Our annual event / open day was held at Harrisons Club on November 16th. Other Societies joined us and Gavin Williamson, M.P. formally opened the event. The Society Vice-Chairman Pam Ball said ‘we wanted to adapt the usual format and the response from the attendees has been excellent. Everyone contributed including our friends from neighbouring Societies, the Harrisons support team and, last but not least, our team of volunteers. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day. We hope to further develop our themes for next year’s event and we are particularly looking for feedback from the members as to their views of what we should include’.
Gary took photos during the day and extracts are printed above.

 

The ‘Unknown Soldier’ picture and article in the Chronicle produced immediate answers from, at least, two separate sources. Both cited brothers i.e. Jack and Tom Wootton. Their features are very similar and a final degree of clarity will be sought in the near future. At that point, it is hoped that Diane will inform the Chronicle so they can consider including the details in a future article.

A potential visit to the Houses of Parliament is being checked out. It follows an invitation from Gavin Williamson. The likely time-frame for the visit is May 2014 and the Society has been entered into a ballot for tickets to be drawn at the Palace of Westminster in the coming weeks. Our Chairman, Gary Smith, has started an initial list of members who are potentially interested in the visit. At this stage, there is no commitment to any party. Members are asked to contact Gary if they wish to be added to the list and further details will be provided at the earliest opportunity.

The Society has a display stand at the Wyrley Juniors Xmas Fayre to be held at their Long Lane venue on December 7th. It is hoped that it will effect an introduction to the Society from new audiences and members are asked to support the event, if at all possible.

 

A thoroughly interesting and absorbing address was given by Andy Parsons at the Coffee Morning. The subject was ‘Uncle Toms Diary’ and spoke of Tom’s Great War participation. It was interspersed with actual extracts from the diary and demonstrated a number of personal heirlooms. A cross-section of the contents is displayed below.

The family has written an account of Uncle Toms diary and will be updating it during the period leading to the commemoration of the Great War in 2014.

Ron Myatt
November 2013

It was pleasing to learn that our Chairman, Gary Smith, is making a steady recovery after a serious medical operation and hopes to attend Society events in the not too distant future.
Feedback since the 10th October visit to the ‘Mother of Pearl’ establishment has been very positive. Thanks are afforded to Pam plus the team for making the arrangements and to Pauline for providing a summary of the outing as below.

‘The visit was a step back in time and very interesting. A skilled profession (Mr Hook – a one man band) showed us how each step was performed to create mother of pearl buttons on various machinery. The machinery was old but maintained with pulleys and grinders. The shells he used were stacked up in piles and the scrap pile was his ‘stock pile’. He gave a very amusing talk and showed us around the small and cramped unit which had an Aladdin’s Cave of various old items’. The pictures below show Mr Hook at his work.

‘Our onward journey took us to visit the Pen Museum in the Jewellery Quarter of Birmingham. It was very interesting to see how many pen nibs were on display along with fountain pens, typewriters, badges and all sorts of memorabilia. All round, a very enjoyable day out’.

The Society participated in the Bridgtown Society Open Day on October 20th. Tony, Diane and Derrick manned our display and confirmed an interesting day was held as ‘quiet periods were soon over as more people quickly came into the event’.

Rose Westwood gave an interesting talk at the Coffee morning on ‘the life of a Vicars wife’ and also encouraged discussions and thoughts on community life and spirit, especially within Great Wyrley.

Detailed preparations are on-going ‘behind the scenes’ to make good use of the new materials being kindly bequeathed (or donated) to the Society in readiness for the Annual Event on 16th November at Harrisons Club.

Further Great War project details have been provided to the Heritage Lottery Fund in support of our funding request. It has been stated that ‘it is very competitive and we should have a response by the end of November’.

Members were asked at the Coffee Morning if they would wish to receive electronic copies of the monthly newsletter. An initial list has been raised of accepters. Should anyone subsequently wish to join the list, please tell anyone on the Management Committee or drop an e-mail to ron.myatt@sky.com. We would be especially pleased to forward the newsletter to members who are unable, for any reason, to attend the monthly Coffee Mornings.

Ron Myatt

Dave Battersby provided a thoroughly enjoyable session at the coffee morning displaying a large variety of pictures of Cannock from his large library. The picture below shows Dave providing supporting commentary during his presentation.

It is hoped that Dave can join us again at a future coffee morning as there are still many as yet unseen pictures in his library.

It has been decided to postpone further Genealogy for Beginners sessions for the foreseeable future. A provisional restart aim has been confirmed to link with the return to full fitness of Ray Franks and the envisaged Great War data that will be gathered as the commemoration arises next year.

We attended the Cheslyn Hay Society Open Day on September 28th. Our display focussed on productions we have issued since our formation four years ago. Numerous visitors came to the display. They included relatives of an ex-miner (William ’Harry’ Willis from Holly Lane) who died in 1949.

An invitation has been received to attend the Bridgetown Society Open Day being held at Bridgetown Working Men’s Club on Sunday, October 20th.

By invitation, we attended a meeting at the Salem, Cheslyn Hay organised by the Cannock Chase Mining Museum. The meeting shared on-going activities and envisaged future plans with information that could be beneficial to all Societies. A number of neighbouring Societies were in attendance. This included Norton Canes, Heath Hayes and Chasewater Light Railway.

It has been drawn to our attention that a number of members have experienced parking problems at the Centre on coffee mornings. Members are asked to park as considerately as possible, especially in order to retain a happy interface with neighbours in nearby buildings.

Community News

This has been a regular feature at coffee mornings for a considerable time. All updates are given verbally, as preferred. We were asked if they could be included in the written newsletter. We will be pleased to include anything from a charity or not-for-profit Organisation. It can publicise upcoming events, such as fund-raising ‘specials’ or a description of an event that has taken place. Please leave details at ron.myatt@sky.com and efforts will be made to include the requested details in the next newsletter. Many thanks.
Ron Myatt
September 2013

Visit to Mother of Pearl factory confirmed for October 10th. Members are asked to speak with Pam Ball for any further information that is required.

Gavin Williamson M.P. for South Staffordshire joined us for the August coffee morning. He re-iterated the importance of heritage in our community and looked forward to the next publication by the Society.

A letter was subsequently received in which an invitation was issued to the Society to visit the Houses of Parliament, if desired. Members are to be asked if this is something they would wish to be further considered by the Society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andrew George, Chief Archivist at Lichfield Record Office also joined us for the August coffee morning. He bought an array of ‘old’ documents with him that are applicable to Great Wyrley and are retained at the Record Office while available to the general public to view.

Great War Artefacts have continued to be received. Thanks are afforded for the contents received and members are asked for their continuing support. The artefacts received to date indicate that more heirlooms are held in wider family collections (often stored in the attic or similar).

This level of support has encouraged the Society to submit a funding application bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). The outcome should be known in 8 to 10 weeks. If successful, it will enable our efforts to commemorate the Great War to be further developed.

The Express and Star has submitted a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund to digitize its vast photo library and make it available over the internet to the general public. It called for support and the Society sent a letter that has since been published.

The demise of the Carl Chinn show on WM radio has been commented on by members. The Society asked for the support of Gavin Williamson to address the concerns and the following correspondence has subsequently been received.

Community News
Community First Responders attended more than 200 incidents last year in Great Wyrley and Cheslyn Hay last year. They save lives and they are all volunteers doing their best in their spare time. They have a vehicle that is well past its sell-by date spending much time off-the-road. Also, they have very few volunteers in the village. Can anyone help them in some way?

Stan Mould had previously been a long-distance enquirer to the Society about his family heritage. During a visit to the U.K. from his home in Thailand, he called into our coffee morning and spoke of his family history and the gaps in his knowledge. The picture right shows him speaking with the members.

Following his visit, Stan moved on to other locations to undertake further research. A subsequent phone call confirmed a visit to a church in Ranton had provided him with further information about burials within his family.
The visit to the Mother of Pearl factory has been confirmed for October 10th. Transport arrangements have been confirmed and interested members have signed up. A waiting list has been started in the event of cancellations arising. Pam Ball is drawing up the schedule and members are asked to speak directly with Pam for further information.
It is hoped that our M.P. Mr Gavin Williamson will call in for a short visit during our August coffee morning.

The coffee morning schedule has been updated. It now includes:-
November 2013 – Andy Parsons – Uncle Tom in the Great War
January 2014 – Major Ted Green – Staffordshire Regiment Museum

Due to the unavoidable cancellation of the Guest Speaker, an alternative session was quickly arranged for the July coffee morning. Members shared a number of recollections of growing up in the Black Country, Walsall and Great Wyrley. The session provided much comment and jovial inter-action especially ’32 pints of milk being delivered at a doorstep following a 3-2 football result being left for the milkman to know about’. It is hoped that the original guest speaker can join us at a future coffee morning, yet to be arranged.

The Society Open Day was re-confirmed as Saturday, 16th November at Harrisons Club in Wharwell Lane. The main theme of the Open Day is the period after the Great War up to the outbreak of World War 2. A request has been made for all members to re-check their heirlooms to see what photos and artefacts can be made available for inclusion in the Open Day displays. A number of members have kindly lent, or bequeathed, their Great War memorabilia to the Society, in response to our requests. They are being catalogued and archived, as best suited. The range of contents received in July has been excellent. We hope to receive further contents as we move towards commemorating the start of the Great War and produce an inventory to share with members at a future time.

An ‘Expression of Interest’ form has been submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund (hlf) for a possible project about the social history of the village and surrounding areas during the period around, and including the Great War. As part of this Expression, informal discussions have been held with neighbouring Societies to see if a broader social history might be advantageously produced. They are the first tentative steps of many that have to be undertaken should a project subsequently be supported.

The unknown soldier. Does anyone know the name of the soldier in the picture right? More details will hopefully be included in a later newsletter as, and when, we get some responses.
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News From Members
The Wyrley Hub is a community drop-in facility for a pleasant informal chat and cups of tea and cake. Every Wednesday (except August bank holiday week) run at St Andrews Church, Hilton Lane between 1-3 pm. Volunteers are always welcome to support the efforts. Kathleen Curd (07914 413128) will be pleased to hear from you).