Category: Places

Solihull Volunteer Infantry

In the face of rising fears of invasion, an association for the defence of Solihull, Knowle and Elmdon was formed in 1797. The association offered to the Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire a troop of horse at least 50-strong, with volunteers comprising local tradesmen and farmers who agreed to serve only within the bounds of Solihull, Knowle and Elmdon. Unlike the militia, which was raised by public ballot and administered by the War Office, the volunteer forces were self-regulating and would only come under the control of military authorities in the event of an invasion.

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Mayer Society

The Mayer Society evolved from the Solihull branch of the British Federation of University Women, which was established in 1973. In 1993, the Solihull association decided to separate from the national group and take the name of the branch’s second president – Marjorie Mayers (1898-1982) – whose widower, James (“Jack”) Bowen Mayers (1901-1990), bequeathed £250 to the group. For the sake of simplicity, the ‘s’ was left off the group’s name. The Mayer Society closed in October 2021.

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Midnight burial at Knowle 1899

According to various contemporary newspaper reports, at just after midnight on Thursday 19th January 1899, four hearses entered the Warwickshire village of Knowle. Each hearse carried the coffin of a deceased person whose remains had been disinterred (with Home Office permission) from Key Hill Cemetery, Birmingham.

The four people were all related and their remains were interred in a family vault in the churchyard of Knowle Parish Church. By the dim light of a lantern, the Vicar read a portion of the burial service, and the ceremony was witnessed by a police sergeant, overseer and the relatives of the deceased.

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