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They Were Caught In Our Old Street Pics...

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oldMohawk said:
The long arm of the law is controlling the lights at the Birchfield Rd/Trinity Rd junction and maybe thinking it would be a good idea to have a flyover there ....
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Just wondering how much those number plates would fetch these days?
 
oldMohawk said:
Shoppers in this nice pic of the Walsall Rd on the Birmingham side of the Scott Arms. In the pic an Austin A90 (remember them), a Bundy Clock, prams and bikes parked outside the old shops, is that a Wrensons next to Marsh & Baxter ?
The parking was easy in those days ..... but I didn't have a car ... :)
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OK here we go. As a Great Barr lad, I remember the shop names as they were, before the Number 51 was ever there.... The buses back then were all Midland RED, the Great Barr to Birmingham bus was the 119. The Walsall via Great Barr was the 118. The bus terminus was right outside "Peace's" The Corn Merchants, this was the shop that was the second one in from Queslett Road. (The first was "Greatrex", who were a bakery.) Peace's which was far left of this picture. Then came an alleyway, Then, "FIRKIN's" who sold cooked meats and Pikelets, and baked pies and sausage rolls, then the next shop was LOWE's" who were Newsagents and Toys. Then where Wrensons is, in this picture was ROWBOTTOMS" the butchers, Then the Midland Bank. Then another ally (which was the other end of the one I mentioned earlier. The shop that is shown here as George Masons, was "CAPE CYCLES", and then a ladies outfitters, and then, The Greengrocers, called "Roberts", then a cafe' with a Juke Box, called "Grants", then Howells who sold tellies and filled accumulators, then a gents outfitters, and the last shop was The Chemists. Some years later the shopping parade was extended with a Lloyds bank, and several other shops, before a small grassy area and the top of Calshot Road.
 
The original 51 and 52, to Belchers Lane, bus routes were short workings of the 53 and 54 to Stechford, which in turn had taken over tram routes 84 and 90 in 1948. The 51 and 52 disappeared, becoming 53B and 54B when buses replaced the trolley buses in July 1951 from Coventry Road depot.
The newer 51 and 52 (ex B&MMO) commenced in 1957/58.
 
#2643, I believe the Austin A90, was called the "Atlantic", someone down our road had one, I thought it looked like a space ship , as a kid. Paul
 
Birmingham post 1900's was a very different place to that which we know today. For those who would seek more on the period (and many may already know this) may I recommend three books written by one Kathleen Dayus (born Hockley 1903). The first, "Her People" 1982, "Where There's Life" 1985 and "All My days" 1988. I only recently discovered these books and enjoyed reading Kathleen's story about a place I thought I knew but obviously didn't.
Old Brummie.
 
In a Summer Lane courtyard back in the 1920s all the young folk were gathered for a photo and older folk not in the pic, not even peeping out of doorways. I played with my laptop adding colour to the original pic and looked at faces from the past. The rather showy couple on the left with their baby, the young lad at the front without shoes, and a little lad alone at the back because he had no one to place him in the group.
I suppose long ago there was a reason for taking it ... perhaps for a newspaper story ... :)
SummerLaneCrt1920s.jpg
It's a widely seen pic and one B&W original is in post below.
https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/for...ourtyards-and-yards-of-brum.40378/post-496074
 
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oldMohawk said:
In a Summer Lane courtyard back in the 1920s all the young folk were gathered for a photo and older folk not in the pic, not even peeping out of doorways. I played with my laptop adding colour to the original pic and looked at faces from the past. The rather showy couple on the left with their baby, the young lad at the front without shoes, and a little lad alone at the back because he had no one to place him in the group.
I suppose long ago there was a reason for taking it ... perhaps for a newspaper story ... :)
View attachment 133389
It's a widely seen pic and one B&W original is in post below.
https://birminghamhistory.co.uk/for...ourtyards-and-yards-of-brum.40378/post-496074
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The two lads holding the baby bought their caps to last them for life did they?
 
Eric Gibson said:
You were probably too generous with the colours, I think they were likely to be much more drab in those days
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Yes there is a temptation to splash colour on so here is a copy with some selective 1920s drabness thrown on and the lamp post now brown. I suppose back then clothing colour dyes tended to wash out. I've had another look at the figure far left and still think she is a lady ... wide sleeves long skirt but wearing a trendy hat ... they look a strange pair ... :)
drabSummerLaneCrt1920s.jpg
 
oldMohawk said:
Yes there is a temptation to splash colour on so here is a copy with some selective 1920s drabness thrown on and the lamp post now brown. I suppose back then clothing colour dyes tended to wash out. I've had another look at the figure far left and still think she is a lady ... wide sleeves long skirt but wearing a trendy hat ... they look a strange pair ... :)
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Went to Specsavers, early gender specific whatever that is, alright Bob own up you got it wrong again he is actually a girl, look at the raffish tilt of that cap, yes I like the thought of them being a 17yr old couple with their first child. I am a bit worried about the young couple in the centre foreground with the child, you don't think?.......no it couldn't be. Keep them coming OM and if postcards regain their popularity, your first in line for a colourists job and no risk of death by arsenic poisoning as you wont have a brush to suck:D

\bob
 
It’s mainly a bus pic, probably late 1970s, but in this thread we look at the people and my story is ..

She does not often visit Brum and got off the bus looking for the old Central Library she went in a few years ago. They've changed everything and she doesn't look too pleased with what she sees and might be less pleased when someone points her to the large concrete building behind.

She reminds me of Edie Pegden .... :)
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At least the dear old BCT was exonerated as 1972 was in the PTE era.
I thought Birmingham's buses were subsidised by the rates? Maybe that changed with the PTE?
As the letter originator was in Weston-super-Mare it would be interesting to read replies, especially from those using the city's buses.
 
oldMohawk said:
It’s mainly a bus pic, probably late 1970s, but in this thread we look at the people and my story is ..

She does not often visit Brum and got off the bus looking for the old Central Library she went in a few years ago. They've changed everything and she doesn't look too pleased with what she sees and might be less pleased when someone points her to the large concrete building behind.

She reminds me of Edie Pegden .... :)
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Nora Batty...a long way from Holmforth
Bob
 
oldMohawk said:
Salesmen and a mechanic in this 1959 photo at Watford Road, Cotteridge. They are selling Lambretta Scooters which many 17 year olds yearned for. I bought a scooter that year but it was a British Triumph/BSA with a four stroke engine and was faster than Lambrettas ...:)
View attachment 120422

Today, converted into two shops.
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Knock me down with a feather !!!!!!!! the Broad Meadow shop became a new car dealer can't recall the name but they sold Daf cars, I worked there in 71 ? before going to Owens Garage in Rubery remember walking down to the Wimbush store on the Pershore road for sausage rolls for lunch.
 
What a delight a wonder full treasure trove, who was taking picture so far back in time it could not have been a easy task, but for all these to survive incredible.

As a side note a transport bus has its suspension mounted above the chassis thus lowing its center of gravity and reducing the weight up top, that's one reason the wheels went what seems half way up the sides
 
Robert Ensor (bob) said:
What a delight a wonder full treasure trove, who was taking picture so far back in time it could not have been a easy task, but for all these to survive incredible.

As a side note a transport bus has its suspension mounted above the chassis thus lowing its center of gravity and reducing the weight up top, that's one reason the wheels went what seems half way up the sides
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Hi Bob,

See if this works for you and see some of the folks who brought the old street pics alive by just being in them ...

Fast Track PDF to the Pics

It opens a pic index in whichever browser you use. Anyone looking at it needs to be logged in to view the pics. It works on most devices although I haven't tested it with Android.

Use the browser back arrows to return from the forum to the pdf.

The pdf can be downloaded and saved into Windows computers.

Six years since I made it ... how time flies ... :)

oldmohawk
 
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