It’s about time the children of the past got a look-in with the old pictures feature, so this is for them; the kids who, in whichever decade, played knock and scarper, fell in the cut or played cowboys and indians on the common. The characters who made dens, hung out in the precinct, wagged off school and sat looking miserable on the Witches Hat. They may have gone to Walsall Wood Youth Club, The Annexe or the Friday Disco at the Memo. They perhaps hung around at the Galleon, played the fool up the batters or skulked near the pavilion on Oak Park. Whatever age they came from, they knew all the same places we did, and still do. Here’s to the scallies, ragamuffins and little monkeys we all know and love.
The audience at one of the last Saturday Matinee shows at the Regent Cinema, Brownhills, in 1962. Taken from ‘Around Pelsall & Brownhills’ by David F. Vodden.
Do you know any of these bright, young faces? Are any of these budding actors reading this now? Taken from ‘Memories of Brownhills past’ by Clarice Mayo and Geoff Harrington
This looks like the old Walsall Wood Scholl on Street’s Corner to me, but I’d be happy to be corrected. I think it’s the shape of the door arches. Peculiar how some of the kids look oddly timeless. Taken from ‘Street names of Brownhills, Clayhanger, Shelfield & Walsall Wood’ by Betty Fox and Walsall Local History Centre.
Do you know any of the footballers in this Brownhills team? Can you recall the names of either of the two teachers pictured beside them? Taken from ‘Around Pelsall and Brownhills’ by David F. Vodden.
A bonus extra childhood picture this week: spotted on Facebook, uploaded by Pamela Whittaker and dated 1982. I think any Brownhills child of a certain period will remember the ‘big slide’ in Holland Park. I ran up this, slid down it, burned my legs on hot days and cried when I fell off. Note that’s tarmac underneath, not your namby-pamby modern safety matting. A bad fall really would crack heads, and often did. Each step – and if I recall correctly, there were 14 – had the legend ‘Wicksteed, Kettering’ ornately cast into it. Ah.. memories…