What a very entertaining and informative morning with Jo Carter. She told us of the ways people tried to make themselves attractive in the Tudor times.
Some were quite unpleasant, others as we know now to be very dangerous to health.

Mill Stone

We are still trying to get the Mill stone moved from Eric Pritchard’s former home to the Scout building. Gary is on the case!

At the last “Fourth Thursday” we had a visit from Ann Pine an Australian whose ancestors came from this part of the world. She was researching  the names Sayer, Bill, Talbot, Brook(e)s. She found a lot of information especially from our burial records.

Sue Challenger has kindly donated DVD’s of the Staffordshire Census from 1841 to 1891. We thank her very much.

I have been informed that the photographs in last months newsletter, of Cyril Fletcher,  were from a Cheslyn Hay Carnival.

Future Speakers and other events

May 16th – The Dukes and Duchesses of Sutherland
June 20th – AGM and (Ten Year) Birthday Bash
June 27th – Trip to Warwick Castle
June 29th – Carnival
July 18th – Old Trades Sue Bray
August 15th – Old Hall Tableware Nigel Wiggin
September 19th – Slip of the Pen Michael Taylor
October 17th – The King’s Loosebox Mary Bodfish
November 21st – Coins P. Griffiths
December 19th – Christmas Social

Out of the blue came a phone call from one of our members, his words were “would you like something from the Edalji’s?” Naturally I replied yes. It conspired that this lady (which I shall come to) had befriended the daughter of the Reverend Edalji, Maud. Before Maud went to London to be with her brother George, she thanked this lady and gave her as a token of friendship, a vase. The lady was a Mrs Laura Edmunds, who in turn gave it to her daughter Gladys Bate after passing away in 1984 her son Robert acquired it.

The story goes on that after the Rev Edalji died in 1918, Charlotte, Edalji’s wife moved to Shropshire after clearing out the Vicarage, Maude accompanied her mother to Coalbrookdale to get her settled in, on returning Maude gave Mrs Edmunds the vase before moving to London to look after her brother George and that ends this little story, but where was the vase made, the dates which I was given were probably around 1918-1920. Is it foreign or perhaps English?

Our thanks to Lesley Flint from the Museum of Cannock Chase for an interesting talk. It bought back memories of miners, coal fires and toast done by the fire on a cold winter’s day.
A reminder that the centre is open every fourth Thursday for anyone to come and look at our records, photographs, or just for a cuppa and a natter.
We are always on the lookout for your photographs we can copy them and return them.

This bill is for the wiring of the organ at the Jacobs Hall Lane Church in 1954.

This was inside the brochure for the opening of the new organ on 29th April 1954.

Unfortunately the church was destroyed by fire on the night of the 2nd –3rd of May 1984, thought to be an electrical fault.

Did you see Great Wyrley on the Great Railway Journeys with Michael Portillo? Our Paul Ford did a grand job, although only a small portion of what was filmed, was actually shown on the programme.
There will be a full report and photographs of the day it was filmed in the Summer Magazine.
We were asked not to publish any comments or photographs until the programme had aired.

Last year we attended St Georges day at Harrison’s in April. We held a day trip to see the Terracotta exhibition in Liverpool in June, we held a Black Country evening at the Senior Citizens in September, Cheslyn Hay we visited in October and Bridgtown in December at the Bethel Church, in between those two we held our Annual Day at Harrisons to commemorate the end of the Great War, and by and large it was a good year all round.