Heroes from Balsall Heath
John Kenneally VC
John Patrick Kenneally’s life was an extraordinary story from the start and the main source for information on his life comes from his autobiography “Kenneally VC”. The book covers his army career in great detail but is considerably more sketchy on his early and domestic life. To some extent it is probable that this sketchiness is there to protect his mother from unwelcome judgement.
Kenneally states he was born at 104 Alexandra Road, Balsall Heath, Birmingham on 15th March 1921, the illegitimate son of a Blackpool born 18 year old pharmacist’s daughter named Gertrude Nowell Robinson She was, he says, sent by her family to friends in Birmingham to have her baby in secrecy. Gertrude was in fact born in 1901 (registered in Fylde, Lancashire) and so it would seem she was 18 when she became pregnant and was 19 at the time of birth. When she went to register her son’s birth on 29th April she gave the impression she was married, an understandable thing to do. She named him Leslie Jackson after the man she claimed as his father, and her implied husband, – Leslie Jackson, a Commercial Traveller trading in waterproof materials, of 29 Bryan Road in Blackpool. She named herself as Gertrude Nowell Jackson formerly Robinson.
William Mosedale GC
William Mosedale was born on 29th March 1894 in 12 Court 4 Hope Street (off Sherlock Street), Birmingham. His parents were William Richard Mosedale, a Railway Porter at new Street Station, and Celia Ellen Mosedale (nee Pardoe) who had married in 1892 in Birmingham. He attended Sherbourne Road Board School in nearby Balsall Heath from the age of three. He left there when he was thirteen, in 1907, and started work as a Tinsmith and Carriage Lamp Maker. A year later, in 1908, he enlisted in the 5th Territorial Battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment as a Private, passing himself off as an 18 year old. Mosedale recalled that:
“I was barely fourteen (but) I was very big for my age being 5ft 8ins and weighing about eleven stone”.
He developed a keen interest with the regiment for sports such as boxing, running and swimming. His enthusiasm for the Territorials was such that he was unable to devote as much time as he would have liked to his work as a Tinsmith. With this in mind he asked his parents if he could join the regular army which he did in 1910. He joined the 5th Royal Irish Lancers at the age of 16, stating on his papers that he was eighteen so that, as Mosedale recalled, they would “agree with my transfer papers from the Territorial Army”.
Speed King: Howard Raymond Davies
Howard Raymond Davies was born on 27 June 1895, at 351 Ladypool Road – the son of Frank and Bertha Davies (from Tipton and Dudley respectively). The house is still there today, now the premises of the PAK Property Centre. His family moved back to Tipton and then on to Wolverhampton and Howard attended the Municipal Grammar School where he excelled at sports such as swimming and horse-riding. Following school he joined local motorcycle manufacturers A.J. Stephens Ltd (A.J.S.) as an apprentice learning how to build and maintain motorcycles.
His interest developed in racing and after a short while he ended up at Sunbeam, based in Wolverhampton. Prior to the First World War Davies established himself with successful races, such as at the 1914 Isle of Man TT, where he came second and Sunbeam won the team prize. The same year he also won a gold cup at the Coventry and Warwick Club trials as well as silver for best sidecar performance. He joined the Royal Engineers in October 1914 and served for a year as a despatch rider. After a respite in England he received an Officer’s Commisson and a transfer to the Royal Flying Corps, serving as a pilot. Davies flew RE8 aircraft with 34 Squadron. While spotting enemy artillery he was shot down twice! On the first occasion he was able to land and made his own way back to British lines. The second time, in May 1917, both he and his “spotter”, Lieutenant J.R. Samuel, were captured at Karlsruhe and became prisoners of war. Both were initially listed as missing and then presumed killed in action. So certain seemed his death that an obituary appeared in the May 1917 issue of “Motor Cycling”. While incarcerated he attempted to escape several times, including by tunnel, but was re-captured in every instance. At the end of the war he was repatriated but then not demobilised until June 1919.
His first post-war job was with Aston Motor Accessories in Wolverhampton but moved on soon to AMAC Carburettors. He also began riding again part-time for AJS. He raced at the 1920 Isle of Man races but sadly had to retire early from both his events due to engine problems. Later in the year he also appeared for AJS the famous Brooklands circuit where incredibly he broke 14 track records. Howard was made Competitions Manager for the company, spending time assisting in machine development. This paid off as AJS enjoyed much success in 1921 with Howard himself winning the Senior Isle Of Man races and breaking his own records at Brooklands. The success proved shortlived though as a recurrence of engine problems in 1922/ 23 plagued the team. Howard left AJS and, following a brief period at Hutchinson tyres, he set up his own company – HRD Motors – in August 1924. Howard rode his own motorcycles at the 1925 Isle Of Man races, coming second in the Junior event and first in the Seniors. Sadly the company went into voluntary liquidation in January 1928. Following the closure of his business Howard spent his last working years at a variety of jobs in the industry at places such as Alvis and the Swallow and Coachbuilding Company in Coventry. Howard moved from Southbank Road in Kenilworth to Warwick Road in Chadwick End, Solihull. In retirement he attended many riders’ reunions where he was always a popular figure. He died at home in January 1973 of cancer, followed two days later by his wife Maisie. The couple had a joint funeral at Robin Hood Crematorium in Solihull. Some of Howard’s motorcycles can be seen on display at the National Motorcycle Museum where his status as a racing great is remembered.