RE: Nechells - 15

pudding

Whilst looking for a photo of the shop in my last post I came across this photo in my collection that I hadn't filed up to now. For a few moments I couldn't work it out, at least until I recognised the old brewery in Cato St North. I've worked it out that it could only have been taken from Victor Tower on Bloomsbury St, perhaps while it was being built and it shows the view of Saltley Rd, Saltley Viaduct and Saltley High St and continuing on up Alum Rock Rd.

HI! I LIVED AT 72 GT BROOKE ST JUST PAST THE GULLEY OPPOSITE THE NURSERY IN THE 50,S BUT IHAVE NEVER HEARD OF THAT ONE IS 36 ON THE SAME SIDE AS THE OLD VCARAGE?

Hi Coalhole

Welcome to you, I read in your post on the other forum that you also lived in Great Francis St by the snooker hall in the 60's. Did you know the Evans family who lived the other side of the passage. Jimmy was a friend of mine at that time, I haven't seen him since they moved out for demolition.

Quote: phil wrote in post #1

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Another area of Birmingham where I spent part of my life and a lot of my childhood. A dirty smelly disease ridden unsanitary place by anybodies reckoning.

But to a youngster it was a wonderland, that half demolished building was were you and your mates fought the final stages of WW2. That bomb site with the lone tree was Sherwood Forest and the tree was the oak beneath the branches which Robin was buried. Young minds could imagine so many different scenarios but the one we never imagined was that the area was a slum. That realisation came to us later when answering Neachells when asked where we lived it was written all over the faces of those that asked.

But that was later we were still young and collecting wood from those part demolished houses when the workmen had finished for the day. We would load it on to our go carts and transport it back to the communal brewhouse where we would saw and chop it into firewood to sell around the neighbourhood to get our admittance money to the local fleapit The Ashted on Saturday Afternoon. If we had made enough money we could even afford an ice cream from the Italian ice cream who sold his ices from a bike outside the cinema when the matinée finished.

Phil

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Quote: phil wrote in post #212

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Hi Coalhole

Welcome to you, I read in your post on the other forum that you also lived in Great Francis St by the snooker hall in the 60's. Did you know the Evans family who lived the other side of the passage. Jimmy was a friend of mine at that time, I haven't seen him since they moved out for demolition.

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Coalhole

I went to St Vincents from about 1954 until about 1957 when I moved back to my grandmothers when our expanding family got too large for out little one down and two up back to back in Francis St. I never had that many friends in Nechells as I always kept my friends from Balsall Heath. I recognise a couple of the names that you mention, but apart from Jimmy Evans in my younger years I had only other mate and he was out of Heneage St and his name was Gerald Trottmam, but I lost touch with him when he moved out as well.

Quote: phil wrote in post #215

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Coalhole

I went to St Vincents from about 1954 until about 1957 when I moved back to my grandmothers when our expanding family got too large for out little one down and two up back to back in Francis St. I never had that many friends in Nechells as I always kept my friends from Balsall Heath. I recognise a couple of the names that you mention, but apart from Jimmy Evans in my younger years I had only other mate and he was out of Heneage St and his name was Gerald Trottmam, but I lost touch with him when he moved out as well.

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Coalhole

I think I explained myself poorly my family did not leave Nechells until 1970 at least and I moved back innto Nechells in 1962 when I left school we finished out time in Nechells in Inkerman St. I moved out myself in 1968 or thereabouts for good but before that between 15 & 18 I didn't spend much tiime there at all. We''ll speak more when I return from holiday.

Quote: phil wrote in post #4

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SB

As far as I am aware Vauxhall & Duddeston station is still in operation. They used to have the carriage cleaning sheds there but they closed a good while back. When we were teenagers we used to use the carriages for courting. The only trouble was that security checked them out all the time. So many a time we had to leg it. Vauxhall station was the first rail station in Birmingham being built shortly before Curzon St.

Phil

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Quote: phil wrote in post #88

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Lyn

Its Dr Tighe's house & surgery on the corner of Ashted Row and Vauxhall Rd. he ran his surgery from there before he moved up to Dr Topping's surgery on the corner of Willis St.

Phil

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coalhole

Do you remember all the doctors from Ashted Row moving down to Denby Close at the back of Great Lister Street in the purpose built health centre, as I understand it even that's gone now.

yes phil I well remember visiting dr tighes surgery at deby close there was a pharmacist by it called docter docter but I preferred the good old thatchers&bannisters in gt lister street.

Yes, oddly enough the name was I Docter and he was an optician.

blimey phil you seem to have a photo for every occasion more photos than the national archives that must be one hot brownie you have thank you for that.

coalhole

Believe me it would take a week to sit down an go through my collection.