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Then & Now

Long ago on an unknown date someone decided to turn a photo of Eileen Road Sparkhill into a postcard. The houses look established but paving looks recently laid. The road surface is not finished and turf for verges not laid. Two unattended dogs are out in the road as they often were in those days.
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Today the road is altered to suit modern-day lifestyle. The paving and verges replaced by tarmac but some trees are well established.
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Radiorails said:
Well, I hope that the cucumber was thin enough to read a newspaper through it. That is course it the 'correct' :Dmanner for cucumber sandwiches.
I believe that Dolly, the sister of Pte. Godfrey MM, made them that way.
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132438India, 1870. Struggling to cope with the relentless heat, a group of British Army officers take refuge in a tea house. To help them cool down, they order a quintessential English dish: crustless, dainty sandwiches containing paper-thin slices of cucumber. To drink, a steaming pot of freshly brewed Darjeeling tea.
 
Astoness said:
phil thats a lovely clear shot of st james the less church ashted...i have my 4xgt grandparents buried there in the 1830s i think it was...would have to double check my notes though

lyn
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Lyn I know you know that some of the Gravestones are still in situ on Windsor Street, they have just been laid flat, but have you seen this site by ex member Syngyst,

Brummages.. (or What Is It Like Now?)

brummages.blogspot.com brummages.blogspot.com

also this page on here,

St James The Less Church Ashted

Could anyone find me a photo of St James Ashted,where in Birmingham would this church be? Thank you Lindy
birminghamhistory.co.uk birminghamhistory.co.uk
 
mw0njm. said:
View attachment 132438India, 1870. Struggling to cope with the relentless heat, a group of British Army officers take refuge in a tea house. To help them cool down, they order a quintessential English dish: crustless, dainty sandwiches containing paper-thin slices of cucumber. To drink, a steaming pot of freshly brewed Darjeeling tea.
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They look tasty, however, the cucumber is sliced too thickly and those officers would have sent it back to the kitchen. ;)
 
In the 1930s Dobson & Crowther were busy making paper bags in that four storey building on the corner of Aston Rd North and Powell St. The petrol pumps of the Aston Brook Garage can also be seen on the other corner.
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One night in WW2 the sirens sounded and soon the Luftwaffe were overhead and the factory took a direct hit which destroyed it as seen in this pic. The petrol pumps of the garage opposite were still upright.
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At the date of the modern photo below a grey building stands approximately in the same position with the Aston Expressway behind it.
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oldMohawk said:
In the 1930s Dobson & Crowther were busy making paper bags in that four storey building on the corner of Aston Rd North and Powell St. The petrol pumps of the Aston Brook Garage can also be seen on the other corner.
View attachment 132679

One night in WW2 the sirens sounded and soon the Luftwaffe were overhead and the factory took a direct hit which destroyed it as seen in this pic. The petrol pumps of the garage opposite were still upright.
View attachment 132680

At the date of the modern photo below a grey building stands approximately in the same position with the Aston Expressway behind it.
View attachment 132681
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did they rebuild it and rippingills parafine heater co move there.that is what i seem to remember in 1960
 
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I believe the Albion is closed down at the moment, I know there was some talk of a new management late last year though I don't know if it ever happened.
 
mw0njm. said:
did they rebuild it and rippingills parafine heater co move there.that is what i seem to remember in 1960
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I've looked for a photo of what was there in the 1950s and 1960s but cannot find anything. A Google Earth aerial view dated 1945 shows a cleared bombsite. On the opposite corner was the Aston Brook garage and for a nice pic of it see the following
Phil said:
I know this is an old thread, but I came across this photo the other day. The information with it says that it is the junction of Powell St & Aston Rd North. If this is so then the public house in view has to be the General Havelock. The problem is the name on the facade of the pub doesn't look as if it says that. Can anybody who knew that stretch of Aston Rd North help?
index.php
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A bomb damage 'then and now' ...
There were two intensive air raids on Birmingham in the autumn of 1940.
The first on 15th October started at 8.15pm and lasted until 4.00am with approximately 150 high explosive bombs dropped and 94 incidents caused by incendiary bombs.
The second raid on Friday 22nd November 1940 started at 6.40pm and lasted until 5.49am. Approximately 600 high explosive bombs and 300 sets of incendiary bombs were dropped.
One of the above raids must have cause the damage shown below
Source Barra ... http://barra.historynut.co.uk/

Shoothill show this pic entitled 'bomb damage at Cox's Screw Factory, Charles Henry Street, Highgate'. The location is correct because Rowton House is in view top left in the pic. One interesting item is the barrage balloon just below the skyline in the centre of the pic. It was probably lowered in the daytime and maybe flown from a site in Highgate Park.
Pic1ScrewFactoryBombed.jpg

The map below dated 1937 shows Albion Screw Works (for some reason not Cox's !) shaded green, with adjacent houses shaded pink. Rowton House shaded blue.
Pic2_CHmap.jpg

The aerial view below dated 1937 shows the screw factory (shaded green), the adjacent houses (shaded pink) and Rowton House (blue) far right.
Pic3_CH_aerial.jpg
source 'britainfromabove'

A matching aerial view today. The factory site would be behind the tower block and the Rowton House building (now a hotel) is on the right. Thomas Street is now just a footpath.
Pic4_Rowton2.jpg

A modern view from Charles Henry Street looking across the factory site towards the former Rowton House building.
Pic5_CharlesHeneryNow.jpg
 
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Bomb damage to flats in West Holme off St Andrews Street.
P1_BombedWestHome.jpg
shoothill
They repaired them exactly as they were but trees block today's matching view.
P2_westholme.jpg

The archway seen in the bombing pic now has a bush growing in it.
P3_Now.jpg

The bomb nearly hit the railway line or Birmingham City Football Ground.
P4_WestholmeView.jpg
 
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WW2 bomb damage in Smallbrook Street but the Sydenham Hotel on the corner of Pershore St/Edgbaston St looks undamaged.
oldsmallbrookSt.jpg
shoothill
A modern view from approximately a similar position but the corner where the Sydenham stood is behind the part of the building where the bus has stopped.
SmallBrookNow.jpg
 
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Was there blast damage to the hotel windows? It looks like there might have been.
Of the bombed shops there appears to have been a Central? and a ? Drapery Co. Marsh & Baxters appear to have got of lightly.
Actually the modern building, behind the bus, looks like it has camouflage on the concrete. :laughing:
 
It seems that a pattern was cast on the concrete facings ... I suppose the architect thought it would look good, I not sure what the architect of the Debenham building was thinking about when he designed it ... :)
 
During an air raid on 10 April 1941, Torrey Grove Alum Rock was hit by high explosive bombs.
Photo 1 appears to have been taken from the back garden of house No 5 looking at a man carrying his young daughter as he stands in the garden of No 3 which had been very badly damaged.
House No 1 to the left was completely destroyed and was been replaced by a different design house as shown in photo 2. According to Birmingham Air Raids Rememberance Association (Barra) all three members of a family living there lost their lives.
P1__3_Torrey Grove.jpg

Photo 2 is an aerial view of Torrey Grove and Eastfield Road. Houses 1, 3, and 5 are numbered and P marks the spot where the wartime photographer probably stood. The wartime photo shows houses in Eastfield Road and they are marked in this aerial view.
Img__1161.jpg

Barra also states that of six people living at No 16, a mother and four of her young children lost their lives. They may of course been in a garden air raid shelter.
The names of the families killed in the bombing can be found from the Barra database and there is some comment in another thread on the BHF about the family who lived in No1. http://barra.historynut.co.uk/
 
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Lady Penelope said:
oM, your post #564 - A really good picture but not sure what to make of the Marsh & Baxter's ad with a pig pulling the cart loaded with sausages!
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Hello Lady P. I agree, This is a very good picture. I have not seen that Marsh & Baxters ad for a very long time. Really loved their sausages, & this ad certainly always made me smile.
 
Is there a photo anywhere of the bombed houses in Hurlingham Road Kingstanding?

I went to have a look at them the morning after but being only six years old at the time I didn't have my camera with me. :)
 
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