Nevans, There are maps but are hard to find, your Lichfield Rd is just off my map but the houses would have gone for the flyover.
I found this article about a Birmingham Lad in the Daily Mirror, who wrote
At the height of the Blitz eight people were trapped in the cellar of a house that had been bombed in Birmingham …..six were rescued by 18 year old Jack Reynolds who was an Air Raid Precautions Messenger boy
I wonder if he is still about or any of his relatives.
Describing the “incident” in which young Jack Reynolds Displayed conspicuous bravery, a Birmingham group warden said:
One night two houses were hit by a high explosive bomb. The incident was reported at the post by a warden two minutes later. Eight people were trapped in the cellar of one house.
We heard them calling to us through a hole on a level with the garden. The big bay window frame, which had been blown out by the explosion, lay across it.
I shone my torch into the cellar and counted six people and two dogs. The ceiling had collapsed at the far end, and at our end was held up only by a loose beam, which looked like slipping at any moment.
Young Jack Reynolds was by my side. He said: Shall I go down? I can slip in quite easily. I told him he would be risking his life, but all he said was: I’ll do me best. Just tell me what to do. He slithered down feet first and got busy in the light of several torches. He helped up the three people nearest to us, a man and two woman We heaved them up but the remaining three (two woman and a man) the two dogs were not going to be so easy. The man was lying back in his invalid chair unconscious. His wife a heavy woman was face down on his lap, also unconscious, her feet hidden in the debris.
First we passed some water down to Jack for the woman. It revived her a lot. Jack talked away to her.
Now came his most delicate and difficult task. The woman was not so difficult, because she could at least walk and he helped her up to us, but the man and his wife were heavy.
I ask him if he could manage to roll one at a time on to a sheet of corrugated iron if we let it down. He gave us the usual reply I’ll do me best. He passed the dog up first. Then we slid down the corrugated iron sheets, which he wedges firmly. Then I dropped the end of a rope down to him and told him to tie it firmly round the mans chest. Jackie is not a strong lad. But again he struggled, he manages to tie the rope and roll the man only a little on to the metal sheet.
While Jack guided, we pulled the man from under his wife and so up to the opening. Jack could not turn the woman over on her back, but he manages to get her head and chest on to the sheet.
The woman was the sixth person Jackie had rescued, and it had taxed his strength severely.
But before he allowed himself to be helped up, he borrowed my torch to see if he could find the other two women., they were invisible under the debris and as the rescue Squad were working from beside the house to reach them, we left it to them and helped Jack up.
He mumbled something about “Only did me best” and vanished.
