Sunday 30 May 2010
MR Colours
"The standard Midland Railway colours for all structures from at least 1875 was chocolate and cream. Window frames and roof valences were cream and doors maroon, the iron work of the latter would be black. Internal roofs were cream as well as the the ironwork of roofs."
Friday 28 May 2010
"Pratt's Depot"
In 1861, John Pratt occ. builder was aged 79 and living with daughter Mary Ann aged 35 on Blind Lane, Sutton Coldfield. Same year, there's another John Pratt occ. builder aged 37 and living with his uncle John Swift at Four Oaks.
This younger John Pratt is the son of the older John Pratt, and they are living together for 1841 and 1851. And again for 1871, when the older is "former builder" and the younger is "builder" and still unmarried.
By 1881, neither John Pratt is in Sutton Coldfield.
The older John Pratt (b. 1782) is the son of James & Elizabeth Pratt, and has brothers James 1773; William 1775; Thomas 1778 (who m. Sarah); Abraham 1788; Joseph 1791. Of these brothers, only Abraham is in Sutton Coldfield for the 1841 census and is working as a shoe maker.
It looks like the Pratt builders were the two John Pratt generations, and maybe the name "Pratt's Depot" continued beyond their lifetimes.
By 1881, neither John Pratt is in Sutton Coldfield.
The older John Pratt (b. 1782) is the son of James & Elizabeth Pratt, and has brothers James 1773; William 1775; Thomas 1778 (who m. Sarah); Abraham 1788; Joseph 1791. Of these brothers, only Abraham is in Sutton Coldfield for the 1841 census and is working as a shoe maker.
It looks like the Pratt builders were the two John Pratt generations, and maybe the name "Pratt's Depot" continued beyond their lifetimes.
Sense of Place # 2
"Creating a sense of place for a new or reinvigorated development is something constantly strived after, and for good reasons. The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment's (CABE) 2007 report, ‘A Sense Of Place’ states that people value well-designed places and they like homes in developments with character that create a sense of place, but signals that a high proportion of people living on new developments feel these developments lack just that. People want to live in or visit places that are unique, they want places that offer up surprises and possibilities.
One way of achieving this is finding ways to make connections between the past, present and future of a place in flux, to hold these often seemingly contradictory elements in tension, and by doing so to strengthen each. An area's physical, social, and cultural heritage, its ecology, and its future, offer rich seams which can be explored and embedded into the fabric and collective memory of a development. Projects which aim to do this can enable communities and developers to find and honour the uniqueness of a place. They help create – or we might prefer to see it as uncovering and articulating – a ‘sense of place’.
The fear and suspicion surrounding new developments is often the fear of the past being obliterated and a soulless development being plonked down in its place, the fear that developers will come in and treat a place as a blank canvas. Nowhere is a blank canvas, and the complexity and joy of living in a city is created by these layers of time, marked by different styles; the endless possibilities for discovering new things."
http://www.urbanwords.org.uk/aplaceforwords/sense-of-place.shtml
One way of achieving this is finding ways to make connections between the past, present and future of a place in flux, to hold these often seemingly contradictory elements in tension, and by doing so to strengthen each. An area's physical, social, and cultural heritage, its ecology, and its future, offer rich seams which can be explored and embedded into the fabric and collective memory of a development. Projects which aim to do this can enable communities and developers to find and honour the uniqueness of a place. They help create – or we might prefer to see it as uncovering and articulating – a ‘sense of place’.
The fear and suspicion surrounding new developments is often the fear of the past being obliterated and a soulless development being plonked down in its place, the fear that developers will come in and treat a place as a blank canvas. Nowhere is a blank canvas, and the complexity and joy of living in a city is created by these layers of time, marked by different styles; the endless possibilities for discovering new things."
http://www.urbanwords.org.uk/aplaceforwords/sense-of-place.shtml
Sense of Place
"Sense of place can be created or reinforced by using historical references as well as materials and detailing that respond to the local vernacular. Street names, signs, landscaping, on-site interpretation, maintenance of ancient boundaries – all of these can be used to keep memories alive, stress the individuality of the development and foster a sense of place. To realise these possibilities clients, their design team, archaeologists and conservation officers need to work together from the start of the design process, and other regulators should be drawn in to provide a ‘development team’ approach. When this is done well, tenants gain a sense of contact with their environment, and by understanding, valuing and engaging with it, to help shape a strong, inclusive and vibrant community."
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/professional/advice/advice-by-topic/urban-and-rural-regeneration/housing/homes-with-history/
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/professional/advice/advice-by-topic/urban-and-rural-regeneration/housing/homes-with-history/
Temporalising the Landscape
"...to borrow Inglis's [1] words again, 'a landscape is the most solid appearance in which a history can declare itself.' Thanks to their solidity, features of the landscape remain available for inspection long after the movement that gave rise to them has ceased. If, as Mead argued [2], every object is to be regarded as a 'collapsed act', then the landscape as a whole must likewise be understood as the taskscape in its embodied form: a pattern of activities 'collapsed' into an array of features."
[Tim Ingold: 'The perception of the environment: essays on livelihood, dwelling and skill']
1. F. Inglis: 'Nation and community: a landscape and its morality', Sociological Review 25, 1977.
2. G. H. Mead: 'The process of mind in nature' in 'George Herbert Mead on Social Psychology', A. Strauss, 1964.
[Tim Ingold: 'The perception of the environment: essays on livelihood, dwelling and skill']
1. F. Inglis: 'Nation and community: a landscape and its morality', Sociological Review 25, 1977.
2. G. H. Mead: 'The process of mind in nature' in 'George Herbert Mead on Social Psychology', A. Strauss, 1964.
Thursday 27 May 2010
Crees, Dykes and Bassett
1975 British Phone Book:
CREES C. H. & Son Ltd Bldrs Mrcnts 37 Duke Street, SC...
now, C H Crees & Son Ltd.
Green Lane, Aldridge, Walsall, West Midlands, WS9 0LN
0121 353 8275
Nothing for G. H. Dykes or Bassett & Sons.
Depot Businesses
The station and yard drawing that I have from the chief engineer's department is (I believe wrongly) dated 1950s in the book. Looking at the details of it and the surrounding properties it is difficult to date and I wonder if it is several periods collapsed - I've made some enquiries and hope to find out soon. It certainly isn't pre-1887 (OS first edition).
The drawing has marked a number of trades/companies and I've also realised that the goods shed has two 50cwt cranes indicated in the area of the cross-beams. Marked are: C H Crees and Sons builders merchants; Bassett & Sons; Shell Mex depot; Pratts depot; G H Dykes coal office; Davenport & Co. There are also indicated various Oil tanks, timber stores and other tanks and a lime shed next to the goods shed. Basset & son have a compound marked that I think is in today's wooded area.
Despite all these businesses the yard looks fairly empty but I'm assuming it would have been stacked with timber, coal and such like and also needed room for loading/unloading.
The drawing has marked a number of trades/companies and I've also realised that the goods shed has two 50cwt cranes indicated in the area of the cross-beams. Marked are: C H Crees and Sons builders merchants; Bassett & Sons; Shell Mex depot; Pratts depot; G H Dykes coal office; Davenport & Co. There are also indicated various Oil tanks, timber stores and other tanks and a lime shed next to the goods shed. Basset & son have a compound marked that I think is in today's wooded area.
Despite all these businesses the yard looks fairly empty but I'm assuming it would have been stacked with timber, coal and such like and also needed room for loading/unloading.
Wednesday 26 May 2010
Brick Bonds Background
A number of bonds are present across the site as well as some hybrids. For instance the goods shed is English Bond whilst the substation seems to be a variant of Flemish Stretcher.
Brick Bond map from 'England in Particular' published by Common Ground.
Brick Bond map from 'England in Particular' published by Common Ground.
Site Brick Bonds
Remains of wall in woodland at east end of site.
DO building chimney.
Substation in visitor's car park.
DO building showing end wall (left) and side wall (right).
Goods shed.
Tuesday 25 May 2010
Monday 24 May 2010
Process Words
...cutting, retaining, laying, surveying, enclosing, stamping, sticking, sorting, despatching, sending, staking, mapping, loading, unloading, sealing, censoring, distributing, checking, layering, excavating, perforating, franking, shunting, engineering, constructing...
Thursday 20 May 2010
Tuesday 18 May 2010
Woodland history
One map of the site shows allotments in the wooded area to the east of the site, maybe as part of the war effort.
The 1914 OS has scrub and small trees marked in the area, and the 1938 onwards OS maps have enclosures marked on the south side of the entrance area. There are certainly various records of commercial (i.e. Shell Mex) compounds here (and there is also evidence of these on the ground in the form of low walls, etc.). This would support the more mature line of trees to the northern edge.
The 1914 OS has scrub and small trees marked in the area, and the 1938 onwards OS maps have enclosures marked on the south side of the entrance area. There are certainly various records of commercial (i.e. Shell Mex) compounds here (and there is also evidence of these on the ground in the form of low walls, etc.). This would support the more mature line of trees to the northern edge.
Film Footage
The railway was (and still is a big deal) for the area. Yes, the US presence was headline grabbing but in the end was only there due to the railway already being there (and ditto for the PO/RM presence). The railway proposal through the park really divided opinion and forced a lot of important people to show their true colours. It looks like a similar situation will unfold with the proposed re-opening of the line to passengers.
On the subject of sorting British Pathe has some nice (non-Sutton) stuff:
http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=53113
http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=22585
http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=51227
The first one of the above was where the British Forces PO moved after SC wasn't it?
On the subject of sorting British Pathe has some nice (non-Sutton) stuff:
http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=53113
http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=22585
http://www.britishpathe.com/record.php?id=51227
The first one of the above was where the British Forces PO moved after SC wasn't it?
Monday 17 May 2010
Catch Up
The more immediate US Army sites are linked physically (or permanently) whilst the more distant (and overseas) connections are celebrated through something more temporary. This is where Mail Art can play its part by bringing many of these places back in to contact. The contemporary format, etc. of the work will highlight the passing of time since WW2.
One thing that the 'summary history' underlines is the complexity of the operation. Also its responsive nature to major WW2 events, movements of personnel and the theatre of war triggering its increasing expansion.
The extent of the original site and its pre-existing buildings express, in architectural and operational terms, the scale of the war as originally envisaged. The pre-1942 site maps the perceived scale of WW2 as the US initially saw it. Each additional building is triggered by an historic military operation, the equation being, for example, Normandy = 4 Romney Huts, and so on.
On the idea of enclosures and parcelling. Documents enclosed, land enclosed. Parcels of land for sale, etc.. Want to look at the structure of envelopes too, how they fold and enclose.
By way of clarification, Romney Huts and Quonset Huts refer to the same buildings in another example of two nations divided by a common language, see:
One thing that the 'summary history' underlines is the complexity of the operation. Also its responsive nature to major WW2 events, movements of personnel and the theatre of war triggering its increasing expansion.
The extent of the original site and its pre-existing buildings express, in architectural and operational terms, the scale of the war as originally envisaged. The pre-1942 site maps the perceived scale of WW2 as the US initially saw it. Each additional building is triggered by an historic military operation, the equation being, for example, Normandy = 4 Romney Huts, and so on.
On the idea of enclosures and parcelling. Documents enclosed, land enclosed. Parcels of land for sale, etc.. Want to look at the structure of envelopes too, how they fold and enclose.
By way of clarification, Romney Huts and Quonset Huts refer to the same buildings in another example of two nations divided by a common language, see:
Thursday 13 May 2010
Site Palimpsest
Yes, that sense of vertical layering is important. It will help cohere and enrich the design. There's something about how envelopes get layered with various markings indicating their passage through different places at different moments in time, so that, at the point of delivery, there has been a considerable process of additions/'adding to' the original cover (see attached). And how by revealing the lower layers of the site palimpsest (via 'taking away') we are doing the same sort of thing in reverse.
There's also something about how these postal markings create odd juxtapositions, record different kinds of 'touch', and undermine the sender's carefully considered original composition/positioning of written address and licked stamp against the rectangle of the envelope. How the underlying field boundaries, railway and military buildings, etc. are partially revealed or acknowledged in the future site similarly disrupts the original design intent and agenda.
Summary Site History
The site seems to be part of the 93 acres 3 roods and 36 perches of land given in November 1827 to the Warden and Society of the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield by Sir Edmund Cradock-Hartopp of Clifton. This land included " 'two closes of land and the greater part of the third close of land (called 'The Moors') adjoining Sutton Park and to the New Forge Pool."
In exchange, the Warden and Society of the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield gave Cradock-Hartopp 63 acres and 31 perches of Sutton Park ("a slip of land adjoining Four Oaks Park and the greater part of Lady Wood and land adjoining") to allow the then owner of Four Oaks Hall Estate "to create a more pleasing oval shape to his deer park".
The exchange also obliged Cradock-Hartopp, at a cost of £1000.00, to build a new entrance to the Park (the present Town Gate) and a new road (Park Road) linking the town to Sutton Park.
Sir Edmund Cradock-Hartopp had purchased Four Oaks Hall in 1792. When the Pudsey Estates (including nearby Langley Hall) were divided on the death of Henry Pudsey in 1686, his daughter Elizabeth and her husband Henry Folliott, 1st Baron Folliott of Ballyshannon, exercised their right granted in the Royal Charter of Sutton Coldfield to enclose up to 60 acres of Common land for a new house. Four Oaks Hall was designed by the architect and sculptor Sir William Wilson (a student of Sir Christopher Wren), who also built the 'Old Art School' building (next to Bishop Vesey's Grammar School) for himself and his new wife, Jane, the widow of aforementioned Henry Pudsey.
Henry Folliott died in 1716, and his widow, Elizabeth, continued to live at Four Oaks Hall until 1744. In 1751, the Hall was sold to Simon Luttrell (later Baron Luttrell of Luttrells Town and Earl of Carhampton) in 1751, and he rebuilt the Hall in the Palladian style. Four Oaks Hall was then sold in 1778 to the Reverend Thomas Gresley, who sold it to Hugh Bateman in 1785, who in turn sold it to Edmund Cradock-Hartopp in 1792.
Having at one point been in the ownership of the Pudsey family, the site is associated with a number of other important local families going back to the 13th century. These include:
the de Beresfords of Wishaw
Jesson of Langley Hall and Wishaw
Holte of Aston
Bracebridge of Atherstone, and
Digby of Meriden.
Following an earlier investigation in 1865 ("abandoned due to monetary pressure"), Sutton Coldfield Corporation appointed a Railway Committee in January 1872, and the Act of Parliament (35 & 36 Vict.) was passed later the same year. The line was staked out in May 1873, construction began in the Spring of 1875, and the 'Sutton Park Line' finally opened for business on the 1st July 1879. The contractor was Joseph Firbank, and the engineer for the Wolverhampton, Walsall and Midland Junction Railway was John Addison.
In exchange, the Warden and Society of the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield gave Cradock-Hartopp 63 acres and 31 perches of Sutton Park ("a slip of land adjoining Four Oaks Park and the greater part of Lady Wood and land adjoining") to allow the then owner of Four Oaks Hall Estate "to create a more pleasing oval shape to his deer park".
The exchange also obliged Cradock-Hartopp, at a cost of £1000.00, to build a new entrance to the Park (the present Town Gate) and a new road (Park Road) linking the town to Sutton Park.
Sir Edmund Cradock-Hartopp had purchased Four Oaks Hall in 1792. When the Pudsey Estates (including nearby Langley Hall) were divided on the death of Henry Pudsey in 1686, his daughter Elizabeth and her husband Henry Folliott, 1st Baron Folliott of Ballyshannon, exercised their right granted in the Royal Charter of Sutton Coldfield to enclose up to 60 acres of Common land for a new house. Four Oaks Hall was designed by the architect and sculptor Sir William Wilson (a student of Sir Christopher Wren), who also built the 'Old Art School' building (next to Bishop Vesey's Grammar School) for himself and his new wife, Jane, the widow of aforementioned Henry Pudsey.
Henry Folliott died in 1716, and his widow, Elizabeth, continued to live at Four Oaks Hall until 1744. In 1751, the Hall was sold to Simon Luttrell (later Baron Luttrell of Luttrells Town and Earl of Carhampton) in 1751, and he rebuilt the Hall in the Palladian style. Four Oaks Hall was then sold in 1778 to the Reverend Thomas Gresley, who sold it to Hugh Bateman in 1785, who in turn sold it to Edmund Cradock-Hartopp in 1792.
Having at one point been in the ownership of the Pudsey family, the site is associated with a number of other important local families going back to the 13th century. These include:
the de Beresfords of Wishaw
Jesson of Langley Hall and Wishaw
Holte of Aston
Bracebridge of Atherstone, and
Digby of Meriden.
Following an earlier investigation in 1865 ("abandoned due to monetary pressure"), Sutton Coldfield Corporation appointed a Railway Committee in January 1872, and the Act of Parliament (35 & 36 Vict.) was passed later the same year. The line was staked out in May 1873, construction began in the Spring of 1875, and the 'Sutton Park Line' finally opened for business on the 1st July 1879. The contractor was Joseph Firbank, and the engineer for the Wolverhampton, Walsall and Midland Junction Railway was John Addison.
Summary of 'History of 1st Base Post Office'
OBSERVATIONS
The Function:
The 'History' provides monthly totals of mail processed from February 1943 through to September 1944, although the APO had been activated from 01.08.1942 and been operational from 01.07.1942. These totals are for 'First Class' post, 'P.P. & Prints', and 'V-Mail'.
It is quite clear that the 1st Base Post Office/APO 640 was a phenomenal feat of operational administration ("the Mail Distribution Scheme") delivered over 18 or so months from July 1942. In the reports for the final months up to September 1944, the emphasis is increasingly on social events and the establishment of the APOs in France.
Many Buildings:
1st Base Post Office/APO 640 is described in the 'History' as "an installation" comprising "75 buildings, widely scattered", and this installation was networked (literally) with places like Fradley (outside Lichfield), Birmingham (New Street Station), and beyond.
The Memory:
The 'memory' is to do with this administrative feat rather than the buildings which rarely managed to accommodate it. It is also to do with how Sutton Coldfield was networked into the bigger Midlands region and the wider European Theatre of Operations for about 24 months.
SUMMARY NOTES
The 'History of First Base Post Office' was written by Major Benjamin F. Hartl, Unit Historian, in October 1944, and is written on a month-by-month basis. It starts with the activation of the 1st Base Post Office at Fort Hamilton, New York, on 01.05.1942, and concludes with the shift of emphasis to APOs in France by late summer/early autumn 1944.
The Function:
The Building:
It is quite clear that the 1st Base Post Office/APO 640 was a phenomenal feat of operational administration ("the Mail Distribution Scheme") delivered over 18 or so months from July 1942. In the reports for the final months up to September 1944, the emphasis is increasingly on social events and the establishment of the APOs in France.
Many Buildings:
1st Base Post Office/APO 640 is described in the 'History' as "an installation" comprising "75 buildings, widely scattered", and this installation was networked (literally) with places like Fradley (outside Lichfield), Birmingham (New Street Station), and beyond.
The Memory:
The 'memory' is to do with this administrative feat rather than the buildings which rarely managed to accommodate it. It is also to do with how Sutton Coldfield was networked into the bigger Midlands region and the wider European Theatre of Operations for about 24 months.
SUMMARY NOTES
The 'History of First Base Post Office' was written by Major Benjamin F. Hartl, Unit Historian, in October 1944, and is written on a month-by-month basis. It starts with the activation of the 1st Base Post Office at Fort Hamilton, New York, on 01.05.1942, and concludes with the shift of emphasis to APOs in France by late summer/early autumn 1944.
A. OPERATION/FUNCTION
page 4 [bpo0003.jpg]
10. The transportation of mails in the United Kingdom was the responsibility of the British General Post Office (GPO). Their system for handling their mails is briefly as follows:
All first class mail is handled by post office staff at all railroad stations and junction points; that is, the staff is required to load this mail in baggage compartments of railroad vans and unload at destination and transfer of mails at junction points. Parcel post is turned over to railroad employees for loading, transfer and unloading.
page 5 [bpo0004.jpg]
14. 640th Army Postal Unit was activated 1 August 1942 and formed an integral part of the 1st Base Post Office. The Base Post Office used this APO number as part of this unit's address in order for the New York Post Office to readily identify mail thereafter as belonging to this theater.
page 6 [bpo0005.jpg]
Operations in the railroad shed grew quite congested during the month of August [1942] and it became necessary to load and unload sacks from railway vans and work some of the direct sacks outside of the building along the railway tracks.
page 12 [bpo0011.jpg]
31. [January 1943] Mail was being received day and night at various intervals and corresponding dispatches were likewise made to the 37 APO's served at this time.
page 13 [bpo0012.jpg]
37. The volume of transfer mail had increased to such an extent at the New Street Station in Birmingham that the British GPO employees could not handle it...
page 14 [bpo0013.jpg]
39. Initial dispatch to APO 651 was made on 27 March [1943] making a total of 39 APO's served.
page 15 [bpo0014]
42. The inauguration of an additional dispatch to APO 648 was started this month [April 1943] for the transmission of ordinary mail to the U. S. by air transportation...
page 26 [bpo0025.jpg]
76. A total of 78 APO's were being served through the Base Post Office at the end of the year [1943].
77. The New Street Station detachment had increased to 20 men and a regular service was established for the transportation of mail between the Base Post Office and Birmingham.
page 27 [bpo0026.jpg]
80. Thirty-two new APO's established during this month [January 1944].
page 32 [bpo0031.jpg]
99. Det. "A", 1st Base Post Office was organized to operate the V-Mail Station located in London.
page 7 [bpo0039.jpg]
(4) 600 new units were added to the Mail Distribution Scheme making a total of 7,700 units served by this installation. 160 Army Post Offices were functioning in the theater at this time.
page 13 [bpo0045.jpg]
(5) 700 new units were added to the Mail Distribution Scheme, making a total of 8500 units served in the ETO. 157 Army Post Offices were operating in the U. K. at the close of the months [May 1944].
page 19 [bpo00517.jpg]
i.(2) A new section called the "french Section" was organized. This section handled the mail intended for dispatch to Normandy.
page 20 [bpo0052.jpg]
(3) The mail distribution scheme at the close of June [1944] consisted of 90 pages, carrying a total of 8800 units, 1447 of which were in France.
page 27 [bpo0059.jpg]
(5) The New York Port of Embarkation Army Post Office began the make up of Normandy mails in direct pouches to unit and serving APOs. This eliminated extra handling at this point and expedited the flow of mail across the channel. [August 1944]
page 42 [bpo0074.jpg]
(3) The air mail service from Fradley Airdrome to the continent was not perfect due to a lack of flying equipment. At one time it was found necessary to move 30,000 pounds of first class mail by train to Southampton, thence by surface vessel to France.
(4) The Annex buildings were completed during the month [September 1944]...
10. The transportation of mails in the United Kingdom was the responsibility of the British General Post Office (GPO). Their system for handling their mails is briefly as follows:
All first class mail is handled by post office staff at all railroad stations and junction points; that is, the staff is required to load this mail in baggage compartments of railroad vans and unload at destination and transfer of mails at junction points. Parcel post is turned over to railroad employees for loading, transfer and unloading.
page 5 [bpo0004.jpg]
14. 640th Army Postal Unit was activated 1 August 1942 and formed an integral part of the 1st Base Post Office. The Base Post Office used this APO number as part of this unit's address in order for the New York Post Office to readily identify mail thereafter as belonging to this theater.
page 6 [bpo0005.jpg]
Operations in the railroad shed grew quite congested during the month of August [1942] and it became necessary to load and unload sacks from railway vans and work some of the direct sacks outside of the building along the railway tracks.
page 12 [bpo0011.jpg]
31. [January 1943] Mail was being received day and night at various intervals and corresponding dispatches were likewise made to the 37 APO's served at this time.
page 13 [bpo0012.jpg]
37. The volume of transfer mail had increased to such an extent at the New Street Station in Birmingham that the British GPO employees could not handle it...
page 14 [bpo0013.jpg]
39. Initial dispatch to APO 651 was made on 27 March [1943] making a total of 39 APO's served.
page 15 [bpo0014]
42. The inauguration of an additional dispatch to APO 648 was started this month [April 1943] for the transmission of ordinary mail to the U. S. by air transportation...
page 26 [bpo0025.jpg]
76. A total of 78 APO's were being served through the Base Post Office at the end of the year [1943].
77. The New Street Station detachment had increased to 20 men and a regular service was established for the transportation of mail between the Base Post Office and Birmingham.
page 27 [bpo0026.jpg]
80. Thirty-two new APO's established during this month [January 1944].
page 32 [bpo0031.jpg]
99. Det. "A", 1st Base Post Office was organized to operate the V-Mail Station located in London.
page 7 [bpo0039.jpg]
(4) 600 new units were added to the Mail Distribution Scheme making a total of 7,700 units served by this installation. 160 Army Post Offices were functioning in the theater at this time.
page 13 [bpo0045.jpg]
(5) 700 new units were added to the Mail Distribution Scheme, making a total of 8500 units served in the ETO. 157 Army Post Offices were operating in the U. K. at the close of the months [May 1944].
page 19 [bpo00517.jpg]
i.(2) A new section called the "french Section" was organized. This section handled the mail intended for dispatch to Normandy.
page 20 [bpo0052.jpg]
(3) The mail distribution scheme at the close of June [1944] consisted of 90 pages, carrying a total of 8800 units, 1447 of which were in France.
page 27 [bpo0059.jpg]
(5) The New York Port of Embarkation Army Post Office began the make up of Normandy mails in direct pouches to unit and serving APOs. This eliminated extra handling at this point and expedited the flow of mail across the channel. [August 1944]
page 42 [bpo0074.jpg]
(3) The air mail service from Fradley Airdrome to the continent was not perfect due to a lack of flying equipment. At one time it was found necessary to move 30,000 pounds of first class mail by train to Southampton, thence by surface vessel to France.
(4) The Annex buildings were completed during the month [September 1944]...
page 43 [bpo0075.jpg]
(7) At the close of September [1944] 87 Army Postal Units were in operation in the United kingdom and 144 in France. The Continental Scheme showed 6,500 units and the United Kingdom Scheme showed 4,500.
B. BUILDINGS & WIDER 'TRAIL'
page 5 [bpo0004.jpg]
19. On 6th October 1942 the entire operations of the Base Post Office were moved 50 yards to a building being completed especially for our purposes. ... The new building containing 52,000 square feet of floor space... A double railroad sidetrack parallels the 380 foot post office platform.
page 10 [bpo009.jpg]
27. Central heating and the lighting installation was in operation on 3 December 1942...
page 12 [bpo0011.jpg]
32. Enlisted personnel were housed in school buildings, construction of which were not quite completed by the first year. These barracks are located one mile from the Base Post Office.
page 13 [bpo0012.jpg]
35. ... The security fencing around the Base Post Office and barracks was completed during this month [February 1943].
page 19 [bpo0018.jpg]
54. The Wentworth House located 2 miles from the BPO was taken over for officers quarters on 11 August [1943]. ... The barracks and Base Post Office, although not quite completed, were taken over from the British on 23 August and 27 August respectively.
page 22 [bpo0021.jpg]
65. ...authority was granted to use 250 men messing centers which were being constructed in the vicinity for other troops. These centers included kitchen, a small mess hut seating 150 at one sitting, and latrine facilities. The 250 men were to be billeted in the area not exceeding one mile distance from the messing center.
66. On November 3rd [1943] the Four Oaks Messing Center was opened and the billeting of men in this vicinity was started. This center is located approximately two miles from the Base Post Office.
page 24 [bpo0023.jpg]
68. The Glenfield House...was finally completed and occupied on 17 November [1943].
page 25 [bpo0024.jpg]
74. Penns Lane Camp, accommodating 250 men was occupied on 4 December [1943]...located approximately four miles from the Base Post Office...
page 26 [bpo0025.jpg]
75. A fourth messing center was opened on 22 December [1943] in another section of the city called maney Hall District.
page 32 [bpo0031.jpg]
Wylde Green messing center for 250 men was established and began operations on 2 March 1944.
page 3 [bpo0035.jpg]
c. Battalion Headquarters, formerly located at the Holland Road Camp was moved to Green Gables, a requisitioned mansion, located one mile from the Base Post Office [April 1944].
page 12 [bpo0044.jpg]
(1) Ninety six feet of the new addition of Romney hutting was occupied during the month [May 1944]. Some congestion in the main building was thus relieved by working newspapers and periodicals in the additional space provided.
page 14 [bpo0046.jpg]
f. On 4 June [1944] a detachment from 347th Engineer regt.,...reported at this station to construct a central 500 man kitchen, winterized mess tents, a women's rest room and a branch dispensary. ... During this month twelve men installed the kitchen drains and sewers... The hut proper was completed.
page 15 [bpo0047.jpg]
g. The Post Utility Officer, First Lieutenant Robert W. Barkhols, AGD, 0-1179013, demonstrated outstanding ability in undertaking and completing the many projects necessary in an installation of this kind, comprised of 75 buildings, widely scattered. Although the men assigned to the section were not skilled craftsmen generally, the work performed was efficient and of professional standard.
page 18 [bpo0050.jpg]
h.(5) The Casualty Section moved into a part of the new annex building...
page 23 [bpo0055.jpg]
h. The Motor Transportation Section...has done outstanding work in providing transport for this installation. Practically all repairs are made at the garage and only body repair work requiring welding must be taken to an Ordnance repair depot.
page 28 [bpo0060.jpg]
c. The Post Utility Section completed the Central Mess which began operation late in the month [August 1944]
d. Two American type huts were procured and erected on a site adjoining the main Post Office building. Battalion Headquarters moved into these huts from Green Gables...
page 31 [bpo0063.jpg]
i.(1) The addition to the post office consisting of 35,000 square feet of Romney hutting was occupied during the month...[September 1944]
(7) At the close of September [1944] 87 Army Postal Units were in operation in the United kingdom and 144 in France. The Continental Scheme showed 6,500 units and the United Kingdom Scheme showed 4,500.
B. BUILDINGS & WIDER 'TRAIL'
page 5 [bpo0004.jpg]
19. On 6th October 1942 the entire operations of the Base Post Office were moved 50 yards to a building being completed especially for our purposes. ... The new building containing 52,000 square feet of floor space... A double railroad sidetrack parallels the 380 foot post office platform.
page 10 [bpo009.jpg]
27. Central heating and the lighting installation was in operation on 3 December 1942...
page 12 [bpo0011.jpg]
32. Enlisted personnel were housed in school buildings, construction of which were not quite completed by the first year. These barracks are located one mile from the Base Post Office.
page 13 [bpo0012.jpg]
35. ... The security fencing around the Base Post Office and barracks was completed during this month [February 1943].
page 19 [bpo0018.jpg]
54. The Wentworth House located 2 miles from the BPO was taken over for officers quarters on 11 August [1943]. ... The barracks and Base Post Office, although not quite completed, were taken over from the British on 23 August and 27 August respectively.
page 22 [bpo0021.jpg]
65. ...authority was granted to use 250 men messing centers which were being constructed in the vicinity for other troops. These centers included kitchen, a small mess hut seating 150 at one sitting, and latrine facilities. The 250 men were to be billeted in the area not exceeding one mile distance from the messing center.
66. On November 3rd [1943] the Four Oaks Messing Center was opened and the billeting of men in this vicinity was started. This center is located approximately two miles from the Base Post Office.
page 24 [bpo0023.jpg]
68. The Glenfield House...was finally completed and occupied on 17 November [1943].
page 25 [bpo0024.jpg]
74. Penns Lane Camp, accommodating 250 men was occupied on 4 December [1943]...located approximately four miles from the Base Post Office...
page 26 [bpo0025.jpg]
75. A fourth messing center was opened on 22 December [1943] in another section of the city called maney Hall District.
page 32 [bpo0031.jpg]
Wylde Green messing center for 250 men was established and began operations on 2 March 1944.
page 3 [bpo0035.jpg]
c. Battalion Headquarters, formerly located at the Holland Road Camp was moved to Green Gables, a requisitioned mansion, located one mile from the Base Post Office [April 1944].
page 12 [bpo0044.jpg]
(1) Ninety six feet of the new addition of Romney hutting was occupied during the month [May 1944]. Some congestion in the main building was thus relieved by working newspapers and periodicals in the additional space provided.
page 14 [bpo0046.jpg]
f. On 4 June [1944] a detachment from 347th Engineer regt.,...reported at this station to construct a central 500 man kitchen, winterized mess tents, a women's rest room and a branch dispensary. ... During this month twelve men installed the kitchen drains and sewers... The hut proper was completed.
page 15 [bpo0047.jpg]
g. The Post Utility Officer, First Lieutenant Robert W. Barkhols, AGD, 0-1179013, demonstrated outstanding ability in undertaking and completing the many projects necessary in an installation of this kind, comprised of 75 buildings, widely scattered. Although the men assigned to the section were not skilled craftsmen generally, the work performed was efficient and of professional standard.
page 18 [bpo0050.jpg]
h.(5) The Casualty Section moved into a part of the new annex building...
page 23 [bpo0055.jpg]
h. The Motor Transportation Section...has done outstanding work in providing transport for this installation. Practically all repairs are made at the garage and only body repair work requiring welding must be taken to an Ordnance repair depot.
page 28 [bpo0060.jpg]
c. The Post Utility Section completed the Central Mess which began operation late in the month [August 1944]
d. Two American type huts were procured and erected on a site adjoining the main Post Office building. Battalion Headquarters moved into these huts from Green Gables...
page 31 [bpo0063.jpg]
i.(1) The addition to the post office consisting of 35,000 square feet of Romney hutting was occupied during the month...[September 1944]
Wednesday 12 May 2010
Introduction to APOs
The USA joined WW2 on 8th December 1941 (the day after Pearl Harbour), but the 1st BPO (APO640 Sutton Coldfield) wasn't reconstituted until 1st May 1942, and didn't arrive in England until 16th June 1942. As it says below, the full system of APOs wasn't established until after Pearl Harbour.
Introduction to A.P.O.’s
Two fundamental facts - that soldiers in the field like to receive mail and that armies move, lead to the development of numbered post offices for military postal services. Add to those the value of anonymity of location for security. The practice did not begin in the United States or during World War II. It goes at least as far back as the Franco Prussian war in the 1870’s. The United States employed a system of numbered army post office during its role in the First World War.
The system of A.P.O.’s that serviced the army and army air corps during the Second World War began before the American entry into the war, and continues with some modifications through today. In the spring of 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt entered into an agreement with the government of the United Kingdom to exchange 50 destroyers for 99 year leases to establish military bases in several British Caribbean colonies. Army Post Office numbers were assigned to each of these new bases as the troops arrived to garrison them. The number of American servicemen stationed outside the boundaries of the continental United States increased during late 1941, and so did the number of A.P.O.’s. With the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the entry of the U.S. into the war, a full system of numbered A.P.O.’s was established.
In some cases there was a logical reason for a certain A.P.O. number to be used. For example, A.P.O.’s assigned to service infantry divisions were in most cases numbered the same as the division. The 1st Infantry division was assigned A.P.O. 1. In other cases, the A.P.O. number coincided with a regiment number. Certain geographic areas were assigned a series of numbers. For example, numbers 825 through 837 were assigned to specific bases in the Canal Zone, numbers 931 through 949 were assigned to Western Canada and Alaska, and numbers 950 through 966 were assigned to Hawaii. There were also other relationships between the A.P.O. number and sort of soldiers the A.P.O. serviced, but many A.P.O. numbers appear to have been assigned numbers on a random basis. In all, about 1000 different A.P.O.’s were in use the period between 1941 and the end of 1945.
http://www.postalhistory.com/Military/APO/index.htm
APOs in UK by number:
This is a list of all the US APOs in the UK I have discovered so far. There are lots, and I keep finding new ones! I haven't yet worked out which are WW2 or how any of these connect to APO640 Sutton Coldfield. And I may never understand all this. What follows is a labour of love through gritted teeth. It could be that APO640 Sutton Coldfield was the key distribution centre for all in coming and out going US mail during WW2 (the Collins' argument), or it was just one of many such key distribution centres (and I've seen various US military mail that is APO numbered but which hasn't gone through APO640 Sutton Coldfield). Who knows?
0001 England
0004 England
0005 England
0009 England
0010 England
0028 England
0028 Wales
0029 England
0030 England
0034 Northern Ireland
0035 England
0052 England
0056 England
0057 England
0058 England
0061 England
0062 England
0063 England
0067 England
0068 England
0069 England
0076 England
0078 England
0079 England
0080 England
0083 England
0084 England
0087 Scotland
0090 England
0094 England
0095 England
0099 England
0109 England
0110 England
0111 England
0115 England
0117 England
0118 England
0119 England
0121 England
0122 England
0124 England
0126 England
0127 England
0128 England
0128 Northern Ireland
0129 England
0129 Northern Ireland
0130 England
0131 England
0131 Northern Ireland
0132 England
0132 Northern Ireland
0133 England
0134 Wales
0135 England
0136 England
0137 England
0138 England
0140 England
0141 England
0143 England
0144 England
0145 England
0146 Northern Ireland
0147 Northern Ireland
0148 England
0149 England
0150 England
0151 England
0152 England
0153 England
0153 Northern Ireland
0155 England
0156 England
0157 England
0158 England
0160 England
0161 England
0162 England
0163 England
0164 Wales
0165 England
0166 England
0167 England
0168 England
0169 England
0170 England
0171 England
0172 England
0173 England
0174 England
0176 England
0178 England
0179 England
0203 England
0204 England
0205 England
0206 England
0207 England
0208 England
0209 England
0225 England
0226 England
0228 Wales
0229 England
0230 England
0231 England
0232 England
0243 England
0251 England
0252 England
0253 England
0254 England
0255 England
0256 England
0257 England
0258 England
0259 England
0261 England
0262 England
0270 England
0298 England
0302 England
0305 England
0305 Northern Ireland
0307 England
0308 England
0312 England
0314 England
0316 England
0339 England
0340 England
0348 England
0349 Wales, 4182 US Army Plant, Newport 1944 for 7 months
0350 England
0403 England
0407 England
0408 England
0409 England
0413 England
0417 England
0436 England
0437 England
0437 Scotland
0443 England
0448 England
0449 England
0451 Wales
0452 England
0454 England
0463 England
0469 England
0469 Northern Ireland
0472 England
0505 England
0506 Scotland
0507 England
0508 England
0510 England
0511 England
0512 England
0513 England
0514 England
0515 England
0515 Wales
0516 England
0516 Wales
0517 England
0518 England
0519 England
0520 England
0525 England
0526 England
0527 England
0528 England
0545 England
0546 England
0551 England at Botesdale (1943) then Hadden Hill (May 1944) and then finally at Tidworth (from August 1944)
0552 England
0553 England
0554 England
0555 England
0556 England
0557 England
0558 England
0559 England
0560 England
0561 England
0562 England
0563 England
0564 England
0568 England
0569 England
0571 England
0572 England
0578 England
0579 England
0580 England
0582 England
0584 Wales
0589 England
0592 England 18th Bomb Squadron 1945
0636 Northern Ireland
0637 England 8th Fighter Command Watford 1943
0638 England
0639 England
0639 Northern Ireland
0640 England, Whittington Barracks, Lichfield, 16 June 1942; Sutton Coldfield 30 June 1942 to April 1944; then London and then France.
0641 England
0641 Northern Ireland
0642 England
0642 Wales
0644 England
0645 England
0646 England
0647 England
0649 England
0650 England
0651 England
0652 England
0653 England
0654 England
0655 England
0658 England
0659 England
0696 England
0741 England
0742 England
0756 England
0757 England
0871 England
0872 England
0872 Wales
0873 England, Goxhill
0874 England, Whittington Barracks, Lichfield, 1941 - 1944
0875 England, Kettering
0887 England, London 1942 to August 1944
1116 England
1118 England
1126 England
Introduction to A.P.O.’s
Two fundamental facts - that soldiers in the field like to receive mail and that armies move, lead to the development of numbered post offices for military postal services. Add to those the value of anonymity of location for security. The practice did not begin in the United States or during World War II. It goes at least as far back as the Franco Prussian war in the 1870’s. The United States employed a system of numbered army post office during its role in the First World War.
The system of A.P.O.’s that serviced the army and army air corps during the Second World War began before the American entry into the war, and continues with some modifications through today. In the spring of 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt entered into an agreement with the government of the United Kingdom to exchange 50 destroyers for 99 year leases to establish military bases in several British Caribbean colonies. Army Post Office numbers were assigned to each of these new bases as the troops arrived to garrison them. The number of American servicemen stationed outside the boundaries of the continental United States increased during late 1941, and so did the number of A.P.O.’s. With the attack on Pearl Harbor, and the entry of the U.S. into the war, a full system of numbered A.P.O.’s was established.
In some cases there was a logical reason for a certain A.P.O. number to be used. For example, A.P.O.’s assigned to service infantry divisions were in most cases numbered the same as the division. The 1st Infantry division was assigned A.P.O. 1. In other cases, the A.P.O. number coincided with a regiment number. Certain geographic areas were assigned a series of numbers. For example, numbers 825 through 837 were assigned to specific bases in the Canal Zone, numbers 931 through 949 were assigned to Western Canada and Alaska, and numbers 950 through 966 were assigned to Hawaii. There were also other relationships between the A.P.O. number and sort of soldiers the A.P.O. serviced, but many A.P.O. numbers appear to have been assigned numbers on a random basis. In all, about 1000 different A.P.O.’s were in use the period between 1941 and the end of 1945.
http://www.postalhistory.com/Military/APO/index.htm
APOs in UK by number:
This is a list of all the US APOs in the UK I have discovered so far. There are lots, and I keep finding new ones! I haven't yet worked out which are WW2 or how any of these connect to APO640 Sutton Coldfield. And I may never understand all this. What follows is a labour of love through gritted teeth. It could be that APO640 Sutton Coldfield was the key distribution centre for all in coming and out going US mail during WW2 (the Collins' argument), or it was just one of many such key distribution centres (and I've seen various US military mail that is APO numbered but which hasn't gone through APO640 Sutton Coldfield). Who knows?
0001 England
0004 England
0005 England
0009 England
0010 England
0028 England
0028 Wales
0029 England
0030 England
0034 Northern Ireland
0035 England
0052 England
0056 England
0057 England
0058 England
0061 England
0062 England
0063 England
0067 England
0068 England
0069 England
0076 England
0078 England
0079 England
0080 England
0083 England
0084 England
0087 Scotland
0090 England
0094 England
0095 England
0099 England
0109 England
0110 England
0111 England
0115 England
0117 England
0118 England
0119 England
0121 England
0122 England
0124 England
0126 England
0127 England
0128 England
0128 Northern Ireland
0129 England
0129 Northern Ireland
0130 England
0131 England
0131 Northern Ireland
0132 England
0132 Northern Ireland
0133 England
0134 Wales
0135 England
0136 England
0137 England
0138 England
0140 England
0141 England
0143 England
0144 England
0145 England
0146 Northern Ireland
0147 Northern Ireland
0148 England
0149 England
0150 England
0151 England
0152 England
0153 England
0153 Northern Ireland
0155 England
0156 England
0157 England
0158 England
0160 England
0161 England
0162 England
0163 England
0164 Wales
0165 England
0166 England
0167 England
0168 England
0169 England
0170 England
0171 England
0172 England
0173 England
0174 England
0176 England
0178 England
0179 England
0203 England
0204 England
0205 England
0206 England
0207 England
0208 England
0209 England
0225 England
0226 England
0228 Wales
0229 England
0230 England
0231 England
0232 England
0243 England
0251 England
0252 England
0253 England
0254 England
0255 England
0256 England
0257 England
0258 England
0259 England
0261 England
0262 England
0270 England
0298 England
0302 England
0305 England
0305 Northern Ireland
0307 England
0308 England
0312 England
0314 England
0316 England
0339 England
0340 England
0348 England
0349 Wales, 4182 US Army Plant, Newport 1944 for 7 months
0350 England
0403 England
0407 England
0408 England
0409 England
0413 England
0417 England
0436 England
0437 England
0437 Scotland
0443 England
0448 England
0449 England
0451 Wales
0452 England
0454 England
0463 England
0469 England
0469 Northern Ireland
0472 England
0505 England
0506 Scotland
0507 England
0508 England
0510 England
0511 England
0512 England
0513 England
0514 England
0515 England
0515 Wales
0516 England
0516 Wales
0517 England
0518 England
0519 England
0520 England
0525 England
0526 England
0527 England
0528 England
0545 England
0546 England
0551 England at Botesdale (1943) then Hadden Hill (May 1944) and then finally at Tidworth (from August 1944)
0552 England
0553 England
0554 England
0555 England
0556 England
0557 England
0558 England
0559 England
0560 England
0561 England
0562 England
0563 England
0564 England
0568 England
0569 England
0571 England
0572 England
0578 England
0579 England
0580 England
0582 England
0584 Wales
0589 England
0592 England 18th Bomb Squadron 1945
0636 Northern Ireland
0637 England 8th Fighter Command Watford 1943
0638 England
0639 England
0639 Northern Ireland
0640 England, Whittington Barracks, Lichfield, 16 June 1942; Sutton Coldfield 30 June 1942 to April 1944; then London and then France.
0641 England
0641 Northern Ireland
0642 England
0642 Wales
0644 England
0645 England
0646 England
0647 England
0649 England
0650 England
0651 England
0652 England
0653 England
0654 England
0655 England
0658 England
0659 England
0696 England
0741 England
0742 England
0756 England
0757 England
0871 England
0872 England
0872 Wales
0873 England, Goxhill
0874 England, Whittington Barracks, Lichfield, 1941 - 1944
0875 England, Kettering
0887 England, London 1942 to August 1944
1116 England
1118 England
1126 England
Tuesday 11 May 2010
More Coal Merchants
Something else meaningless perhaps but interesting that it mentions a coal merchant living on TH...
http://forum.birminghamhistory.co.uk/showthread.php?p=40619#poststop
Not sure where Aragon House is but Davies doesn't seem to make it into the census returns. Another question mark... for somebody else this time.
http://forum.birminghamhistory.co.uk/showthread.php?p=40619#poststop
Not sure where Aragon House is but Davies doesn't seem to make it into the census returns. Another question mark... for somebody else this time.
"Meeting the challenges: Sorting for the Future"
"By the mid 1990s a number of reorganisations of the sorting arrangements for foreign mail had been carried out. There were seven Offices of Exchange (OEs) dealing with export mail. These were Mount Pleasant, Reading, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow plus two specialist units – Heathrow International Distribution Centre at Greenford, which handled all the pre- sorted mail posted by major contract customers, and Birmingham ‘Z’ in Sutton Coldfield, which handled all the surface mail. Four OEs handled import mail – the main units being Mount Pleasant and Dover, with smaller volumes at Manchester and Glasgow."
Archive Update
Summary observations on material at Stafford, Walsall and Sutton Coldfield.
The Tudor Hill estate was transferred to the W&S as part of the Hartopp exchange in 1827 but it wasn't until 1864 that the demand for high-status housing in Sutton Coldfield warranted fuller development.
The Tudor Hill estate was transferred to the W&S as part of the Hartopp exchange in 1827 but it wasn't until 1864 that the demand for high-status housing in Sutton Coldfield warranted fuller development.
Nearby Anchorage estate was laid out and advertised for sale in July 1870 - 26 building lots - the owner was RH Sadler and a minimum value of £500 per plot was a condition of development. No industry allowed. Four houses were built prior to a delay of 16 years in which time the Sutton Park Line was built. Because the Anchorage estate was already in existence, the Railway Company had to provide a bridge.
There is a little 'unofficial' footpath through from the top of Richmond Road and down the bank to the entrance to the sorting office.
There is a little 'unofficial' footpath through from the top of Richmond Road and down the bank to the entrance to the sorting office.
Have had a further play around with the Lavender House plan and think that there is only one possible area for it and that is one of the two or three plots around the house named 'Drumcrieff' on the 1914 OS map. The angles of the plots on the Lavender plan preclude a lot of potential sites.
Have contacted the Scout Association to try and find a copy of the boarding passes from the 1957 Jamboree and am still trying to uncover the reason for 'Birmingham Z' being applied to the site or the railway spur.
Have some good photos of various documents re. the railway line through the Park including the proposed line marked on an OS map and more detailed surveys with sections... "datum line 250 feet below the underside of girders where intersecting the face of the Northern Abutment of the Turnpike Road over Bridge from Walsall to Bloxwich".
Have contacted the Scout Association to try and find a copy of the boarding passes from the 1957 Jamboree and am still trying to uncover the reason for 'Birmingham Z' being applied to the site or the railway spur.
Have some good photos of various documents re. the railway line through the Park including the proposed line marked on an OS map and more detailed surveys with sections... "datum line 250 feet below the underside of girders where intersecting the face of the Northern Abutment of the Turnpike Road over Bridge from Walsall to Bloxwich".
A few new names as landowners appear in the proposed railway line reference book. Halford Parker farmed fields 24,25,26, and 31 - this was mainly ex Samuel Smith land held in trust at the coming of the railway. Williams Bach and Barker leased plots 27 to 30, 32 to 40 with a host of occupiers listed. 'Carriage Road' 33 (i.e. today's Richmond Road) was owned by Thomas Storer Eddowes, Warden and Sutton Coldfield Gas Company. Mr Eddowes went on to be a supporter of the railway through the Park and it is his firm's archive that contains the lovely, crumbly old papers. Other 'carriage roads' were owned by Warden & Society (29 and 32), RH Sadler (48) and Thomas Hayward (49).
Several of these names crop up as supporters of the railway.
In Kelly's Directory for Warwickshire, the only other trade listed in 1892 and 1896 in and around Tudor Hil apart from Billson is Henry Duncalfe, a surgeon at Aragon House.
Have found what looks like somebody's Masters thesis that was a precursor to the Collins' book (QSH 75.8). Angela Andrews in 1992 wrote 'Over Here: A study of the stationing of American troops in Sutton Coldfield for the purposes of sorting mail for their forces throughout the European theatre of war 1942 - 1945'.
Several of these names crop up as supporters of the railway.
In Kelly's Directory for Warwickshire, the only other trade listed in 1892 and 1896 in and around Tudor Hil apart from Billson is Henry Duncalfe, a surgeon at Aragon House.
Have found what looks like somebody's Masters thesis that was a precursor to the Collins' book (QSH 75.8). Angela Andrews in 1992 wrote 'Over Here: A study of the stationing of American troops in Sutton Coldfield for the purposes of sorting mail for their forces throughout the European theatre of war 1942 - 1945'.
Collins is listed in the acknowledgements and is mentioned as a local author compiling a book on the theme. A lot of the information is in the Collins' book as are many of the photos. Angela Andrews mentions one source as a Mr Brock of the 'Army Postal Workers Association'. One or two useful photos are credited to M. Rothert widow of Eugene.
In BCOL Q 385.0942496MID there is an excellent account of the toing and froings to get the railway line built. Apparently an initial investigation was made in 1865 but "abandoned due to monetary pressure". The ball really started rolling with a meeting of Sutton Coldfield Corporation on 8th January 1872. On the 12th January opposers of the railway included Mr Charles Beaton and Rev WKR Bedford who presented a petition signed by 194 individuals. On the 18th the Corporation appointed a Railway Committee made up of Warden Eddowes, Rev EH Kittoe, Dr G Bodington, Mr J Wiggan and Dr A Johnson, but only Kittoe and Johnson were against the railway.
There followed lots of ill-feeling - letter writing in the Birmingham Gazettte, accusations of skulduggery, and the breaking up of meetings by 'rowdy' groups. A meeting against the railway on 5th April 1872 heard the Rev. Crosskey state that he would as soon see a railway "through Lichfield Cathedral as through the Park". A petition was adopted and signed by J. Sadler, Mayor of Birmingham, for presentation to Houses of Parliament. Also on the 5th, Dr Bodington chaired a 150-strong meeting in support of the railway.
An engineer called Wilson was appointed by the 'No' camp to survey an alternative route to the north of the Park but to no avail. Apparently Joseph Chamberlain was signed-up to the 'No' cause. By the 19th June the Bill had passed it's second reading and then went to the House of Lords Committee (Lord Camoys in the chair, Earl Fortesque, Viscounts Hereford and Gough and Lords Aranmore and Brown).
In BCOL Q 385.0942496MID there is an excellent account of the toing and froings to get the railway line built. Apparently an initial investigation was made in 1865 but "abandoned due to monetary pressure". The ball really started rolling with a meeting of Sutton Coldfield Corporation on 8th January 1872. On the 12th January opposers of the railway included Mr Charles Beaton and Rev WKR Bedford who presented a petition signed by 194 individuals. On the 18th the Corporation appointed a Railway Committee made up of Warden Eddowes, Rev EH Kittoe, Dr G Bodington, Mr J Wiggan and Dr A Johnson, but only Kittoe and Johnson were against the railway.
There followed lots of ill-feeling - letter writing in the Birmingham Gazettte, accusations of skulduggery, and the breaking up of meetings by 'rowdy' groups. A meeting against the railway on 5th April 1872 heard the Rev. Crosskey state that he would as soon see a railway "through Lichfield Cathedral as through the Park". A petition was adopted and signed by J. Sadler, Mayor of Birmingham, for presentation to Houses of Parliament. Also on the 5th, Dr Bodington chaired a 150-strong meeting in support of the railway.
An engineer called Wilson was appointed by the 'No' camp to survey an alternative route to the north of the Park but to no avail. Apparently Joseph Chamberlain was signed-up to the 'No' cause. By the 19th June the Bill had passed it's second reading and then went to the House of Lords Committee (Lord Camoys in the chair, Earl Fortesque, Viscounts Hereford and Gough and Lords Aranmore and Brown).
Promoters of the line were represented by (among others) Messers Denison, Sergeant, Sargood and Round. Inhabitants of Sutton Coldfield were represented by Mr Rodwell and the Hon. Chandos-Leigh. The hearing lasted five days but from the off seemed in favour of the railway. The argument for the railway was based mainly on economics (access to Black Country industries, with many industrialists in favour of the railway), and the argument against was mainly 'environmental'. The resident engineer John Addison made some very poor arguments, but even so by the 26th June the hearing was over.
In May 1873 the exact line of the route was staked-out, construction began in the Spring of 1875, and the railway finally opened in 1879.
In May 1873 the exact line of the route was staked-out, construction began in the Spring of 1875, and the railway finally opened in 1879.
Monday 10 May 2010
Sutton Coldfield Archives
Sutton Coldfield Library has four publications on Francis J. Field, although there might be a folder full of stuff in one of the filing cabinets. The Library has Aero Field Handbooks Nos 3, 4, 7 and 15.
The material is rather haphazard and some of the stuff is catalogued in people's heads and kept in a box on top of a cupboard. This box includes some lovely sketch survey maps of the rail route on fast disintegrating tracing paper. Have photos of some of the key documents.
The Lavender house caused more trouble. Can't find anything on Richmond Road or Tudor Hill that matches the drawing from Walsall archives, so:
The material is rather haphazard and some of the stuff is catalogued in people's heads and kept in a box on top of a cupboard. This box includes some lovely sketch survey maps of the rail route on fast disintegrating tracing paper. Have photos of some of the key documents.
The Lavender house caused more trouble. Can't find anything on Richmond Road or Tudor Hill that matches the drawing from Walsall archives, so:
a) it was never built;
b) it was built but has been knocked down (war damage?); or
c) it has been altered significantly.
Still think the key might be the dumb well on the original drawing matching the shape on the 1887 OS map.
Been trying to find architects drawings for Sutton Park station, but have had no luck. Apparently it was built to standard MR design so this supports the the thinking on the standardised Goods Shed. A lot of the drawings of rail stations are from the Cattell collection.
Have done another field map overlay and am still having trouble matching things up accurately - a quirk of surveys done at different periods probably. The attached uses magenta for c.1800 and cyan for c.1870. The field numbers refer to the plots affected by the proposed rail line and I have the ownership details for these. The barn is shown on both surveys and is perhaps the reason for the (dumb) well on the OS map.
Have done another field map overlay and am still having trouble matching things up accurately - a quirk of surveys done at different periods probably. The attached uses magenta for c.1800 and cyan for c.1870. The field numbers refer to the plots affected by the proposed rail line and I have the ownership details for these. The barn is shown on both surveys and is perhaps the reason for the (dumb) well on the OS map.
Friday 7 May 2010
Lavender in the census?
Matthew Overton + wife Elizabeth + son Harry are living in the Lavender-designed house for both the 1881 and 1891 Census Returns. Matthew dies in 1896, and widow and son move to Clifton Road, so it's not easy to identify the house in the 1901 Census when it would have been numbered (probably!).
In the 1891 Census, 'Sutton Park Station Midland Railway' is listed (but obviously not inhabited!) between Anchorage Road and Tudor Hill. The Census sequence seems to go down Tudor Hill from the station, listing the house + owner as:
1891
[Anchorage Road begins]
[Sutton Park Station]
[Tudor Hill ends]
// Duncalfe
// Titley
// Brokes
// Cadbury
// Graves
// Bullows
// Butler
// OVERTON
// Shannon
// Rhodes
// Baker
// Morris
// Chesterton
// Wilson
// Coley
// Curtis
// Eddowes
// Arbuthnot
// Morrington
[Tudor Hill begins]
[Springfield Place ends]
For the 1881 Census, it sequence is reversed, i.e. goes up the hill:
[Sutton Park begins]
[Tudor Hill ends]
// Sitley
/ uninhabited
// Curtis
// Cartwright
// OVERTON
// Duncalfe
// Morris
// Arundale
// Turnpenny
// Tisdale
// Eddowes
// Reeves
// Probert
["M. Railway St"]
[Sutton Park Lodge]
[Four Oaks Park]
[Four Oaks Hall]
No, can't match these together and won't be able to link to the 1901 Census.
In the 1891 Census, 'Sutton Park Station Midland Railway' is listed (but obviously not inhabited!) between Anchorage Road and Tudor Hill. The Census sequence seems to go down Tudor Hill from the station, listing the house + owner as:
1891
[Anchorage Road begins]
[Sutton Park Station]
[Tudor Hill ends]
// Duncalfe
// Titley
// Brokes
// Cadbury
// Graves
// Bullows
// Butler
// OVERTON
// Shannon
// Rhodes
// Baker
// Morris
// Chesterton
// Wilson
// Coley
// Curtis
// Eddowes
// Arbuthnot
// Morrington
[Tudor Hill begins]
[Springfield Place ends]
For the 1881 Census, it sequence is reversed, i.e. goes up the hill:
[Sutton Park begins]
[Tudor Hill ends]
// Sitley
/ uninhabited
// Curtis
// Cartwright
// OVERTON
// Duncalfe
// Morris
// Arundale
// Turnpenny
// Tisdale
// Eddowes
// Reeves
// Probert
["M. Railway St"]
[Sutton Park Lodge]
[Four Oaks Park]
[Four Oaks Hall]
No, can't match these together and won't be able to link to the 1901 Census.
Dumb Wells
On Drawing 1 there is a circle at the top labelled 'dumb well', and on the 1914 OS map there is a circle above the 'o' of 'Tudor Hill' in the wooded area beside the site. If this is the same thing it puts the Lavender house as the last house on the left on Richmond Road. By the way, what is a dumb well?
Lavender House?
Not sure of the address of the Lavender house - it just says Tudor Hill. When commissioned there were very few other houses in the area. The owner Mr Matthew Overton but houses weren't numbered until a bit later. Suggest we head up there with the drawings and match them up. The initial thought was that it was a house on the right as you go up the hill, but looking at the older OS maps there is a house half way up Richmond Road on the left that has a similar footprint though!
Jamboree Train Tickets
The 1957 Scout Jubilee Jamboree used three stations on the Sutton Park Line, namely Sutton Park, Streetly and Sutton Coldfield. Jamboree attendees were issued with boarding passes colour-coded to the station they should use. Sutton Park was blue, Streetly was yellow and Sutton Coldfield was red. Apparently there were trains every 12 minutes for a while.
Thursday 6 May 2010
Archive visit
The Lavender plans (Walsall Archives) are attached, details come. There is no other address apart from Villa for Mr M Overton Tudor Hill, Sutton. The drawings are dated January 1880 and should match up with the 1881 Census. Have all three drawings in full but have cropped for ease of mailing.
Wednesday 5 May 2010
Colours
There is a pared-down administrative look of a lot of the documents around with occasional touches of decoration and in particular the colour manilla/buff could be useful in the publication phase. Could add it to the purple of the stripes, etc.
Aerial Photos
Another note on this subject... In LfV there is one poor aerial photo of the site credited to the US Army. There are surely a whole load more aerial photos around of the site given the richness of military targets.
Railway Society
There is a railway society in Sutton Coldfield. It seems to be more about modelling but this does seem to be backed up by a deep knowledge of railway history.
Mr Joseph Firbank
"Mr Firbank used, however, to say that, of all his contracts, this one [Walsall and Water Orton] gave him the most trouble and anxiety, on account of the vexatious and unnecessary interference of the Engineer - not one of the Midland Company's permanent officials - and his assistants, who, instead of doing all in their power to assist him in his labours - as other chief and resident engineers did - took every occasion to make suggestions, which were totally unnecessary, and added very heavily to the cost of the works. This conduct ultimately led to litigation, but, unfortunately, a clause in the specification appointed the Engineer sole arbitrator, without appeal from his decisions."
A sentence or two then describes Firbank's 'defeat' in court and he is criticised by the judges for signing such a claused contract before ending the entry with: "...a compromise arranged, which, if it did not give him his due, fully cleared him in the eyes of the Midland Directors, whose good opinion he valued very highly." The chief engineer on the line was, as we know, J Addison and the resident engineer was J Keen.
Firbank had previously had problems with co-workers and after a particularly bad partnership in the 1840s never worked in partnership again. His career was helped by the recommendation of renowned engineer Charles Liddell.
He was highly respected as an engineer and hard-worker, and had "sturdy independence and reliability. He would rise early, even before 5am, and be in his bed by 9pm. He thought more of his fellow workers if they adhered to the same lifestyle."
A sentence or two then describes Firbank's 'defeat' in court and he is criticised by the judges for signing such a claused contract before ending the entry with: "...a compromise arranged, which, if it did not give him his due, fully cleared him in the eyes of the Midland Directors, whose good opinion he valued very highly." The chief engineer on the line was, as we know, J Addison and the resident engineer was J Keen.
Firbank had previously had problems with co-workers and after a particularly bad partnership in the 1840s never worked in partnership again. His career was helped by the recommendation of renowned engineer Charles Liddell.
He was highly respected as an engineer and hard-worker, and had "sturdy independence and reliability. He would rise early, even before 5am, and be in his bed by 9pm. He thought more of his fellow workers if they adhered to the same lifestyle."
More 1st BPO
What was the structure that the photographer of the last one (184248) was standing on to get the height? Today it looks as though that something has been removed from here or is it from where the rail compound/yard is? Has part of the complex already been 'lost'?
Themes
Like the simplicity of this and how it allows for 'incremental build' - it gives us some stability so that we don't get bogged down in all the possibilities but does let a lot of stuff hover about until we need it. Imagine wormholes between the columns allowing for fetid seepages to pass to and fro.
The core is:
land
railway
postal
But these build so that it is more like:
land
land | railway
land | railway | postal
i.e. that the previous element is still there and we are building not just erasing. Obviously the previous state has been altered but its importance (and presence) remains in the physical and narrative sense.
The core is:
land
railway
postal
But these build so that it is more like:
land
land | railway
land | railway | postal
i.e. that the previous element is still there and we are building not just erasing. Obviously the previous state has been altered but its importance (and presence) remains in the physical and narrative sense.
Tuesday 4 May 2010
Firbank trouble?
Like the idea of the landscape cancelled and then the idea of the switch of usage (in the case of the landscape) from commercial to residential.
Have almost finished Firbank's story. In very simple terms the Sutton Park Line was one of his worst projects and he ended up in court (not his fault it would seem). He started off in the pits in Co. Durham at the age of seven and then improved himself and gained great respect for his honesty and hard work.
Have almost finished Firbank's story. In very simple terms the Sutton Park Line was one of his worst projects and he ended up in court (not his fault it would seem). He started off in the pits in Co. Durham at the age of seven and then improved himself and gained great respect for his honesty and hard work.
'The Aesthetics of Decay'
"Displaced from familiarity and order, in the ruin, we encounter a place of desolation marked by ambiguity and indeterminacy. ...the ruin comes to be experienced, not as a temporally emplaced, but as haunted. The marginalizing of urban ruins has not meant that their history has ceased. Instead, we confront a place that intrudes upon the seamless present, disordering the unmarked line of time by invoking a spectral plane of uncanniness. Yet the persistence of the ruin is not a persistence of substantiality. The ruin is not the same as its previous (active) incarnation. Now, an altered place emerges, which retains the shadow of its old self, but simultaneously radically destabilizes that presence."
[Dylan Trigg: 'The Aesthetics of Decay' p.131]
[Dylan Trigg: 'The Aesthetics of Decay' p.131]
Streetly Philatelic Society
1. For the last 15 years or so, the SPS has been building the 'Streetly Collection' which is all things to do with postal matters in SC.
2. Today's talk included various Francis J. Field memorabilia, plus what the Society has on the 1957 Scout Jubilee Jamboree in Sutton Park.
3. Last year's talk (Part 1) covered the Society's collection on the 1st US Base Post Office. It was a shame to have missed this, of course, but at today's meeting the SPS Chair announced that they have now produced a CD of all the US material.
2. Today's talk included various Francis J. Field memorabilia, plus what the Society has on the 1957 Scout Jubilee Jamboree in Sutton Park.
3. Last year's talk (Part 1) covered the Society's collection on the 1st US Base Post Office. It was a shame to have missed this, of course, but at today's meeting the SPS Chair announced that they have now produced a CD of all the US material.
Monday 3 May 2010
More from the US
First, the magnum opus on WWII postal operations is that entitled "The United States Post Office in World War II" edited by Dr. Lawrence Sherman and published by the Collectors Club of Chicago in 2002. It has a section that describes the functions of the BPOs but not the history or locations. This brings us to the second key reference, which is "Numbered Army & Air Force Post Office Locations, Volume 1" by Russ Carter and published by the Military Postal History Society in 2001.
Russ lists each of the BPOs with when and where they functioned, but the layout of the handbook doesn't provide much space for details. However, it does give key dates. As to BPO #1, it was activated at the New York Port of Embarkation on 4 June 1942, established at Sutton Coldfield on 30 June and began operations the following day.
Apparently, a Detachment A was sent from the BPO to London to operate the V-mail station there in the spring of 1944.
Russ lists each of the BPOs with when and where they functioned, but the layout of the handbook doesn't provide much space for details. However, it does give key dates. As to BPO #1, it was activated at the New York Port of Embarkation on 4 June 1942, established at Sutton Coldfield on 30 June and began operations the following day.
Apparently, a Detachment A was sent from the BPO to London to operate the V-mail station there in the spring of 1944.
1st BPO History
Had this in from Russ Carter, the author of 'Numbered Army and Air Force Post Office Locations' in the States [see: http://www.militaryphs.org/pubs/apobook.html]. Some great photographs, and he makes the interesting distinction between 'Base Post Office' as 'the unit' or as 'the buildings'. Russ says:
Below is the unit history of the 1st BPO as in the book that I wrote:
1st BPO (machine and hand cancels reported)
Constituted in 3rd Corps Area 1 Jan 38
Disbanded 1 May 42
1st BPO reconstituted at Ft Hamilton, NY 1 May 42
Activated New York PoE 4 Jun 42
On Tegelberg (TAPO ?) 4 Jun 42
Liverpool, England 16 Jun 42
Whittington Barracks, England 17 Jun 42
Sutton Coldfield, England 30 Jun 42
Began ops 1 Jul 42
Det A organized to operate Vmail Station in London Mar/Apr 44
France??
On Gen Taylor 30 Jan 46
Camp Kilmer, NJ 11 Feb 46
Inactivated 12 Feb 46
Unfortunately I have nothing on the specific information that you are probably looking for. I do have several photos of the 1st BPO that I attach to this note.
photo 184248 Front of 1st BPO building 3/8/43
photo 184249 1st BPO directory service 3/8/43
photo 184261 1st BPO administration 2/22/43
photo 384770 sorting mail 9/27/43
Sunday 2 May 2010
Saturday 1 May 2010
War Cover Club
A fishing expedition to The Military Postal History Society [http://www.militaryphs.org/]...founded in 1937 as the War Cover Club, American Philatelic Society Unit #19. The original club focused largely on the postal history of the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I. The group changed its name in 1991 to better reflect the wide variety of collecting interests of its members. It promotes the study of the postal aspects of all wars and military actions of all nations. Today members' interests include soldier campaign covers, patriotics, prisoner-of-war mail, naval mail, occupation and internment covers, picture postcards of a military nature, camp cancels, field post offices, propaganda labels and leaflets, V-mail, censored mail and similar related material.
Military Post
6c Transport 1944 Sudbury, Pa. Concession Airmail to A.P.O. 649 Exeter, England Forwarded to A.P.O. 874 Whittington Barracks, Lichfield, England with magenta sl Directory Searched No Record at A.P.O. 874, then Forwarded to 1st B.P.O. Sutton Coldfield, England with boxed sl No Record 1st B.P.O. and sl Returned to Writer For Better Address in pointing hand. Reverse Label Tied 1944 Christmas Seal. Light creases and opening tears at top.
http://www.postalhistory.com/results.asp?task=&y1=&y2=&searchtype=&dt=&cc=AP&cd=&dq=&du=&ct=&cs=fw&ts=&st=&sort=&Auction=&group=20&pagenum=4
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