Sandra Evans

I've attached a photo from Hanger Motors of a badge which was on the back of some cars. Their workshop was based in Sheepcote Street while their showroom was on Broad Street,  Ladywood.

John worked for them after leaving school 1970-1975.

Sandra Evans

Just sending you a few details for the oldladywood site, which I hope you can use.

The 1st photo is of a GPO Telegram sent to my mum, Joyce Cox for her birthday the 12th July 1951 from my father Joseph Soanes.

The 2nd is from my uncle (John Cox of Ladywood) to me for my 18th birthday, 1st March 1973.

Janice Martin (nee Dawson)

I am currently researching my family tree and experiencing problems on my father’s side.

He never spoke much about his childhood or his life before he met my mother, Olive Baker.

He was born and bred in Ladywood; he lived in Camden Street and St Vincent Street. He attended The Oratory where I believe he was a remarkable student. It’s possible he could have gone on to Oxford University if only the family could have afforded it.

His mother Emma died when he was 13 and his father James remarried a couple of years later.

He went to work at Bulpitt’s factory where he worked for most of his working life. Most weekends he would go to The Albion Inn in Sheepcote Street, where Beryl and Fred were the licensees. Me and my sisters spent many happy hours sitting outside with our bottles of Vimto and packets of Smiths crisps during the Summer with our cousins listening to our parents and their friends having a sing song.

Syd Rochelle

I stumbled onto your site quite by accident as I was looking for history of Stanmore Road Secondary Modern School, which was the amalgamation of Barford Road Boys School and City Road Girls School in the 1960's.

Looking through the pages of your site bought back some wonderful memories of friendship, hardship and survival.

My name now is Syd Rochelle, I was born Stanley Norgrove and lived in the old Ladywood for many years and my mother is still alive. I shall see if she has any old photographs of Ladywood and it's inhabitants. My mother’s name is Lillian Jean Hennigan (nee Norgove nee Taylor). My brothers are Peter (eldest) Me, Michael (Deceased) and Terry. My Journey started in Hingestion Street in the All Saints area of Birmingham in 1951.

I think we moved from Hingestion Street when I was about 5, we moved  to a brand new development  on the other side of the city, Westheath, the homes were still being built when my family moved into the new maisonette, which had a bath, oh man was that the bee's knees (ha ha) a proper bath, we made friends with the Mowbray's and Lewis's' and I think I went to Turves Green infant school.

The address was 51 Forrell Grove, I'm sure we have pictures of the homes being built, memories of the cement stores spring to mind, me and Michael arriving home from school covered in cement dust!

There was also the fields, we would play in the fields all day during the school holidays, scrumping, floating old prams on water as boats usually sinking with me in them (ha ha) then the climbing expeditions up the electricity mast's, luckily we could never get past the barbed wire to the next stage of the climb!

Then the time we got chased by the pigs, (animal) I had nightmares for a week (ha ha) trying to run as fast as you can in wellington boots is no easy task.

The day I spent with the Rag & Bone man, pushing and old cart full of rags and tat for sixpence in old money, no food all day just a few crab apples, I think I may have been 7 at the time, we walked for miles (it seemed at the time) and did I get a telling off when I got home!

My Mother worked at the Cofton Public House, which is Longbridge where the Austin Motors were made, during my time as an HGV driver I pass the old address also I worked for TNT when they ran the logistics side for BMW/Rover, how small the world gets.

For some reason we had to leave Forrell Grove and our next home would be in 125 King Edwards Road Ladywood. It's only after seeing old pictures now you realise how bleak and dismal the area was, we we're kids we didn't know any different, a new adventure had started.

The house was consisted of a kitchen, living room,2 upstairs bedrooms, we boys had the attic, four to a bed, couple of blankets the rest being old coats, in winter it was freezing and I mean freezing, we would go down the cellar and riddle coal dust to find any bits of coal, then mix the dust with water to make coal dustpies to burn on the fire. Our neighbours were the Prowse's and old Peggy Graham, she kept chickens, and the thing I always remember is the chicken running round after it's head had been cut off so we could eat, that was scary (ha ha).

We had a washhouse and an outdoor toilet which we shared with neighbours, four houses, shared two toilets, two washhouses and between the two toilets were the rubbish bins.

 When we did have money to buy coal we'd get from Moss's in Garbett Street, 1 cwt of coal being pushed in a wooden cart with little cast iron wheels took some moving as a child especially in the snow, we also had friends in Garbett Street, Robert, Colin, Dave and Susan Evans.

I went to Steward Street Junior School and the Headmistress was Mrs Jones, we would play rounder’s outside, the School rounder’s tournament was great, each class would take part and select a team, the winning team won a shilling each, the trips to the swimming baths on Monument Road.

 It was while at Steward Street I went to see the Sound of Music that was one of our better trips out, the new Cinema with all round sound, The Gaumont!

We would collect coal along the railway tracks and near the Train Turntable which was near St Vincent Street and Sheepcote Street, I remember the Social club on the corner not sure if it was the The Railway Club.

We would sneak in the back door of the Ice Rink on Summerhill Street and watch the skaters glide round, then watch in awe as the huge machine cleared the ice and made it all smooth again, a few years later it would become a The Roller Rink and we would pay then to go and roller skate, it was great loved it.

The  Sandpits, The canalside warehouses (derelict) the railway sidings were our playgrounds even the derelict houses which were part demolished were play areas, no Health & Safety in those days ha ha ha, we were Adventurers!

We then had to move to 26 Coxwell Road as the bulldozers were clearing King Edwards Road, at Coxwell Road we met up again with the Evan's family and made friends with the Drapers who lived a few doors down.

 By this time I was going to Barford Road School, Danny Copatch, Tony Hannah, Jimmy Depper, Jimmy Wilson (Quinlan).

The Teachers I remember were Mr Hepburn (Music) and tape on the end of his cane!

 Mr Purcell who took Technical Drawing.

Henry Da Silva (P.T.) Main PT events were either running round the Rezza or Murder Ball, the School hall doubled as the School gym, and classes would pass through even though a PT lesson was in progress, the one thing I hated was forgetting my PT equipment and Da Silva made me wear a towel like a nappy and held together with two huge pins oh the embarrassment when classes changed!

I was only at Barford Road a couple of years when the Barford Road and City Road Girls School merged to become Stanmore Road Secondary Modern.

It was a fair jaunt from Coxwell Road to Stanmore Road so we used to walk along "The Old Boner" track which ran alongside Summerhill Park and all the way to Harborne, an opening had been made and we could get out on Stanmore Road and just nip over the road into School.

The class at Stanmore Road was Me, Paul Elias, John Toghill, Stephen Stokes Dave (EGG) Smith, Ann Kenndy, Lynn Davies, Freda Davis, Susan Clarke just a few I remember.

The one thing that always stays in my mind is bath night, this was usually the Saturday, Mother managed to save enough to get one of those Twin Top washing machines and after all the washing had been done the spinner would run the dirty water out into the tin bath and we would carry the bath into the living room and all bathe two at a time in front of the fire, usually with much splashing and slapping from the parents to behave.