Bradmore wolverhampton, Gunmakers and Church Road

[truebritmega]

btw, you mentioned accumulators earlier?... what where they? some kind of batterry?

And as for me... ive been trying to find a pic of bradmore recreation grounds concrete castle, but alas w no luck, that was an old memory for me that I would dearly love a pic of as I spent the majority of my time there as a kid.. surely there must be photos of that!? it was there till hmm mid 80's at least

[Uplands]

I will have to jog your mothers memory here as regards to the shops at Bradmore.
Vaughans the grocers had a double front to it with an entrance either end as did Talbots.
Vaughans, the last time I was in Wolverhampton was a window fitting firm. As to Talbots I don't know who is there now.
I can still see Mr Vaughan clearly in my mind in his white smock. He used to have a moustache. He had a really good looking wife and two daughters. I think the eldest one was Pat and the youngest, who went to America was Angela.
The Talbots as I said before were identical twins and used to have brown smocks. Mrs Talbot used to work in the shop as well. There were two lads Bob being one of them. He lived in one of the newer houses at the top of Uplands Ave.
I remember the bike shop by the Gunmakers. If I remember correctly it was slightly below the footpath level.
She is correct with the fish shop though. I had forgotten about that until you reminded me.
Bantocks, during the war used to have big wooden posts stuck in the ground to prevent the Germans landing and after the war there used to be a yearly cattle type show in the lower part of the field. The Highlands Rd end.
Up towards Bantock house there used to be some pigsty's where a Leslie Foster used to keep quite a few.
I can't picture your castle though. I remember the playground being built in about 1949/50 well before the golf course was built.
Can your mother confirm the name of a shop for me please?
The ones by the Gunmakers. There was an ironmongers called Gamsons, then a type of sweetshop called something like Roseberrys? and then an electrical type shop.
I think your mother is a couple of years older than me but I am sure she would have visited the Penn cinema at some time. Any stories about that? What school did she attend? Does she remember the Grace's who lived in the terraces by the Gunmakers?

[truebritmega]

I'll ask her the questions, but I can tell you that yes, she went to the penn cinema very very often, i know her dad used to take her there too as well as going w her cousin (who sadly died last week) but the castle I waqs on about, wasnt bantock, it was the bradmore recreation ground (the rec) in church road, my second childhood home LOL

Talbots i remember well, but in latter years obviously when it was a florists

you forgot tho to tell me what accumulators are? lol are they a batterry type of thing?

For me personally.. i adore local history, especially of bradmore for I only know parts... of its past, but its eerie how my fascination for it all then turned out to be a family tie! (especially my great great great uncle being a Gunlock maker in bradmore lol )

[truebritmega]

And i forgot to add, the grocers by the old post office.. yes it was Jones, I had forgotten his surname till you said it tho, I always knew him as Frank... but Im guessing it was the son... that I knew, (with me being younger) he was a friend of my dads, and Frank Jones later had the fireplace yard in great brickiln street... and Im not sure, but he either lived in... trysul road, down at the bend between the cobblers and woodland road, he either lived in a house there or owned it and rented it out... i wonder what ever happenned to him..... lol

[Willow 4873]

I remember the concrete castle well as we used to play on it when we went to see my auntie Gladys who lived in Victoria Road - had forgotten all about that till you mentioned it

Willow x

[truebritmega]

aww you do? wonderful wasnt it? Ive never seen another like it... but grrrr why cant i find a single pic of it!!!LOL

[giraffe]

Having just viewed this thread and noticed the reference to accumulators, my paternal grandfather used to re-charge some kind of battery for people to use with their radio. I think they paid him for this service, which I remember from about 1947. Perhaps we should start a new thread to answer this query?
giraffe

[truebritmega]

well its a word, term ive never heard of, was it some kind of battery charger then?

[Uplands]

Here is a sight which will explain things for the youngsters.

http://bygonederbyshire.co.uk/articles/Wireless_transmissions_-_the_early_years

Bob.