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They Were Caught In Our Old Street Pics...

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devonjim said:
Batteries mean lead, a chimney next to a school, I wonder what were the consequences.
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Hi All,

I do not think that it is the Birmingham Battery chimney. The Battery was quite some way from the school. In any case my daughter attended St Mary's School and so far (fingers crossed) she has good health.

Most of us who are now in our eighties and nineties grew up in smoke laden areas. and battled with winter smogs. Myself in Small Heath for instance , surrounded by factories. We cannot at all claim to be in good health but most of our problems are muscular not respitory.( I kinow I have spelt this wrong but cannot bother to get up and look at the dictionary = my legs are killing me)

Old Boy
 
I don't know much about the Selly Oak side of town but the forum pic below shows a gateway with 'Birmingham Battery' on the doors. Two workmen sitting or standing in a hole near the gate.

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Hi Old Boy - When I think I have wrongly spelled a word, I enter it in Google search and good old Google shows me the correct word...:encouragement:
oldmohawk
 
You tell them paul
And yes old boy that is the old battery factory with the pictures of trees out on there front offices
I worked that area for many many years repossessing property's also I used to used the greasy spoon cafe on the bridge
Area yards back down the road by the canal bridge and I knew a.of of people whom worked there many years ago
And my late father in law and his brother used to work there in the early years of the 1900s
And that's when they was using horses instead of lorries and how they told me that my father in law tried to set up
One of the horse with the bridal bits and bobs to connect it to a. Cart, but the horse broke loose and bolted down the road
I know the area very well in deed especialy the south side,,,OK, so come on you two guys get your act together
Alan,,,,,,, Astonian,,,,,,,
 
There is a 1920 aerial view of the Birmingham Battery and Metal Co on the BritainfromAbove site with at least four smoking chimneys in the view.
 
Lovely picture John. They loved putting the flags up and decorating the street in those days, and the children all in costumes. Thanks for sharing it with us.
 
brummie nick said:
The Birmingham Battery didn't make batteries.

I must plead guilty to making an assumption! I travelled along the Bristol Rd. for years and along the cross city line and I always thought the clue was in the name. As the old saying goes " to assume makes an ass (of) u (and) me"
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John M Weoley Castle said:
Sorry If I caused confusion, the chimney that I mentioned was the tall one behind the Oak Pub!
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John,

Thanks.I did think you meant behind the school. It did not really matter as smoke travels with the wind anyway. Talking of wind are you still in Weoley Castle? That was a terrible accident when the wind blew a tree over on to a car in Shenley Fields Road plus the tree falling on a house in Quarry Road.

Chris Beresford (Old Boy)
 
brummie nick said:
I must plead guilty to making an assumption! I travelled along the Bristol Rd. for years and along the cross city line and I always thought the clue was in the name. As the old saying goes " to assume makes an ass (of) u (and) me"
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If you had not mentioned the chimney I wouldn't have linked to the pic in #1472 and the two workmen standing in the hole would not have been noticed and caught in an old street pic !
oldmohawk
 
Astonian said:
You tell them paul
And yes old boy that is the old battery factory with the pictures of trees out on there front offices
I worked that area for many many years repossessing property's also I used to used the greasy spoon cafe on the bridge
Area yards back down the road by the canal bridge and I knew a.of of people whom worked there many years ago
And my late father in law and his brother used to work there in the early years of the 1900s
And that's when they was using horses instead of lorries and how they told me that my father in law tried to set up
One of the horse with the bridal bits and bobs to connect it to a. Cart, but the horse broke loose and bolted down the road
I know the area very well in deed especialy the south side,,,OK, so come on you two guys get your act together
Alan,,,,,,, Astonian,,,,,,,
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Alan - I think you owe me an apology. The photograph on Post 1463 is definitely St Marys School. It even says so on the photograph. Please do not tell me to get my act together. Many of us on the Forum make mistakes. When they are pointed out we usually put our hands up and apologise if necessary. You make great play of your connections with Selly Oak. Do they surpass the fact that I lived there for 37 years from 1968 to 2005. I lived a stones throw from the school and quite near Birmingham Battery I even remember the chimney stack in question being demolished to make room for the new shopping area opposite Sainsburys which is called Battery Park. That is all I have to say on the matter at the moment.

Chris Beresford (Old Boy)
 
Old boy, I'm sure Alan's comment " so come on you two guys get your act together'' was meant in a joking way, and I don't see that he as any need to apologize in any way.

just my opinion.
Nick
 
Born in Shenley Fields Road, remember the "Duck Pond" when it had a fence round the perimiter and a full time, during opening hours, Parks Policeman. Only fifteen minutes away now. When you look at that car the expression "wong place at the wrong time" springs to mind. J.
 
I remember the duck pond park, at the Raven pub Island end of Gregory Avenue. I used to attend "Our Lady's , Roman catholic Junior School", mid fifty's, and we had our sports days in the park, we skated in winter there too. This item is off thread, but I am sure no-one on this forum means any thing other than good humoured banter in reply's. Its just a shame that some people turn, "being offended", into an art form. Paul
 
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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Fifty years ago this was just an very ordinary picture, why bother taking it, and then keeping it for all this time! But it now tells so much of the changes that have occurred. Four out of five cars were Fords, Not an imported car in sight, Grocery shops weren't super markets, I never knew the bus driver clocks were called "Bundy" Why? The bus needed a conductor.What a high vantage point the photographer has chosen.
 
devonjim said:
I never knew the bus driver clocks were called "Bundy" Why? The bus needed a conductor.What a high vantage point the photographer has chosen.
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Willard and Harlow Bundy in America were early makers of time recording clocks. Whether the BCT time clocks were made by Bundy's or that had become a generic name like Hoover, I don't know.
 
The Scott Arms Barclays Bank in the 1950s when we had bank books with written pages in them. Interesting paint job above the shops and what appears to a well wrapped up child in the corner of the photo.
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Another view of the area shown in the pic in #1490. A No 51 bus at the terminus replacing Midland Red No 119 buses in the late 1950s and possibly a West Bromwich No 6 bus is heading for the Newton Road. I remember those heavy concrete bollards seen in the pic and there were others positioned on the Walsall Road somewhere near Church Lane. We were told when we were kids that they were to delay any Panzer Tanks which had decided to advance along the Walsall Road ! Seemed a good idea in 1940 when we thought we might be invaded.
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oldMohawk said:
Another view of the area shown in the pic in #1490. A No 51 bus at the terminus replacing Midland Red No 119 buses in the late 1950s and possibly a West Bromwich No 6 bus is heading for the Newton Road. I remember those heavy concrete bollards seen in the pic and there were others positioned on the Walsall Road somewhere near Church Lane. We were told when we were kids that they were to delay any Panzer Tanks which had decided to advance along the Walsall Road ! Seemed a good idea in 1940 when we thought we might be invaded.
View attachment 97772
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Birmingham City Transport route 51 commenced on 4th May 1958 replacing the Midland Red route 119. It was one of a series of routes that passed from Midland Red to BCT in 1957-58. Nice view of the area.
 
Nice view taken from "The Scott Arms" no doubt, one thought "with all these old photo's when viewing, comes to mind", everything worked in those far off days.Paul
 
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