ARCHIVE INDEX & NAME INTERESTS

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>ARCHIVE INDEX.
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Jun 29th 2004 Communication Row, St Saviours Church, Saltley Baptist Church
Jul 1st 2004 Ralph Road and St Saviours Church
Jul 9th 2004 Tour: Belchers Lane to Saltley Gate
Jul 20th 2004 Back-to-backs, Birmingham
Aug 4th 2004 Tour: Washwood Heath and Alum Rock
Oct 5th 2004 St Saviours graveyard (some headstones and names)
Nov 21st 2004 Canal Boat Light Parade (1st one)
Nov 27th 2004 Big Wheel, German Christmas Market
Apr 25th 2005 St George's Day
May 15th 2005 Tolkien Weekend
Jun 10th 2005 Heartlands VE/VJ Exhibition
Aug 9th 2005 St Saviours graveyard (some MIs)
Sep 8th 2005 St Saviours Church and graveyard (some MIs)
Sep 10th 2005 Key Hill Open Day (some important dead people)
Sep 17th 2005 Black Country Boatfest
Oct 21st 2005 Trafalgar Day 200
Nov 20th 2005 Canal Boat Light Parade
Dec 17th 2005 Merry Christmas Everybody!
Jan 23rd 2006 Walkabout Jewelry Quarter
Jan 24th 2006 Walkabout Jewelry Quarter Again.
Feb 6th 2006 Walkabout Bordesley-Nechells-Aston.
Mar 31st 2006 Peter Turner's back-to-back photographs.
Jun 16th 2006 City Centre Walkabout (incl Tree of Life statue)
Jun 30th 2006 The Bromwich Vault
Jul 30th 2006 Sheldon Country Fair
Sep 9th 2006 Key Hill Open Day
Sep 18th 2006 Farewell and Welcome Back!
Oct 21st 2006 Trafalgar Day
Dec 10th 2006 Canal Boat Light Parade
Jan 26th 2007 St Matthews (ALL headstones & most MIs)
Apr 15th 2007 Big Birmingham Morris Caper
Apr 22nd 2007 Scouts Centenary Parade
Jul 2nd 2007 HP Sauce D-Day 1 (Also D-Days 5, 9, 19 and 23)
Jul 14th 2007 Festival of Extreme Buildings
Jul 14th 2007 Fazeley Street Walkabout
Jul 24th 2007 Lichfield Road Traipse
Aug 28th 2007 HP Sauce D-Day 58
Sep 7th 2007 Festival of Extreme Buildings Revisited
Sep 9th 2007 Unidentified Church
Sep 14th 2007 St James the Less Memorials (Many MIs)
Oct 22nd 2007 Trafalgar Day- belated
Oct 26th 2007 HP Sauce D-Day 117
Nov 15th 2007 German Christmas Market
Nov 17th 2007 Digbeth Coach Station Farewell Party
Feb 14th 2008 RIP Ring O' Bells
Mar 25th 2008 HP Sauce D-Day 268
Apr 22nd 2008 Royal Re-Opening of Birmingham Town Hall
Apr 26th 2008 St George's Day Celebrations
May 2nd 2008 Eastside Mini-tour & Gun-Barrel Proof House
May 20th 2008 Pub-Crawl
May 27th 2008 St Matthews Church, Duddeston

Jul 24th Yardley-Sheldon Walkabout (ongoing macro blog)
Sep 13th 2008 Key Hill Open Day

Mar 31st 2009 Aston Juxta Church (some MIs, war panels, ongoing)
Apr 19th 2009 Stone Cross St George Parade
Apr 25th 2009 St George's Day Birmingham

Jul 12th 2009 Aston Juxta Church revisited (an ambitious project still being worked on)

Sep 6th 2009 Moseley Folk Festival

Sep 12th 2009 Key Hill Open Day

Oct 25th 2009 Trafalgar Day

I thought I would declare some of my genealogical surname interests in case anybody has similar :-

FISHER ... Birmingham & Black Country
HANDS... Cherington, Stourton & surrounds, Warks
CONGREAVE... Notts, Leics (also alternate spellings)
BUCK... Notts & Cambs
TAYLES... Notts & ???
HOOLEY... Notts
PEDLEY... Notts
WHAP... Notts
THOMPSON... Norfolk
SADLER... Norfolk
ROCK... Solihull, Warks
KING... Great Alne, Warks
COOK... Suffolk
JARVIS... Suffolk
PUGH... Tipton, Staffs
FLEET... Tipton, Staffs
GREEN... Tipton, Staffs
JOHNSON... Northwich, Cheshire
GATENBY... Stockton, Durham

TRAFALGAR DAY CELEBRATION - 25th Oct 2009

Today was the celebration of the 204th anniversary of the victory of Lord Nelson at the battle of Trafalgar on 21st October 1805. These photographs tell the story of Birmingham's celebration of this day. This year's event was distinguished by the presence of John Tribe (properly William John Raglan Horatio Tribe), the 4th great-grandson of Lord Nelson, who laid a wreath on behalf of The Nelson Society.

It was also 200 years to the day since the unveiling of the country's first statue to Nelson, which was this one here in Birmingham. A medal has been struck to mark the occasion, and I quote from the sales literature:

To commemorate the bicentenary of the first statue to be unveiled to the memory of Lord Nelson in the United Kingdom, St Paul’s Mint, in association with Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, has struck a medal to celebrate the event.

The medal is 50 mm in diameter and 3.2 mm thick and comes in a black leatherette presentation box with white satin lid and black velour foam inset.

It will be available for purchase on Sunday 25th October 2009 – exactly 200 years to the day that the statue was unveiled - from the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery shop in Chamberlain Square (next to the Round Gallery).

The cost of the medal is £14.99.

NOTE: St Paul's Mint is based in Birmingham, it's owner having worked for the Birmingham Mint for 30 years. The Birmingham Mint was the successor to Matthew Boulton's Soho Mint and thus St Paul's Mint can trace it's direct lineage from that famous Mint founded in Birmingham in 1788.

The commemorative medal.

A closer view of the statue.

The Warwickshire Band play music before the programme of speeches and wreath-laying begins.

Dignitaries and military personnel waiting for the proceedings to start.

Stephen Hartland introduces the Lord Mayor Cllr. Michael Wilkes and Lady Mayoress Vivienne Wilkes to John Tribe.

John Tribe in the centre of the photograph, with Glyn Pitchford to the right.

Event organizer Stephen Hartland introduces the proceedings.

Joe Kennedy leads the singing of The National Anthem...

..

The Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Cllr. Michael Wilkes speaks of Nelson's connections with Birmingham, and Birmingham's contribution to the Battle of Trafalgar.

The Commanding Officer of HMS Forward, Commander Rob Noble RD RN, reminds us of the Royal Navy's role in conflict and peace-time around the world.

The Reverend Ray Price leads a short service and traditional prayers.

Stephen Hartland accompanies the Lord Mayor to the Nelson statue.

The Mayor bows after laying a wreath on behalf of the the City of Birmingham.

Commander Rob Noble salutes after presenting a wreath from the the Royal Navy.

Doc Halladay with a wreath from the Birmingham Nautical Club.

..

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John Tribe carries a wreath on behalf of The Nelson Society...

...which he places at the foot of the statue...

...and steps back for a moment of silent reflection.

Glyn Pitchford presents a wreath on behalf of the Birmingham Civic Society.

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The statue of Lord Nelson with the wreaths at the base.

The Warwickshire Band lead the parade from St Martin's, along New Street to Victoria Square and then to the front of the Council House, where the Lord Mayor will take the salute.

The Warwickshire Band arrive at Victoria Square.

The cadets of HMS Forward.

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John Tribe poses with the model of HMS Victory in the Council House.

Cannon barrels from HMS Victory lie outside the Council House entrance.

The White Ensign flies above the Council House.

Trafalgar Day Celebration - 25th October 2009 advance notice.

On Sunday 25th October, Birmingham will again celebrate the victory of Nelson at the battle of Trafalgar on the 21st of October 1805.

The fourth great grandson of Admiral Horatio Nelson, John Raglan Horatio Tribe, will be present and will lay the wreath on behalf of the Nelson Society.

This year is the 200th anniversary of the unveiling of the kingdom's first statue to the memory of Lord Nelson and a commemorative medal has been struck to mark the occasion.

The schedule is as follows:

10.30 am

Participants assemble – HMS Forward, SCC et al

10.55 am

Lord Mayor of Birmingham and civic party arrive from St Martin’s Church together via Spiceal Street

11.00 am

The Master of Ceremonies, Stephen Hartland, welcomes everyone and introduces speakers as shown below, who are preceeded by The National Anthem led by baritone, Mr Joe Kennedy.

Speakers:
- Lord Mayor of Birmingham
- Commander Robert Noble RD, RN, CO of HMS Forward
- Rev Ray Price to say Grace

11.20 am

Wreath Laying by organisations:

- Lord Mayor for the City of Birmingham
- Commander R. Noble RD RN for the Royal Navy
- Sea Cadet Corps
- Mr Doc Holliday for The Birmingham Nautical Club
- The Nelson Society
- Mr Glyn Pitchford for The Birmingham Civic Society
- Mr Darren Reynolds for The Royal Society of St George, City of Birmingham Branch
- Mrs Joyce Sale for Birmingham St George’s Day Association
- Boy Scouts & Girl Guides

Minute Silence and Last Retreat/Reveille

11.40 am

March off to Victoria Square for the Lord Mayor to take the salute

From the start of the day the statue of Lord Nelson will be garlanded with flowers in the Birmingham tradition.

(Stephen Hartland - event organizer)

KEY HILL OPEN DAY - 12th September 2009

It is a well known fact that if I take a camera within half a mile of Key Hill, it pours down with rain. But this year the forces of nature forgot about me and the sun shone on the righteous as well as me.

On a sunny day, Key Hill Cemetery is a wondrous place, the early sun shines through the trees and ground mists creating an ethereal fairy-tale landscape*. If it is an open day, the sun encourages more visitors and raises the mood. It also makes photography difficult and I use this as an excuse for the rather bright or shadowy photographs I took today.

Sadly the BARRA group was unable to run their stall and the horse-drawn hearse was unable to attend. However entertainment extaordinaire was on hand to compensate as the open day was organized in conjunction with the ArtsFest, with a theatrical group performing an unique Hamlet playlet and a medieval choral group providing musical harmony in a very apt setting.

The hard work of the Friends of Key Hill chairman Dick Empson and of all the other Friends should not go unnoticed because if it was not for their dedication the cemetery would now be largely wasteland. And it is the visitors to the event that help shape the possibilities of the future, by their interest shown and by financial contribution

The Friends website is at http://tinyurl.com/omqbzz

*Sorry about the waxing lyrical bit. Don't forget you can click on the photos to make them larger, and use you browser back button to return to the main stream.

At the Icknield Street entrance are the recently restored gates and cleaned pillars.

The tents of the Friends of Key Hill.

The Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Cllr Michael Wilkes and Lady Mayoress Vivienne Wilkes greet Wendy Partridge in the "Friends" tent.

A group photograph comprising James "J" Jones, Wendy Partridge, the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress and Sue Jones.

The Lord Mayor tries to win a prize on the Tomb-bola, assisted by Wendy Partridge and overlooked by the chair of the "Friends", Dick Empson.

The stall holders for the Tomb-bola, from l-r, Cynthia Hobson, Margaret ? and Sue Chiltern.

This is where you can join the Friends of Key Hill and purchase gifts. Glynis Jones is present to help people.

Rosalie adds beautiful decorations to plates and sells them on behalf of the Moseley Road Methodist Church.

The Mayor and Lady Mayoress prepare to unveil a memorial to Joseph Tangye, an industrialist and engineer.

A tug on the ribbons reveals the memorial.

The Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress pose with the skilled workers of Yardley Memorials stone masons, who have worked hard on this memorial and others in Key Hill.

The Tangye memorial.

Another civic duty, but I suspect a labour of love as the Lord Mayor cuts a ribbon to open a special unit in the catacombs....

This catacomb houses a display and information centre. Items on display include old advertisements for the cemetery, coffin handles and early minute books of the cemetery.

Colin Giles, highly knowledgeable in Key Hill history, explains the display.

Rea Griffiths, events co-ordinator of the Birmingham and Black Country Bat Group explains some of the unique habits of bats to me. Find them at http://tinyurl.com/njhsck

This is the Ladywood Past and Present stall, Mac Joseph was on hand to assist with enquiries.

See more at the excellent site at http://homepage.ntlworld.com/macjoseph

Next to the Lady wood stall is Ted Rudge's Winson Green To Brookfields stall. More about this can be found at http://www.ted.rudge.btinternet.co.uk/

Colin Giles tries his luck on the Tomb-bola.

Phil O'Dell joins the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress for a group photo...

... and Dick Empson joins in too.

The guided tour of the cemetery attracts much interest as visitors are shown the graves of the famous sons of Birmingham.

One of the graves they will see is that of Thomas Walker, inventor of the blue brick. Note the early Birmingham coat-of-arms on the pedestal.

A view over the cemetery.

Another view over the cemetery.

A memorial recording those who perished in World War 1 who are buried at Key Hill Cemetery.

Phil O'Dell, News letter editor of the Friends of key Hill, adopts a cunning disguise in the form of an extremely dodgy moustache.

Here he is again, trying to sneak out of the cemetery. For full story see further down.

The Hamlet Globetrotters, an aspect of the MDCC theatre company, provide an amusing "spoof" rehearsal of scenes from Hamlet. More at http://www.mdcctheatre.com/

The final act of the day was a beautiful set of songs by the Stella Maris Ensemble. This medieval group sang a set of songs about the six wives of Henry VIII, and a song for Henry as well. Many of the songs were accompanied with a range of traditional instruments. The setting was very appropriate for their performance. Their web-site is at http://tinyurl.com/lwt3ao and they and they can be contacted via stella.maris.ensemble@gmail.com

Phil "I see dead people" O'Dell, a funeral director by profession, tries to convince police that he was sure the traffic warden who booked him last week was dead when he buried him....

.... but the police were unconvinced leaving Phil to take drastic action, this cunning disguise!

MORE TO COME SOON!