Cheslyn Hay & District Local History Society

We have our usual display at the Great Wyrley Carnival next Saturday 25th June throughout the day on the Star field at Great Wyrley from midday.
And  on Sunday we have the Cheslyn Hay Gardens Open Day. Best place to start is at Dorset House 68 Station Street, then nos 76 and 82 followed by hot pork and turkey baps (highly recommended) at 97, followed by 79 (cakes etc).  Also 16 Rosemary Road, 60 Coppice Close, 16 Frensham Close, 2 Cleves Crescent, 13 Hatherton Street and the allotments behind Cheslyn Hay Club. £3.00 per person includes admission to all gardens with no charge for children. Unfortunately no wheelchair access.
Our Salem Base will be open as usual on Tuesday 10am to 4pm.
We have had a request this week on the Fletcher family tree and an appeal for more information going back to William F Fletcher whose son William married Elizabeth Ellen Hitchens on 11 July 1864.
Also does anyone know the whereabouts of Brendan Mountfield who lived in Littlewood Road and went to Queen Mary’s Grammar School in Walsall in the fifties.
Gordon Pace from Canada adds some confusion to the Baker enquiry emailing that he’s found a Dace and a Pace marrying Baker around the same time.  John Pace (b 4 June 1788) m Letitia Baker with daughter Elizabeth Pace (Chr C/Hay 25 Aug 1823).  And John Dace also marrying a Letitia Baker 31 Dec 1821 in Cannock.
Photographs received this week are of the Feltons, Harts, Paradines, and two of Reg Hawkins and his family.
And for the archives copies of Horace Horton’s official ARP Card, and Post War Credit Certificates and a Baptism Certificate for Eunice Maud Horton dated 17 January 1923.  A newspaper report on the death of footballer Maxie Potts and the Official Scorebook of Cheslyn Hay Cricket Club for season 1922 which includes the names of Elwell, Lawson, Altree, Bown, Horton, Marshall, Linnell, Goodman, Hood, Mason, Hawkins, Perrins, Kingston, Williams, Perry, Adams, Gallatley, Pratt, Mason, Hodson and Brough.  Also Membership Cards for the 1928 and 1929 seasons with a full list of patrons and committees.  And three articles on the growth of the Cheslyn Hay and Great Wyrley since Roman times, the local geological history and a general history of the area.
And this Memories come from a fascinating stroll around the village in 1946 and how things have changed.
More information from any of the above can be obtained from the email below.  Free of course.

trevor.cheslynhayhistory@talktalk.net

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Norman emails to help Joan from Canada with ‘John Pearce married Ann Collier, who was born in Dudley in 1805 and their son was Enoch who moved to Cheslyn Hay in about 1863.
Our Salem Base will be open as usual on Tuesday 10am to 4pm and last week we had six visitors including a member of the Pepper family researching her family tree.  This was a pure coincidence after Marlene’s request of last week on the same family. We were able to supply photographs and in particular the newspaper cutting of her g-grandfather’s death down the pit.
Two new photographs this week include the sons of Charles and Eliza Fletcher during the Second World War – Colin and Charles on one and Dennis and Reginald on the other.
Last week’s requests were met with more successful responses this week.  Re the Benton enquiry, Joseph married Sarah Taylor on 28th August 1825 in Aston Birmingham.  Also the Perry family home in the early 20th century was Rosemary Road or as it was then known the Railroad.  And Iris (nee Whitehouse) will be contacting Gary in France to update him as Willie Wilkes is part of her direct family line.
And for our archives we have received a copy of Henry Hawkins 1925 will, newspaper cutting of Wolves player George Bowen (b Cheslyn Hay), a Sunday School Prize Book presented to Enoch Pearson in March 1898, the Official ARP Guidebook for the Householder and the Air Raid Warden and a very interesting edition of the Illustrated London News of June 1913.
And for this week’s ‘Memories’ we just include a couple of snippets that have been generated from recent comments in the Newsletters.  More on Ron’s story of his father’s accident down Hawkins’ pit and the death of Frank Hemmingsley.  Also the story of Bill Whitehouses’s life together with three amusing stories from an old evacuee including one with Ernie Carter the old Headmaster.
And as mentioned last week we have over 150 Births, Deaths and Marriage certicates available and here is the list.  All are available at our Base but if anyone wants copies they are £1 each including postage but please check with me first for Christian names etc to ensure it’s the right certificate!

Births (Fathers) – Barratt, Brevitt, Brough, Davis, Edmunds, Grigg, Harper, Hawkins, Jukes, Kingston, Marsh, Merchant, Moore, Norman, Pearson, Perks, Perry, Rhodes, Sanders, Steadman, Stokes, Tonks , Webb, Whitehead, Whitehouse.

Births (Mothers) -  Bate, Bird, Brevitt, Bullock, Davis, Edmunds, Evans, Farmer, Gill, Grimley, Handley, Harper, Hughes, Hyles, Jukes, Leadbeater, Martin, Nightingale, Rhodes, Sanders, Somerfield,  Sambrook, Sharman, Smith, Slocombe, Stokes, Smith, Stanton, Tufft, Thomas, Upton, Windsor, Whitehouse.

Marriages (Grooms) – Arnold, Baker, Bates, Boucher, Boulton, Brough, Bullafin, Collier, Davies, Dunning, Edwards, Grigg, Harvey, Kingston, Marsh, Martin, Nightingale, Norman, Pearson, Perks, Perry, Poyner, Pugh, Sharp, Stallard, Steadman, Stokes, Tonks, Turner, Webb, Whitehead, Whitehouse.

Marriages (Brides) – Arnold, Benton, Birch, Brevitt, Brindley, Brough, Butler, Causer, Davis, Dutton, Edmunds, Elliot, Farmer, Green, Grimley, Harper, Jukes, Layland, Lockett, Martin, Morgan, Nightingale, Norman, Parbrook, Pearson, Perks, Perry, Pritchard, Plant, Podmore, Rhodes, Stanley, Stokes, Smith, Slocombe, Savage, Sanders, Stanton, Turner, Wedge, Whitehouse, Whitehead, Yates.

Deaths – Arnold, Baker, Brough, Cartwright, Grice, Grigg, Groome, Hawkins, Jenkins, Kempson, Merchant, Nightingale, Norman , Pearson, Perks, Poyner, Reaney, Sharp, Stokes, Whitehead, Whitehouse.

trevor.cheslynhayhistory@talktalk.net

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Peter Cadman is giving a talk on his memories of his growing up in Cheslyn Hay in the fifties for our Thursday Coffee Morning. (9th June).  The title is ‘Remember When’ and I’m sure his nostalgia will be of interest to everyone.  Open at 10am at the rear of the Salem and all are welcome. Our Salem Base will be open as usual on Tuesday 10am to 4pm.  Last week we had 10 visitors including a nice get together of old friends to meet up with Arthur Davies from Canada. Requests this week come from Canada on the Pepper family who lived in the Great Wyrley Colliery yard in 1911 and would like to contact any of the family still in the area.  Also Gary from France is tracing his wife’s local connections of the Wilkes, Knowles and the Perry families.  Responses from last week include much more information on Joseph Baker, Elizabeth Perks and also Henry Pearson (b1791) and Sarah Whitehouse (b1795) from members with the same family trees. New photographs handed in include one of the Slings Cottages, a Chysanthemum Show, a couple of photos of the 1977 Jublilee Bowls Tournament at the Woodman and one of Harold Sambrook.  Also a postcard of Sheila Ridgway and Vera Pringle on the swings at the Rec and a group of children outside Picken’s shop all named as Brian Parry, Bobby \Picken, Geoff Stokes, Jean Parry and Eileen Evans.  Also donated for our archives are a New Testament of Elsie Fletcher 34 High Street, a Salem Sunday School service for Whitsuntide 1933 including 11 hymns as well as a handwritten list of wedding gifts for the 1935 Hawkins/Fletcher wedding listing all the donors and their gifts. And to complete Ron Whitehouse’s memories, we have a very poignant and a tragic story to remind us of what dangers the miners faced each and every day of their working lives and it includes the tragic death of the brave fireman Harry Hemmingsley in 1944, whilst Harry Whitehouse and Harold Kingston both survived.  More details of any of the above can be obtained by contacting me at   trevor.cheslynhayhistory@talktalk.net

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