Description:Home no. 1 was initially a home for boys only and, as such was on the right hand side of the drive. In its very early years, it no doubt had mainly younger boys as the practice was to have younger children nearer to the Lodge, older children nearer to the infirmary.
By 1948, Home 1 had accommodation for 18 boys. In 1949, it became known as Sunnyside.
In 1949, boys from Home 1, together with those from Home 3, wrote a letter to the Children’s Committee thanking them for a holiday in the Isle of Wight:
"To our committee and Mr Holmes
"We enjoyed ourselves very much while staying at the Isle of Wight, for which we have to thank you very much, this is an account of our visits. The Thursday we arrived all the boys sank down on their straw mattresses the minute they saw them while the big boys unpacked. We didn’t sleep too well the first night but soon settled down after that. On Friday we went to Colwell Bay, from here, if you go out some way to sea (Solent) you can see the Needles and lighthouse.
"On Monday we went to Sandown, this busy place has a lovely pier. On the following days up to Friday next we went swimming at many resorts. While on Friday we went to see the Cowes Regatta with plenty of yacht racing. Friday night we saw a lovely fireworks display, which finished up with a replica of the King’s head in beautiful fireworks.
"At Cowes we also saw many fine liners, 'The Coronia', 'Queen Mary' and the 'Mauratania' and there were two destroyers, one English, and the other American.
"On Tuesday, we went to Southampton docks, we didn’t stay here very long because the boat that brought us was so very slow it had to start early to be at Ryde on time.
"On the Wednesday morning we went to Carisbrooke Castle, here there is a very fine museum, and a donkey which draws water from a well by walking 300 yards in a wheel, and this finished our holiday.
"One very interesting place is 'Alum Bay' where there is reputed to be twelve different coloured sands, most of the boys collected these sands in a tube as a rule but there is an exception to the rule and one boy tried to collect one colour by sliding on his face down a slope of sand. I may add that we had a jolly time for which I will once more say 'THANK YOU'.
"G G and the boys of Homes 1 and 3."
By 1979, the number of beds had been reduced to 12 and both boys and girls were living there. In 1982, the home closed.
When the houses were being built on the playing fields at the back of the homes on this side of the drive, the new road built alongside Sunnyside was named ‘Sunnyside Avenue’. The building itself is now called Braemar Court although the original Braemar was home no. 5 and thus farther down The Gardens.
----------
Image: A street sign on The Gardens, 2010 - one of the new streets on the Gardens was named Sunnyside after Home 1.
----------
Source: This history was compiled by the Birmingham Children's Homes Project, an initiative to explore Birmingham City Council-run children’s homes between 1949 and 1990.