Chapter 3 The move to Hagley
The Move to Hagley
In the summer of 1950, we left Handsworth and move to the much more rural location of Hagley in Worcestershire. My mother was particularly enthusiastic about this move and it proved to be a mainly happy and stable four years of our lives.
In addition to the four of us we were now joined by Annie, my grandmother, who would be with us until her death in Tenby in 1958.
Hagley primary school was a world away from Handsworth. It was a modern, low building, situated next to fields. The headmaster. Mr Owen was a Welsh speaking kindly man who had been active in the teaching branch of the trade union movement and was now moving towards retirement. Another notable teacher who encouraged me as I approached the eleven plus exam was Madge Mills, who was from Kidderminster and had previously worked in a school there with my great aunt, Nellie Downing.
I very quickly made new friends in Hagley. Close by were Robert Hatcher and Richard Hince
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| John, Robert and Richard in 1952 |
We were lucky enough to have a playing field directly behind the house equipped with new Wicksteed play equipment - swings, slide, roundabout etc. This, in addition to the open countryside with fields, woods and ponds made Hagley a great place to live for small boys.
The Hatcher family next door had a menagerie of wildlife. They kept poultry, from a large crowing cock to delicate bantams . There was a black, energetic dog called Gyp and a variety of smaller animals such as tortoises and hamsters.
This was also the time that television arrived in my life. We did not have a TV in the house until 1954, but my grandparents did and so did Richard's family, who lived over the road. I was often allowed in to sit quietly behind their sofa and watch Hopalong Cassisdy and other children's television programmes.
Life wasn't always so easy in those early years of the 1950s though. In 1952, I was admitted to Birmingham children's hospital for a hernia repair operation. It is likely that the abnormality in my right groin had been there from birth, but no one was sure. Apparently my Grandfather, Percy, had been born with a similar problem. He was very supportive throughout and sent books, such as a Famous Five adventure to keep my mind busy.
The whole experience was traumatic, I was nine years old and terrified of going into hospital. This was made much worse by the fact that no visitors were allowed until well after surgery. I was kept in bed for five days with no apparent plan as to when the procedure would take place. I was in a large open ward with sick children being taken in and out on trolleys day and night. I'm not sure why, but a decision was made that I should be discharged without the surgery taking place. It would be twenty six years before I eventually had the hernia repaired !
My mother's reaction to this series of events seemed to be more annoyance than sympathy. I think she was entering a dark period of her life where most things were viewed as negative. On reflection this lasted for the rest of her life and was not easy to live with for those around her.
I think Percy's sense of mortality was heightened at this time, particularly following the death of Jeanne. He himself was warned by his doctor that he had a problem with his heart and he gave up a life - long smoking habit almost overnight. His doctor also warned him that his heart was enlarged, which I remember resulting in snorts of sarcasm from my mother, questioning how far his 'big heartedness' extended.
Split loyalties can be very difficult for children.
Percy bought expensive and amazing Christmas and birthday presents for David and myself in those years of the early nineteen fifties. I had a Red Indian outfit, a Triang electric train set and perhaps the most treasured of all, a red and white BSA bike with a three speed Sturmey Archer gearchange, plus numerous smaller presents like books and technical gadgets of the time.
I sat and passed my 11+ exam in 1954 and was interviewed by the headmaster, Mr Chambers for a place at Stourbridge Grammar School starting in September 1954. This involved a bus or cycle ride from Hagley to Stourbridge and I opted to use my treasured bike. The traffic was much worse than I had ever experienced before and one memorable day I was approaching the school gates where a bus was stopped half way in and out. There was room for me to push my bike through the gap on the left hand side between the side of the bus and the gatepost. As I went through the bus began to move and trapped my bike by the handlebars. I was able to jump back to safety and could only watch in horror as my bike's handlebars were bent out of shape. I burst into tears and was comforted by one of the teachers. Fortunately, the bike was still, just, rideable, but my fondness for the school, which had started off badly never recovered.
A few weeks later on 9 November 1954 , we moved to Tenby.
Surrounded by so many dog owners, I suppose it was not surprising that we would get one eventually. Annie had bought a semi feral black cat with her - originally from Stone, it was called 'Darkie'. It did not respond well to affection and I very soon just accepted that it was somewhere around most of the time - especially when food was put out!
A stray, collie type dog adopted me in the park one day and with some encouragement followed me home. My mother was not at all enthusiastic, telling me that it had some unspecified disease. That may have been true, but for whatever reason it disappeared after a few days. The die was cast though and I pressured for a dog from then on.
My great aunt Millie Bench lived in a large house backing on to Harborne golf course. We visited her and uncle Horace fairly regularly and sometimes grown children Michael, David and Mary would be there. During the 'dog longing' phase, Millie and Horace acquired two black Cocker Spaniels, one male, Glyn and one female with the rather splendid pedigree kennel name 'Belinda of Windour' shortened to 'Linda'.
Linda became out much loved pet later that year.
Sadly, essentials like grooming , diet and general dog care were not skills that had been learned in our family and, as so often happens with family pets, the novelty wore off and poor Linda became rather overweight and undergroomed. A low point was reached when she ran off whilst 'on heat' and it was me who found her in the playing field firmly coupled with a well known 'dog about town'. I was distraught , the whole thing was a frightening mystery to me and I ran home in tears. Within a few weeks, the inevitable happened and Linda gave birth to five black furry puppies.
1953 to 1954
Things were happening in the background of my life that were not apparent at the start of this year, but became clearer as the year progressed. Percy was involved in business with Vic Morris, who owned St Bride's Garage in Saundersfoot, Pembrokeshire. I have never been certain whether what was proposed was a partnership or a buy out , but whatever it was, things change abruptly on the ninth of September 1953. Percy suffered a severe stroke and died a few hours later.
I sat and passed my 11+ exam in 1954 and was interviewed by the headmaster, Mr Chambers for a place at Stourbridge Grammar School starting in September 1954. This involved a bus or cycle ride from Hagley to Stourbridge and I opted to use my treasured bike. The traffic was much worse than I had ever experienced before and one memorable day I was approaching the school gates where a bus was stopped half way in and out. There was room for me to push my bike through the gap on the left hand side between the side of the bus and the gatepost. As I went through the bus began to move and trapped my bike by the handlebars. I was able to jump back to safety and could only watch in horror as my bike's handlebars were bent out of shape. I burst into tears and was comforted by one of the teachers. Fortunately, the bike was still, just, rideable, but my fondness for the school, which had started off badly never recovered.
A few weeks later on 9 November 1954 , we moved to Tenby.
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