Old Ladywood gets together
Mar 27 2007 By Patrice John, Birmingham Mail
COMMUNITY spirit was alive and well in one of Birmingham's oldest suburbs as hundreds of old neighbours met up to share memories.
Almost 400 people came to the Old Ladywood Reunion Association's annual event.
The group of former residents who lived in the area during World War II met up for an afternoon to share stories and recollections.
Association chairman Gordon Cull said: "Ladywood has changed a lot but there is still so much community spirit here.
"Anyone who lived in Ladywood in the past went through a lot and living in the back-to-back terraces meant that you gained a shared experience of what life was really like.
"They bulldozed most of it and we were in danger of losing all of that history.
"The association was started because I decided I needed to look after the older generation who used to live here. These meetings are a way of making sure that the community spirit stays alive."
Mr Cull said the Old Ladywood Reunion Association has grown to more than 1,200 members since it was first launched.
When it first started meeting, members met old friends who they had not seen in more than 50 years.
"It is a special time," he said. "Many old friends have met here."
Local historian Norman Bartlam organised an exhibition of thousands of old photographs of the area for former residents.
Mr Bartlam, who is part of the Ladywood History Group, said: "Older people are a living historical resource for children at schools.
"Due to the members of the association and the history group, we have been able to make local history DVDs for schools to use.
"This is all about keeping lots of memories alive."
The event was held in the Clarendon Suite, Stirling Road, off Hagley Road, Ladywood, on Sunday.
f = xzapfdingbatsn o MEMORY LANE... Joe Kelly and Joan Mulholland, who hadn't seen each other for 54 years, and (back, from left) Owen Bradley and Kenneth Hughes who hadn't seen each other since 1952, at the Clarendon Suite. Picture: Loretta Brennan
