Capturing, preserving and sharing Solihull's history. Also commemorating local casualties from the First World War #SolihullRemembers
Her late Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, made six official visits to the Solihull Borough during her 70-year reign. There were other visits when she passed through the Borough, e.g. arriving at or leaving from Birmingham Airport, but there were only these six official visits, as far as we are aware.
Continue reading “Royal Visits: Queen Elizabeth II”
Former Gunner Walter Stanley Zair died on 30th March 1923 of pulmonary tuberculosis, caused by his war service.
Stan, as he was known, was born at Lindenhurst, Trafalgar Road, Moseley on 12th February 1881 and was the youngest of the nine children of whip manufacturer, George Zair (1839-1914), and his wife, Fanny (née Blackburn) who had married in Great Barr in 1865. His siblings were:
Continue reading “30th March 1923”
On Saturday 24th November 1962, Solihull’s new parish hall was officially opened by Sir Martin Lindsay MP and dedicated by the Bishop of Birmingham, Dr J. L. Wilson. The new hall, named the Oliver Bird Hall, was built on land in Church Hill Road.
Continue reading “Oliver Bird Hall”
Northmede was a Victorian house that stood in grounds between Station Road and Warwick Road, Solihull. Built in the mid-19th century as a private house, the building became Solihull Nursing Home in the early 20th century before being demolished in the late 1950s/early 1960s.
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The history of Solihull Council’s Mayoral vehicle (“SOL 1”) is a long and interesting one and coincides with Solihull becoming a Borough in 1954. Being a Borough meant that Solihull would also have a Mayor for this first time. It was usual practice for Boroughs to have a Mayoral limousine in which the Mayor would be driven to official engagements.
Continue reading “SOL 1: Solihull’s Mayoral Limousine”
On Friday 25th May 1962, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited Solihull – apparently the first official visit of a reigning monarch to the town. She officially opened the new Solihull Civic Hall before visiting Solihull Hospital and then going onto Solihull School, which was celebrating its 400th anniversary.
Continue reading “The Queen opens Solihull Civic Hall”
Lieutenant Gerald George Cates of the headquarters company of Solihull Home Guard (5th Warwickshire), died in Shaftesbury Military Hospital on 20th April 1942 after suffering an abdominal injury during a battle exercise at Imberdown, near Warminster, on Salisbury Plain. He was 44 years old and was one of some 25 officers and men who died as a result of the Imber “friendly fire” incident on 13th April 1942 when a Hawker Hurricane fighter plane (similar to those pictured above) taking part in a demonstration accidentally opened fire on a crowd of spectators.
Continue reading “Military funeral of Lieut G. G. Cates”
Silhill Hall stood on the corner of Streetsbrook Road and Broad Oaks Road for some 700 years until it was illegally demolished in 1966. An exhibition at the Core Library, Solihull (until 28th May 2022) includes photos and memories from descendants of the Morris family who owned the house 1904-1949.
Continue reading “Silhill Hall”On 9th February 1945, medical history was made at Solihull when a newborn baby, Rosalind Shelley (1945-1990), was given a complete blood transfusion five minutes after her birth, which took place at Netherwood Maternity Ward, Solihull Hospital. This is believed to have been the first time in the world that the blood of a so-called “blue baby” was changed at birth.
Continue reading “A life-saving operation at Solihull, 1945”
Berry Hall is a name that has been used for two different buildings in Solihull. The name originally referred to the 15th-century half-timbered farm house on Ravenshaw Lane. However, this building was renamed Berry Hall Farm after the estate was bought by Birmingham steel pen-nib manufacturer, Joseph Gillott (junior), from Henry Ludlow on 21st January 1867.
Joseph Gillott transferred the Berry Hall name to a new mansion which was designed for him by architect Julius Alfred Chatwin. Work on the new house apparently began in 1870 and was completed in 1880.
Continue reading “[New] Berry Hall”
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