be as loud as they used to be if they are.

 

[Stephen0002002]

Phil - 1945 pic -
on the right hand tip of the POW/camp triangle - theres a strip cleared in the trees - wonder what that is ? - looks a bit like a landing strip.

 

[oldMohawk]

Hi Stephen - There are two high resolution aerial oblique photos of Powells Pool in the britainfromabove collection which were taken on 12 July 1946. One shows a crowd around what appears to be a fire engine taking water from the pool. Also the POW camp can be clearly seen and also there seems to be a derelict building top left of the field. Unfortunately they have severe copyright restrictions so I cannot post even the low res image on a forum which requires 'sign in'. They do allow medium resolution pics to be downloaded into a personal computer but try hard to stop downloading of the high resolution image but this can be easily circumvented with the snipping tool. The only way to see the superb high resolution pics is to join the site which is free. I can put a link to the low res image and here it is.
https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/eaw001843?x=410471&y=295206&extent=1000&ref=0
It can be zoomed on but resolution is not good and if you do the 'right click save' on it you may only get part of the pic, so windows snipping is needed !

 

[oldMohawk]

Thx for the pic Phil - interesting how the boats moved or been replaced and moved over.
Do they still have the planes on aeropane hill ? .. they dont seem to be as loud as they used to be if they are.

With regard to model aero flying in the park, I was walking there in 1999 and some 'oik' shouted at me to get off the runway. The pic below taken in 1999 shows a runway layout mown in the grass (Google spotted it) and in the bottom corner can be seen part of Longmoor Pool. The field shown is where I did most of my model flying. The reason the engines don't sound so loud, they use silencers and also many use electric motors with lithium batteries.

 

[Dave M]

Bracebridge Pool today 3rd April

 

[Dave M]

​Blackroot Pool today 3rd April

 

[G G Jean]

Thanks Dave for your photo's. Was going to the park today but Pete said his asthma was not good so gave it a miss.

 

[David Weaver]

​Blackroot Pool today 3rd April

Hey Dave my brother Harold dragged me down to Bracebridge in mid winter for a swim seventy years back. I had to break the ice before we could get into the water. Anyway I challenged him to a race to the water to jump in only I stopped at the edge and he didn't. I then turned and ran home as fast as my legs could carry me. It was the first time I've ever seen anyone turn an instant blue and real mad to go with it. When I telephone him on Sunday methinks a gentle reminder won't be amiss. Regards, and thanks for jogging old memories, David.

 

[Stephen0002002]

Thx Phil, Thx Dave. Nice one David

 

[Dave M]

​In the Park on Sunday 18th May