Railway Timeline

1862 - LNWR line from Birmingham to Aston extended to Sutton Coldfield
1865 - Earlier proposal by MR for line through park is abandoned due to ‘monetary pressure’
1871 November - Survey of proposed line and ‘book of references’ published
1872 January 17th - Sutton Coldfield Corporation appoints a Railway Committee
1872 June 19th - Case goes before House of Lords Committee
1872 August 6th - Branch from Water Orton through Streetly to Walsall authorized
1873 May - Exact route of line staked out through Sutton Park
1874 July 30th - W,W & MJR absorbed by Midland Railway
1875 Spring - Construction of WWMJR begins
1879 May 19th - Branch opened for goods
1879 July 1st - Branch opened for passengers
1884 December 15th - Opening of mainline extension from SC to Lichfield
1917 January 7th - Stretch from Sutton Park to Aldridge reduced to single line ‘worked by tablet’
1921 March 20th - Double track restored
1923 January 1st - The 1921 Railways Act sees the MR grouped into the LMS
1925 January 1st - Sutton Coldfield Town station closed
1964 December 7th - Sutton Park goods station closed
1965 January 18th - Stopping passenger services withdrawn
1968 January 7th - Line becomes goods-only (NB from 1970 to 1983 some summer season passenger trains ran on Fridays/Saturdays)

Postal Arrangements at the World Scout Jubilee Jamboree

Summary Site History at 09.06.2010

Summary Site History

The site appears to be part of the 93 acres given to the Warden and Society of the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield by Sir Edmund Cradock-Hartopp of Clifton of Four Oaks Hall in November 1827. [1]

Unlike the rest of this land, which had become available for residential development from the early 1860s, the site was used for the construction of the Midland Railway Company's Sutton Park Line and Station between 1875 and 1879. The natural slope of the site was levelled as part of the construction works. [2]

The new Sutton Park Line made cheap coal available to the residents of Sutton Coldfield, and it appears that the site was primarily designed for the storage and distribution of coal. The existing 'Goods Shed' was equipped with two 30cwt cranes to lift coal from the wagons. An almost identical building was constructed by the Midland Railway in about 1865 at Bakewell, Derbyshire. The 'Goods Shed' is associated with the Billson family coal merchants [3], who had moved to Sutton Coldfield from Aston on the opening of the Sutton Park Line in 1879 and were still active on the site until at least 1912.

The 'Goods Shed' is subsequently associated with C. H. Crees and Sons, builders merchants, now located at Green Lane, Aldridge. Other families and trades identified with later buildings no longer on site but recorded on the various OS maps include: Bassett & Sons, Shell Mex depot, Pratts depot, G H Dykes coal office, and Davenport & Co.. [4]

Between July and October 1942, the 'Goods Shed' was used by 640th US Army Postal Unit. The US military 'mail distribution scheme' was then "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." [5]

By the end of World War 2, the 1st US BPO/APO 640 installation comprised "75 buildings, widely scattered" [5] including the airports at Fradley and Castle Bromwich, New Street Station in Birmingham, the V-Mail Section in London (from early 1944), and the various barracks, billets, and messing arrangements established in the wider Sutton Coldfield area. [6]

In 1947, the British Army Postal Services (Home Postal Centre RE) moved from Nottingham into the vacated US 1st BPO in Sutton Coldfield. [7]

From 1948, the site was used by the General Post Office for foreign postal services. In August 1957, the GPO Sutton Park Station depot processed the First Day Covers posted to mark the 9th Scout Jubilee Jamboree held in the neighbouring Sutton Park to celebrate the centenary of Lord Baden Powell's birth. This was the first time the Post Office produced special rolls of stamps designed to service first day covers automatically. [8]

For the period from the mid-1990s to the opening of the Heathrow Worldwide Distribution Centre (HWDC) in November 2003, the site was known as 'Birmingham Z' and handled all surface mail within the national network of seven 'Offices of Exchange' (OEs) dealing with export mail. [9]


Notes:

1. 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. Reference Birmingham City Archives MS 3069/Acc1935-063/443143, 16 November, 1827.

The site was previously in the ownership of Wriothesley Digby of Meriden [ref. Deeds of Four Oaks Hall Estate 1751-1831, Birmingham City Archives MS3069/Acc1935-063/443140] via the Will of Sir Lister Holte, 5th Bt, on his death in 1770 [ref. Birmingham City Archives MS 3369/Acc 1961-9/39a&b 1758-1769].

2. 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 Railway Company paid £6,500 for the 2-mile long strip of land across Sutton Park, and the cost of the construction of the 8-mile line rose from an estimate of £175,000 to over £400,000. The contractor was the "highly respected" railway engineer Joseph Firbank.

3. Kelly's Directory 1896: "Billson Jn. Park Station (Midland Ry) depot", listed under 'Coal & Coke Merchants'.

4. There are remains of the silos used for materials storage/distribution in the small wooded area to the east of the site. It is not known if these are related to coal or building supplies.

5. Major Benjamin F. Hartl: 'History of First Base Post Office', October 1944.

6. In all, about 1000 different APOs (Army Post Offices) were in use during the period between 1941 and the end of 1945.

7. Royal Engineers Museum http://www.remuseum.org.uk/specialism/rem_spec_pcsww2.htm (09.06.2010).

8. Two machines developed by Vacuumatic Ltd of Harwich were hand-fed the covers which were cancelled with the special postmark slogan “Jubilee Jamboree – Sutton Coldfield” and posted from the Jamboree Camp Post Office. This was the Post Office's first foray "into the highly lucrative FDC market".

Sources:

http://www.stampprinters.info/1957%20Scout%20Testing%20Label.pdf
http://www.thetenoclockshow.co.uk/content/view/152/43/
http://wapedia.mobi/en/Jubilee_Jamboree
http://www.sossi.org/maarsen/wjregmail.htm

9. The Postal Heritage Trust 2004.

Blank V-Mail Form

produced by 'U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE:1943'

Handstamp

70th Anniversary of the first UK Aerial Post 1981 (RAF Charities)

The Aero Field

1957 World Scout Jubilee Jamboree Commemorative Stamps #2

It was not until 1st August 1957 that the second set of commemorative stamps were issued during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. This was four years after the previous coronation set, and were issued to commemorate the World Scout Jubilee Jamboree. The Jamboree was held in Sutton Park, and was one of the biggest events ever held in Sutton Coldfield and involved scouts from 85 countries converging on the park to celebrate 50 years of scouting and the centenary of Lord Baden Powell’s birth.

The event was attended by both the Queen and the Prime minister of the time, Harold Macmillan. Because it was an international event hosted by Britain, it was deemed worthy enough to issue a set of commemorative stamps. Once again they followed the pattern of postal rate colours, being as they were 2 1/2d Red (Scout hitch and Rolling hitch), 4d Blue (“Scouts coming to Britain.”) and 1s 3d Green (Globe with Compass.).

This was an interesting issue because special rolls of stamps were produced, designed to service first day covers automatically. They were produced from different cylinders and printed on continuous reels of paper. The cylinders bore 126 impressions in 21 rows of six. The cylinders were numbered J1 for the 2 1/2d and 4d and J2 for the 1s 3d. (Technical details quoted from Gibbons GB Specialised catalogue Vol 3.) The reels were cut so as to provide single rolls of 4800 stamps, numbered 1-6. Interestingly, because of the speedy printing methods, numerous minor flaws have been reported on these stamps.

These rolls were available for sale on request at the London Chief Office, presumably for stamp dealers and other business individuals wishing to cash in on the Jubilee celebrations. This was the first time that coil stamps were available in an intact form, and drew much interest from stamp collectors wishing to add something unique to their collection. At the time many people collected stamps and mainstream collectors would buy whole sheets of stamps for their collection. In modern times this would cost a small fortune, but when you consider that the jubilee issue was the first series of commemorative stamps released for over 4 years, it does seem reasonable!

Official records do show that some collectors did buy the roll of 4800 stamps, although many collectors did not find it reasonable due to the huge cost. Technically the stamps would always be useable or exchangeable at post offices, so a few people brought them as an investment. Nobody could be sure if they would increase much in value, but they could guarantee that they will never decrease in value.

The Post Office finally relented to the feedback they were getting from philatelic customers and rolls of 4800 were rewound into smaller rolls of 480 stamps for the 2 1/2d and 4d, and rolls of 240 for the 1s3d.

[http://www.thetenoclockshow.co.uk/content/view/152/43/]

1957 World Scout Jubilee Jamboree Commemorative Stamps

"In early 1955, the Boy Scout Association sent a request for a stamp issue in connection with the Jamboree, and it was rejected in July 1955.

A second request was approved in spring 1956, and on 13 June 1956 it was announced in the House of Commons that three stamps would be issued.

Invitations were sent to nominated artists and printing firms to submit stamp designs, and 26 designs were received in October 1956. Royal approval was received for the final designs on 30 March 1957. The stamps were printed by Harrison & Sons, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, and they were put on sale from 1 August 1957."

[http://www.slettebo.no/scout/1957-imprimaturs.pdf]

Hansard

http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/sittings/1950s

Commemorative Stamps and Postmarks
HC Deb 21 February 1956 vol 549 cc30-1W30W

Mr. Woollam asked the Postmaster-General to arrange for the issue of a special postage stamp to the World Jamboree, to be held in Great Britain in June, 1957, which year will also mark the centenary of the birth of Robert Baden-Powell and the Golden Jubilee of the Boy Scout Movement.

Mr. Alport: I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to the hon. Member for Cardiff, North (Mr. Llewellyn) on 8th February.

Special Postage Stamps
HC Deb 13 June 1956 vol 554 c31W31W

Mr. Woollam asked the Postmaster-General whether he will arrange for the issue of a special postage stamp to commemorate the jubilee jamboree of the Boy Scout Movement to be held in Great Britain in June, 1957.

Dr. Hill: Yes. I propose to issue special stamps of the 2½d., 4d. and 1s. 3d. denominations to commemorate the event.

Full debate of 2nd August 1956 (vol 557 cc1761-9) is at:

http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1956/aug/02/postage-stamps-policy#S5CV0557P0_19560802_HOC_499

A Birmingham Z Colour Palette