‘In the Happy Days of Our Childhood’ by Maria Cadbury
In the late 18th and 19th centuries seaside holidays became popular with those families who could afford them. With improved transport links, this popularity gradually spread to the working classes who ...
‘Inspector and Starved Child', National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Birmingham Branch Fourth Annual Report
In the late 19th century many children were seen as victims, not of the cruelty of the workplace, but of their parents and neighbours. The NSPCC entered the homes of the poor to expose instances of cruelty. ...
‘Jamaicans Seeking Work in Britain’
Submitted by Birmingham Stories.
The 22nd of June, 1948, was a deeply important date in British history. This date marked the docking of the Empire Windrush, in Tilbury, Essex. The landing of the Windrush ...
‘My Life’s Battles’ by Will Thorne
Will Thorne (1857-1946) was born into a poor family in Farm Street, Hockley on 8 October 1857. His father was a brick maker, and on weekends he would drink and get into fights. His mother and sisters ...
‘No child can resist’, Picture Post
Advertisers used images of children to catch the viewer’s eye. As families became more affluent they also targeted children as consumers. These adverts for Birmingham made ‘Bird’s Custard’ represent children ...
‘Opening of the Christian Kunzle Alpine Home for Children’, The Davos Courier
This article reports the arrival of 36 children from Birmingham Children’s Hospital at the Alpine Home for Children in Davos, Switzerland in 1932. It was believed that the health of children suffering ...
‘Our Alf’s a Postman Now’
‘Sparkbrook is our home’
The positioning of the children in this image means that they look down at the viewer from the height of an adult. It is a powerful statement of ownership: Sparkbrook belongs to them. Their bodies all ...
‘Wounded Soldiers at a Concert', Southern Hospital
This postcard shows a montage of scenes of wounded soldiers attending outdoor music entertainments at the Southern General military hospital, Edgbaston, including an inset of a boy dressed in a soldier's ...
19th Century Black Performance
Black performance in Britain has a long history. As far back as the sixteenth century musicians had a presence in public life, playing at the courts of monarchs and performing as military bandsmen (Fryer ...
20th Century Black Performance
As migrants from South Asia and the Caribbean arrived after the Second World War a dramatic change took effect in the direction of black performance in Britain. It was during this century that black people, ...
A Boy and a Catch of Fish
This photograph shows a boy and a catch of fish, with the fishing rod and basket beside a tree.
A Government School in Wadi Halfa
This photograph shows advanced scholars and teachers at a Government School in Wadi Halfa.
A Gun Manufacturer
Image: A Trade Card of John Sharpe (date unknown).
In the eighteenth and nineteenth century, many Birmingham gun manufacturers relied upon foreign export markets. Often, this could mean the sale of ...
A Home for the Association
As the organisation's work grew it became essential to acquire somewhere to accommodate its activities and provide a focal point within the local community.
The Sparkbrook Association's premises were ...
A Legacy of Anti-Fasicm
Image: Civil Liberties in Britain, (extract) 1965.
Jewish activists would continue to play a significant role in Birmingham throughout the twentieth century. This is an article by Maurice Ludmer, in ...
'A Medical Board', by W.L. Sherwood
This caricature by Staff-Sergeant W.L. Sherwood presents a sardonic view of the Medical Boards, which decided the fates of many soldiers during the First World War. Consisting of a panel of both military ...
A Nineteenth Century Jewish Obituary
A Jewish Obituary, dated 22/9/75 (newspaper unknown).
A. S. Blanckensee was another significant figure of the nineteenth century Birmingham Hebrew Congregation. He was president of its council between ...