Voices of Allen’s Cross web site has been dormant since Christmas 2010. This followed the completion of the main phase of the project which was to record oral histories. This links in the web site to the recordings are now broken as I lost funding for the wordpress add ons which allow you to play the recordings. In Autumn 2012 I will start work on putting some of those reocrdings onto Youtube. I will also update the contents of the web pages after reviewing the comments.
I will also announce when the recordings, made in 2010, will be donated to Birmingham Central library and Northfield library.
Keep checking back into the web site and keep on recalling life in Allen’s Cross.

Please also check out Voices of Kingstanding which is my current forus for recording.
All the best
Chris Hillcox

Comments were reviewed and updated on 7th July 2012

Video clips containing recordings of people’s memories are now being included on this site. Here is a recollection made by Norman Harrison about air raids in the area and a GI baseball league.

This week I’d like to highlight archive film footage of the consecration of St Bartholemew’s church. As well as showing the consecration, the footage also shows glipses of what life was like at the top of Hogg’s Lane in 1938. Note: the film has no sound….well it was 1938! To see the video follow the link:-

https://allenscross.wordpress.com/shops-and-amenities/st-bartholemews-church/

A freeze frame from the film

People entering the service of consecration in 1938

This is a picture of Clement Atley signing an autograph for June Taylor at the opening of Bellfield Junior School. If you have memories of Bellfield School then please take time to share them with us. More can be found in the section for Bellfield School. Here is the link

https://allenscross.wordpress.com/shops-and-amenities/bellfield-junior-school/

Regards Chris HIllcox, Project Officer

Clement Atley at the opening of Bellfield School

Today, I have fixed the links on the interactive map. If you click on the blue place markers then a pop up menu will appear for that place. There is a picture of the place and a link to its place in the web site. Click on the underlined place name to be linked to its page of memories.

Regards Chris Hillcox

example only

Front and back cover. Copyright Arthur Harris

Inside pages. Copyright Arthur Harris

This week I’ve picked a rent book from 1939/1940 from 58 Barnsdale Crescent kept by Arthur Harris. The rent book is very interesting because it has all the rules about living in a council property. Please leave your memories about council services and council employees including councillors at the following link:-

https://allenscross.wordpress.com/shops-and-amenities/birmingham-city-council-around-allens-cross/

This week I’ve picked a picture of the final service at St Bartholemew’s Church before it was demolished. It went on display last Sunday at a special service of the church community at Holloway Hall.

The final service at St BArtholemew's church before it was demolished.

For more memories about St Bartholemew’s Church, follow the link:-

https://allenscross.wordpress.com/shops-and-amenities/st-bartholemews-church/

Mrs Jones (Edwards) class room academic year 1953-1954. Copyright Liz Edwards

This week I’ve picked to highlight a picture of the inside of  a classroom inside Trescott Junior School. The photograph was taken by the teacher Liz Jones (Now Edwards) in the 1950’s. As a teacher it is interesting to see the style of wall displays and nature table in the background.

For more memories of Trescott School follow the link TRESCOTT JUNIOR SCHOOL

Do you have any pictures of Trescott School taken in the past?If you do then we would really like to see them too. We can be contacted by email at allenscross@hotmail.com

The Voices from Allen’s Cross project is being extended to include memories from today as well as yesterday. We have so far collected a rich archive of memories from the early years in the estate and hope to complement this with peoples memories of the estate now and in recent years. If your memories of the estate are from the last 10 years then we are still interested because eventually they will seem more like history. Please make a recollection from the estate today and help us keep a record of life in Allen’s Cross today.