Ongoing research; last updated 11 October 2012
3rd February 1930 – BCC Parks
Committee
Report
of Administration Sub-Committee
Mr.
Councillor Gelling presented the following report:-
Use of
Parks
Approval
has been given to the following applications for the use of parks and
recreation grounds:-
Date Park
or Rec. Gd. Oragnisation Purpose
May 18) Kings Heath B’ham (South) Christadelphian Open air Services
Jul. 6 ) Ecclesia
Use of
Parks, etc.
8868 Resolved:-
That the action taken in granting the use of parks and recreation grounds
to various organizations, as set out in the foregoing report, be approved and
confirmed.
Tenancies
of Refreshment Rooms
The
Committee proceeded to consider the following schedule of tenders received for
the tenancy of various refreshment rooms in the several Parks and Recreation
grounds:-
LIST OF TENDERERS FOR THE TENANCIES OF
THE VARIOUS REFRESHMENT ROOMS
1930
Name of Name & address Present Name & Address of Amount
of tender per annum
Refreshment of
present tenant Rental Person Tendering For 3 years
King’s
Heath Mrs. Blake £80 Mrs. Blake £80
Pk. Refreshment Rooms, Refreshment Rooms, (hand-marked “accepted”)
King’s Heath Pk. King’s Heath Pk.
8885 Resolved:-
That the several tenders as marked on the foregoing Schedule be accepted
for the amounts and periods indicated, and that the Town Clerk be instructed to
prepare Tenancy Agreements where necessary and to attach the Corporate Seal
thereto.
1st March 1930 – Birmingham News
Mr. Joseph Smith
Parks Superintendent’s Death[1]
Kings Heath’s Loss
Much regret has been expressed throughout the city by the death from pneumonia, on Wednesday, of Mr. Joseph Smith, Superintendent of the Birmingham parks, aged 58.
Mr. Smith came to Birmingham in 1912, in charge of Kings Heath Park, was afterwards appointed assistant superintendent of Parks and cemeteries, and in 1926 was appointed superintendent of the department.
Important Posts
A horticulturist of high skill, and long experience, he entered the gardens of Trentham, Staffordshire, a seat of the Duke of Sutherland, and was afterwards in the gardens of the Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild, at Waddesdon Manor, and then with the Duke of Marlborough at Blenheim Palace.
His most important post was in the Royal Gardens at Sandringham. He decorated the font for the baptism of several of the children of their Majesties, including the Duke of York, Princess Mary, and Prince Henry. Among Mr. Smith’s treasures was a scarf pin presented to him by King George.
Support for Allotments
Mr. Smith had given invaluable help to the Birmingham allotment movement as lecturer and adviser, particularly in the Kings Heath district. He was a Fellow of the Royal Horticultural Society, a member of the Arborecultural Society of Great Britain and of the National Rose Society. He was an associate of the Institute of Public Administration. He was President of the Birmingham Gardeners Mutual Improvement Association. He leaves a widow.
3rd March 1930 – BCC Parks Committee
Death of
Mr. Joseph Smith – Parks Superintendent
The Chairman
referred in sympathetic terms to the death, on the 26th ultimo, of
the Superintendent of the Parks and Cemeteries Department (Mr. Joseph Smith),
and paid tribute to his sterling qualities.
Mr Smith was a man of outstanding ability in his profession. He had impressed everyone with his courtesy
and attention to his duties, and had always been ready to give advice.
It was
thereupon proposed, seconded, and (the Members of the Committee standing in
silence)
8891 Resolved:-
That this Committee have heard with profound regret of the decease of
their Superintendent, Mr. Joseph Smith.
They feel that his death has deprived the City, and the Parks Department
in particular, of a valuable and conscientious servant. During the eighteen years of his connection
with the Birmingham Parks Department, including four years as Superintendent,
he has rendered distinguished and unselfish service, and his loss will be
keenly felt. The Committee tender to his
widow and other relatives their deepest sympathy.
7th April 1930 – BCC Parks Committee
Sub-Committees’
Reports
The Report
of the Administration Sub-Committee was presented:-
Wages of
Manual Staff
Your
Sub-Committee submit herewith a list of recommendations approved by your
Chairman for increases in the wages of the manual staff. Your Sub-Committee recommend that the
proposed increases be approved with effect from the 1st April 1930.
Recommendations as to increases in wages of
manual Staff to be submitted to the
Administration Sub-Committeeon the
24th March, 1930, and to take effect as from 1st April,
1930.
Park King’s
Heath
Name of
employee A.L. Fulford
Designated
Post Pk. Labourer
Length of
Service 8½ years
Present
Wages £2.
11. 10.
Increase
Recommended 2/-
8954 Resolved:-
That the recommendations of the Administration Sub-Committee with regard
to increases of wages of manual staff as set out in detail in their Report be
approved and adopted, with effect from 1st April, 1930.
7th April 1930 – BCC Parks Committee
Sub-Committees’
Reports
The General
Purposes Sub-Committee presented their report:-
King’s
Heath Park: Widening and reconstruction
of railway bridge in Avenue Road, King’s Heath
A
communication has been received from the City Engineer and Surveyor in
connection with the above mentioned bridge which is a source of anxiety to the
Public Works Committee, to the effect that it is necessary to include in the
highway an area of 262 square yards of land forming part of King’s Heath Park,
and to batter back the adjoining land as indicated upon the plan now submitted.
The City
Surveyor requested your Committee’s agreement to this being done in the
interests of public safety, and stated that he would provide a suitable fence
in place of that now existing.
Upon the
authority of your Chairman the City Surveyor was informed that in the special
circumstances of the case, your Committee would have no objection to the
proposal upon the terms indicated in his letter, and the Committee’s
confirmation is now desired.
It has been
pointed out that there are a number of trees standing on the site to be taken
into the roadway and on the land to be battered back. With regard to the former, it will of course
be necessary to remove them, and in regard to the latter, the City Surveyor has
been requested to save as many of these as may be possible.
9048 Resolved:-
That, subject to the approval of the City Council and Minister of
Health, an area of approximately 262 square yards of land forming part of
King’s Heath Park, be transferred to the Public Works and Town Planning
Committee in connection with the widening of the railway bridge in Avenue Road,
upon the terms mentioned in the report of the General Purposes Sub-Committee.
28th June 1930 – Birmingham News
Week’s News from the Districts
Moseley & Kings Heath
Wesleyans’ Park Service – Kings Heath Wesleyans held their annual summer service in the local park on Sunday evening. Several hundred people gathered round the bandstand used as a rostrum for the choir who, under the conductorship of Mr. Leslie White, sang anthems and led the singing of hymns. Addresses were given by the Rev. H. Percival Harris and Mr. Wall.
On the preceding Saturday the annual summer outing of Kings Heath Wesleyan Sunday School was held, when a party of scholars, teachers and members of the congregation, numbering over 400, went to Weston-super-Mare. The arrangements were made by Mr. G. Parkes, hon. sec.
30th June 1930 – BCC Parks Committee
Avenue
Road Bridge – Transfer of Land to Public Works Committee
9077 On Minute No. 9048, the following
communication was received from the Public Works and Town Planning Committee:-
758 Resolved:- That, subject to the approval of the City
Council, the terms arranged with the Parks Committee for the surrender of 262
square yards of land, forming part of King’s Heath Park, for the widening of
Avenue Road, King’s Heath, be approved.
Sub-Committees’
Reports
The
Administration Sub-Committee presented a report:-
Staff
Probationers
The
undernoted employees of the department have now completed their probationary
period satisfactorily. It is recommended
that they be placed upon the permanent staff, subject in the case of the Parks
Policemen and Boatmen to their passing the necessary medical examination.
Name Wardle,
A.P.
Park King’s
Heath
Nature of
Employment Pk. Labr.
Entered
Service 14.3.29
Date of
Birth 17.11.1911
Use of
Parks, etc.
On the
authority of the Chairman of the General Committee, the use of the parks and
recreeationgrounds has been granted to the following organizations on the dates
and for the reasons stated.
Date June 22, July 13
Park King’s Heath
Organisation King’s Heath Wesleyan Church
Purpose Open Air Meeting in
Bandstand
9087 Resolved:-
That the various employees referred to in the report of the Administration
Sub-Committee having satisfactorily completed their probationary period be
placed upon the permanent staff, subject in the case of the Parks Policemen and
Boatmen to their passing the necessary medical examination.
9089 Resolved:-
That the granting of the use of parks and recreationgrounds to the
various organizations and for the purposes detailed in the report of the
Administration Sub-Committee be approved and confirmed.
9146 Statement of Income and Expenditure for
year ending 31st March 1930
A statement
of the income and expenditure of the committee for the year ended 31st
March 1930 was submitted and approved:
Kings Heath Park
Estimated 1929/30 Actual for year
Income £ 385 £ 409. 14. 1.
Expenditure £1,475 £1,420. 10.
0.
19th July 1930 – Birmingham News
The Week’s News from the Districts
Moseley & Kings Heath
Service in Kings Heath Park – Every year the members of the Kings Heath Wesleyan Church, Cambridge Road, hold two open-air services during the summer months and on Sunday, despite the unpropitious weather, the second of this year’s efforts was made in the bandstand of Kings Heath Park.
There was a good number of church members present and many of the people in the Park were attracted to the service, largely by the music. The church choir is a very fine one and led, in the absence of Mr. Leslie White, by Mr. Fred Hobday, rendered an anthem. The Rev. H. Percival Harris was the speaker.
26th July 1930 – Birmingham News
Seen and Heard in the Suburbs
A New Park Edict
On the notice board of Kings Heath Park I read, today, the official declaration that “motor cars and other vehicles are not permitted in the Public Parks and Recreation Grounds after 10 a.m., unless on business connected with such Parks or Recreation Grounds.”
So Mr. Edward Sharp, who advertised the absurdity of the previous regulation that allowed motoring but banned cycling, by getting himself summoned, has not suffered in vain.
All that remains now is to discover whether little Tommy who makes his tour in his tiny “car” is prohibited like the rest of us. Seeing that the order refers comprehensively to “other vehicles”, I imagine, strictly – he is.
28th July 1930 – BCC Parks Committee
Reports
of Sub-Committees
The
Administration Sub-Committee presented a report:-
Use of
Parks, etc.
On the
authority of the Chairman of the General Committee, the use of the parks and
recreeationgrounds has been granted to the following organizations on the dates
and for the reasons stated.
Date July 20
Park King’s Heath
Organisation King’s Heath Branch of the
League of Nations
Purpose Public Meeting
Your
Sub-Committee recommend that the action taken be confirmed.
9089 Resolved:-
That the granting of the use of the various parks and recreation grounds
to the Organizations and for the purposes mentioned in the report of the
Administration Sub-Committee be confirmed.
16th August 1930 – Birmingham News
Speaking in the Rain
Park Gathering
Kings Heath L.N.U.
The Kings Heath Branch of the League of Nations Union have been singularly unlucky in respect to the holding of their open-air summer propaganda meetings. A few weeks ago a meeting convened for the local Park had to be abandoned on account of the torrential rain. Another arranged for last Sunday, in the Park, came near to a similar fate, but the rain clearing, it was resolved to proceed with the meeting under the cover of the large shelter, where about a hundred people listened to a speech by Mr. Reginald Lee, of the League of Nations Union.
Dangers of War
Mr. Edward Sharp, who presided, said if the people realized the danger of the wars of the future there would be no need to appeal to them to back up the work of the League. Non-political and un-sectarian, it asked people of all or no religions to spread the Gospel of Peace. They specially appealed to ex-Service men, the men who went through the war, who knew the horrors and inhumanity of war, to come and lead the van in the name of eight millions of fallen men, who died to end war.
They appealed also to women in all classes of society, because women suffered most by war, to help to end war. Trade Unionists who wished to maintain their standard of life - higher here than in other European nations - should back up the work of the International Labour Office of the League, which was working for better conditions amongst their competitors; and which had already secured the 48 hours’ week for workers of most nations, was stopping sweating, and the employment of women and children in many unsuitable trades on the Continent. War had always meant paying tribute and slavery, and the peoples of Europe were in economic slavery today, working probably 12 hours a week to produce tribute due to loans contracted during the General War. He intimated that they hoped to arrange another and more successful meeting in a few weeks’ time.
Unanswerable
Mr. Lee dealt with the question, “How can we get rid of war?” Sixteen years after the greatest war in history, with all its miseries and suffering, we were actually considering how we could get rid of war. The case against war was unanswerable. It was morally indefensible. No one out of a lunatic asylum believed that war was desirable or necessary. Yet we were still faced with the danger of future wars.
It had to be recognized that man was made up of fighting tendencies, but this element could be adapted to fighting against war and the many social evils.
“Unbridled Press”
Another difficulty was an unbridled Press, who inflamed national animosities and suspicions, thus inculcating the spirit that was needed in war. Against all the influences working for war there could be set the invulnerable power of thought, and in the League of Nations Union they had a unifying force for ridding the world of war, which all could support.
Mr. Lee gave illustrations of the practical value of the League, which had already stopped five wars, and had rendered great service in international labour questions, including the employment of children of tender years and the employment of women under male foremen in the manufacture of Persian carpets.
A vote of thanks to the speaker was proposed by Mr. G. Handley, seconded by Mr. H. Lovatt. Mr. Evan J. Jones is the hon. Secretary of the Kings Heath Branch of the League of Nations Union.
23rd August 1930 – Birmingham News
The Week’s News from the Districts
Moseley & Kings Heath
Parks Bowling – In the City of Birmingham Parks Bowling League on Saturday, Kings Heath secured a good victory over Small Heath by 235 points to 178.
Cannon Hill lost to Queen’s Park at Harborne by 206 points to 222, but in the Second team encounter at home won by 149 points to 127.
Uffculme beat Ward End by seventy points, the score being 239-169.
30th August 1930 – Birmingham News
War in 1935?
Need for United Action to Combat Danger
L.N.U. Appeal
The Kings Heath Branch of the League of Nations Union made their third attempt, on Sunday, of holding an open-air meeting in Kings Heath Park, and this time found sunshine at last. The two previous attempts were made under the unlucky aegis of St. Swithin and his “Forty Days”. Pertinacity was rewarded, and a good attendance was secured.
Mr. Edward Sharp, who presided, asked the question, “Why are we against war?” It was, he continued, because it had proved to be a ghastly failure, bringing only misery to victors and vanquished. The nature of war had changed. It had become wholesale murder, not by fighting, but by the use of all the most diabolic mechanism and chemistry that man could devise.
He appealed to men and women of all political parties to give the League of Nations Union their support; with a specially earnest appeal to all who were Christians to follow their Leader, who had laid down the principles of international brotherhood and good-will. It was promised by some that war would break out again in 1935, and unless the people of all nations joined together to enforce their will for peace, there was a great danger of this coming true.
What the League Has Done
Councillor H. Simpson, the speaker of the evening, devoted his remarks largely to an exposition of the Humanitarianism of the League of Nations. He described the saving of Austria and the city of Vienna from ruin and bankruptcy, and of the people from want, starvation, and despair. He also laid emphasis on the action of the League in securing the cessation of child labour in the Persian carpet factories, and the removal of girls and women from night work in the mills of Japan. He showed how the White Slave traffic, which individual national governments had failed to control, had been practically stopped by the work of the International Labour Organization of the League. He also instanced how the standard of life, hours of work, and rates of pay of European countries had been improved, thus supporting the higher standards reached by the workers in this country. Concluding, Mr. Simpson appealed to the audience to become members of the Union, and support the League, as the only hope for world peace.
Mr. George Handley moved a resolution pledging support of the Union by the meeting.
The resolution was unanimously carried.
27th September 1930 – Birmingham News
The Week’s News from the Districts
Moseley & Kings Heath
Parks Bowlers – Kings Heath Park Bowling Club visited Highgate Park on Saturday to play Highgate Park B.C. in the Senior Division of the Birmingham Parks Bowling League, Highgate won by an easy margin. Scores (details then given – ending with) total: Kings Heath 203, Highgate 215.
6th October 1930 – BCC Parks
Committee
Avenue
Road Bridge
9159 On Minute No. 9048, the Clerk submitted
resolution No. 29776 of the City Council approving the transfer by the Parks
Committee to the Public Works and Town Planning Committee of 262 square yards
of land forming part of King’s Heath Park for the widening and reconstruction
of the bridge in Avenue Road, King’s Heath.
Sub-Committee
Reports
The
Administration Sub-Committee presented their report:-
Use of
Parks, etc.
The use of
parks and recreation grounds has been granted to the following organizations on
the dates and for the purposes stated.
Date Aug 10, Aug 24
Park King’s Heath
Organisation League of Nations Union
Purpose Public Meeting
Your
Sub-Committee recommend that the action taken be confirmed.
9171 Resolved:-
That the action taken in granting the use of the various parks and
recreation grounds to the organizations and for the purposes mentioned in the
Report of the Administration Sub-Committee be confirmed.
The General
Purposes Sub-Committee presented their report:-
Hockey
in the Parks, 1930/31
Hockey
pitches have been let to clubs for the 1930/31 season as follows:-
Park King’s Heath
Name of
Club Boxfoldia
Rental £15
Secretary Miss D.A. Humphries,
Boxfoldia Ltd., Ten Acres, Pershore Road, Birmingham.
9186 Resolved:-
That the letting of the hockey pitches in the parks for the season
1930-31 as detailed in the report of the General Purposes Sub-Committee, be
confirmed.
29th November 1930 – Birmingham News
The Week’s News from the Districts
Moseley & Kings Heath
Park Bowlers Dine – The members of the Kings Heath Park Bowling Club held their annual dinner on Wednesday, at the Cross Guns Hotel, Mr. J. Harvey presiding in the unavoidable absence of the President (Mr. W. York). (Full report then follows – with no further reference to the Park)
6th December 1930 – Birmingham News
The Week’s News from the Districts
Moseley & Kings Heath
Bowlers’ Big Drive – Kings Heath Park Bowling Club made a big success of their Christmas Poultry Drive, held on Monday at the Parish Hall. There were 260 players. Messrs. J. Harvey and F.E. Hancock shared the duties of M.C., assisted by Mr. J. G. Underwood, the hon. secretary, who made all the arrangements. The premier prize was a turkey, the first lady’s and gentleman’s prizes were turkeys; the second prizes, geese; the third, chickens; and the two interval prizes were chickens.
The prize winners were:- Premier, Mrs. Dolphin. Ladies: 1, Mrs. P. Gilbert; 2, Mrs. J. Baggott; 3, Mrs. Hancock; interval, Mrs. S. Moon.
Gentlemen: 1, Mr. W. Finch; 2, Mr. S. Dafforn; 3, Mr. Vickerstaff; interval, Mr. W.R. Holmes.
[1] The Funeral of Mr. Smith is reported in full in the Birmingham News dated 8th March 1929 (with no further references to Kings Heath Park).
