I received a wonderful note from yesterday from Paul Ford, top local historian and researcher at Walsall Local History Centre. Paul has found a bit of ephemera from the turn of the last century which he thinks may be of interest to a regular reader here.
Paul had this to say:
Hi Bob,
I saw this and I thought of you!
It is a drawing/painting within an autograph book dating from 1900 – 1925. The girl in the centre I think is ‘Emily’ whose album it was. I saw the name on the front,and remembered there is a chap, John Daft, that has posted on your site. I thought you may want to use the image as a bit of local/family history for Brownhills – if not, no worries. I traced the Emily in question from the first names of herself and her sister (Charlotte) and brother (Garrett) – really interesting, but I am doing a talk in September for Gt Wyrley and Chezzy Hay LHS, so don’t want to spoil it – it covers Pelsall, Cannock, Chadsmoor areas really, so not so much of an interest to you?
Anyhow, great blog – always keep a track of it, even if I can’t get a chance to contribute as much as I would like.
Paul Ford,
Archivist
Essex Street
Walsall
I thank Paul for his remarkable contribution to the blog, and I’d like to draw readers attention to some of his other great contributions, on the subject of the Yates Map of Staffordshire and The great Walsall Wood subsidence mystery. Paul is just one of the team at Walsall Local History Centre who provide a largely free service to everyone from serious family historians to chimps like me involved in the bizarrest bits of local history. This service is the jewel in Walsall’s cultural crown and we need to cherish and protect it.
'Brownhills July 1905 yours sincerely Billy Daft' - There's a story here, I can feel it.