Jim Fitzpatrick: The Mary Street Gang go to Sherbourne Road

Society member Jim Fitzpatrick recently sent us two photos from his family album. Here they are with his comments...

I was brought up in Balsall Heath as the eldest of seven in an immigrant Irish family, mom and dad married in 1940 and came to live in Birmingham as economic migrants. The Mary St gang was taken at best estimate in 1953. The boy on the left (as we look) with vertical bow is myself. The little girl in front of me is my youngest sister Eileen she was born on 14th June 1951. so you can make a good estimate of the year from her. Its sobering to think her 59th birthday is only months away. The photo was taken in front of our house at the time Number 8/127 Mary Street (eight the back of 127). Behind the photo taker is a bombed building. Probably number 127, though the site was about 3 houses in width. It was our playground. No 127 was between Edward Road and Balfour St on the same side as Balfour St.

The second photo is of Eileen again, approximately 10years later in Sherbourne Road, where the Fitzpatrick's had moved to. You can tell from the slope of the road that it is towards the top end of Sherbourne Rd. Our house number this time was (wait for it) 104&1/2, yes, that's one hundred and four and a half! If there had been no houses across the street from our house, we would have been looking directly at Rylands the varnish maker. Another sister of mine, Anne worked for many years at Rylands.