An Eclectic Collection
of
Local Historical Articles
Title page of
Thomas Pensotti's
Coronation Album
1902
King Edward VII
To access various articles use either the Link or the Green Button whichever is appropriate. The Link will take you directly to the article. The Button will take to an introductory page with links to usually more than one article.
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1. Trade Directories provide a wealth of information about residents and business in Town, Cities and Villages. Here we provide a collection of transcriptions of Kidderminster directories dating from 1820 to 1948.
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2. George Edward Roberts was a member of a family of drapers whose business was in the Bull Ring from the early 1830s until 1887 when it became 'Holders'. George was an interesting character and liked to share his deep interests in Geology, Botany and Local History with others in his writings and his collaborations with self-education institutions. You can access many of his unpublished works here:
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3. Walter William Law was born in Kidderminster in late 1837 to carpet and yarn dealer John Law and his wife Elizabeth (Bird). He emigrated to New York in 1860 and had extremely successful career in the carpet and furnishing trade with W & J Sloane of New York. He became a wealthy man numbering Andrew Carnegie amongst his friends.
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For a more detailed account of the life of this man click on this link: Walter Law
4. Sir Frederick Banting, shown to the right in WW2 uniform, is famous for his work in discovering insulin the first known drug for treating diabetes. For that he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1923. He died in an air crash on his way from Canada to the UK early in 1941 whilst on active war duty. This is the fascinating story of the fatal crash and its connection with Kidderminster.
To read the account click on his photograph above on this link:
Sir Frederick Banting, made his formidable reputation as the main motivator in the discovery and implementation of insulin to treat diabetes. Before Insulin was discovered in 1922 Type 1 diabetes had been a dreadful disease with no hope of successful treatment. The use of insulin was an immediate success and it is now treatable but not yet curable.
Those affected still need to check their glucose and insulin several times a day and ensure appropriate amounts of insulin are injected. This constant monitoring is particularly critical for young children who, of course, require considerable help.
There is a charity, the Junior Diabetic Research Foundation, which sets out to provide help and advice for affected children and their carers. It also supports research aimed at improved drugs and treatment methods with the final aim being elimination of the condition.
If you are interested please visit their website at: JDRF
5. Alphonse Joannin Bouët came to Kidderminster in 1855 from France to work as a Carpet designer. He built French Villa in Comberton Road and he and his family lived there for many years. Read about the family and house here:
French Villa and the Bouët family
6. In 1843 Henry Brinton went on a working expedition to the Port Phllip area of Australia. This Henry was the son of the Henry Brinton who founded the Brintons carpet factory on its site near the Stour behind Vicar Street in central Kidderminster, and the brother of his better known and longer lasting John. This is a story based on his diary for 1843 and includes details of the long and sometimes difficult voyage to Australia.
7. Dave Berry grew up in Hoo Road in the 1940s and 1950s. This item records the his story of that area at that time before it became a casualty of the ring road built in the 1970s. Memories of Hoo Road
8. Articles entitled 'Recollections of Old and New Kidderminster' by Henry Bennett appeared in the Kidderminster Shuttle between 11th December 1909 and the 16th April 1910. You can examine these articles here:
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9. Sister Gregory was a very influential nurse in Kidderminster between 1914 and 1936. This is her story. Nurse Gregory
10. Alderman Thomas Pensotti was a Hatter & Hosier in the Bull Ring and a Town Councillor for many years. In 1902 he was largely responsible for organising a dinner for elderly townsfolk to celebrate the Coronation of Edward VII. In recognition of this he was presented with an commemorative album which he later augmented with paintings of local school children. You can inspect a copy of this album here:
11. When the central premises of the Kidderminster Cooperative Society were rebuilt in the late 1950s this commemorative brochure was produced in November 1958. Co-op Brochure
12. Walter Willetts lived in Wilden and survived his service during WW1 including being involved in the Battle of the Somme.
The WW1 Diaries of Private Walter Willetts
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13. 'Kidderminster and Neighbourhood' is a book published c1903 by J B Beasley of Station Hill. It contains a collection of photographs related to Kidderminster and surrounding districts.
14. In 1897 the Kidderminster Shuttle published an illustrated business directory under the title 'Views and Reviews Kidderminster. It contains an interesting collection of photographs (many of them by local photographer Thomas Ball) and associated information. Views & Reviews
15. Plans have recently been submitted (February 2018) for a new railway station to be built in Kidderminster. The first station was built when the Oxford, Worcester & Wolverhampton Railway (O.W.W.R.) opened on 1st May 1852. The present undistinguished station is the fourth on the site but was preceded by a building of some merit. This account considers the history of the earlier station buildings.
16. From February 1916 until June 2018 The Kidderminster Civic Society ran a series of articles by Melvyn Thompson relating his experiences in St George's Choir from the 1940s onwards. These articles have been collected together and, with a few added illustrations, are available on this website. Click the link below.
17. From almost 40 years in the mid 19th Century the Misses Sarah and Charlotte Shenton ran a small school in or near Church Street. This is the story of that school embellished with letters written by two of the young boarders written to their parents between 1840 and 1842.
18. Daniel Wagstaff Goodwin came from Holt to Kidderminster in 1844. Originating from an established family of flour millers in Holt he bought Town Mills in Mill Street and developed it into a modern (for those times) successful business. He was also active in the town as Mayor and Magistrate and a generous benefactor. The well known Fountain at Blakebrook was donated by him but demolished in 1954. His historical background and details of his descendants via his eldest son John Rowland Goodwin have been recorded by his grandson David Burrard Smith in a genealogical study entitled.
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19. The WW2 Memorial Plaque that once was in the Hall of King Charles I Grammar School at Woodfield, and is now at the King Charles I School on Comberton Road, has on it the names of twenty nine Old Boys of the School inscribed in Gold lettering. These were the Old Carolians who laid down their lives for the Country in the second World War.
The Old Carolians named on the Memorial Board
20. An 1875 St George's Church Parish Magazine contains an article describing the preparations and execution of the Church's celebrations for Whitsunday.
Whitsuntide processions of Witness were first held in Kidderminster in 1823 at the instigation of the Sunday School Union which represented the Non-Conformist churches. First held on a Whit Tuesday the procession change to Whit Monday in 1836. It was not until 1928 that the procession embraced all churches in the town. This popular and enjoyable event continued to thrive until the late 1960s when Whit Monday ceased to be a Bank Holiday.
Before 1928 St George's Church held its own Whitsuntide events and the Parish Magazine has a delightful account for that held in June 1875. The 'School Festival', as it was called, was on Whit Monday and involved Day and Sunday school children. There was a service in the church followed by tea for the children in their separate schools. This was followed by a procession accompanied by the Sunday School 'Drum and Fife Band' to a field for sports and other activities.
St George's Whitsuntide celebrations 1875
21. As part of a data collecting exercise by the Kidderminster & District Archaeological & Historical Society in preparation for its 2006 publication of "Kidderminster & District in World War 2" by Bill Wood, Bob Millward & Robert Barber, many local people provided personal recollections of life in and near Kidderminster in those times. You can listen to their various stories by using the button:
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22. The Victory Tea Company was formed in Kidderminster in 1931 by Ernest Hill, a local man who had earlier been the Leicester representative for the Ceylon Tea Growers Association Ltd. of Nottingham. The business first opened in Sutton Road before moving to a purpose built warehouse and office in Holman Street where tea was blended, packed and stored. Ernie, as he was generally known, also delivered tea, coffee and confectionaries to private customers and businesses throughout Worcestershire and neighbouring counties.
When the company closed in 1965 a large collection of the Victory Tea Company documents was left in a store room and survived the occupation by subsequent businesses until they were donated to Bewdley Museum in 2014. They were subsequently transferred to the Kidderminster & District Archaeological & Historical Society and since then Bob Millward has been sorting the documents into some sort of order and has begun to write up the history of this small local tea delivery company.
You can read the story as far as it has presently been developed by following this link to the appropriate page:
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23. 'Vanishing Kidderminster - should we preserve anything?'
a talk by Ian Walker in 1969
Builder, Archaeologist and Kidderminster & District Archaeological & Historical Society member Ian Walker, gave this talk to the society in 1969. This was in the early stages of a period when large swathes of the town's properties were about to be demolished. Handwritten notes of this talk have survived, but not the illustrative slides. Photographs, intended to provide a flavour of sorts of slides Ian Walker might have used, have been added to a transcript of the notes. The resultant document can be viewed and downloaded, for private use, by clicking this link: Vanishing Kidderminster 1969
24. In 1957 the BBC broadcast a pre-recorded 'Sunday Half Hour' from St George's Church at 10.00 to 10.30pm on the Light Programme and 8.30 to 9.00pm on the General Overseas Service. The conductor was Harold Evers and the organist Vera Summers. You can examine the service sheet by using the link below page. Sunday Half Hour
25. A copy of the Souvenir Programme detailing the arrangements for the Kidderminster celebrations for the Coronation of 1937 can be viewed via the following link: Coronation 1937
26. Caldwall Tower was restored in 1970 by the Borough Council and the link below will take to a leaflet giving details of the re-opening ceremony:
27. Sir Herbert Smith was a very successful carpet industrialist in Kidderminster during the early 1900s and founded Carpet Trades Ltd. in 1919. He died aged 71 in 1943 and here you can find a transcription of his obituary published in the Kidderminster Times on 17th July of that year.
28. The provision of bathing facilities in Kidderminster is a subject that has received little attention in the past. Mike Loftus began his researches into the subject by taking an interest in the origins of the name Reservoir Road.. In his own words: "My initial curiosity about the reservoir that gave the street I live on its name, broadened as the research revealed a real story to be told – and it all rolled on from there".
Mike's research has culminated in a fascinating and detailed account, not only of the swimming pools provided by the local authority and the political shenanigans that accompanied such provisions, but also how our swimming facilities compared and developed relative to elsewhere in urban Britain.
This fascinating account of the history of bathing facilities in Kidderminster since Victorian times. Indoor swimming pools in Mill Street and Castle Road and an outdoor pool in Foley Park all feature in this story; as well as the politics that inevitably comes with provision of facilities by local authorities: money is always part of the equation. Read all about it at:
29. Read about the discovery, many years later, of an unexploded bomb dropped by a Zeppelin raider in 1916 on Kidderminster. The bomb did not explode and remained undetected for many years. An article in the Kidderminster Shuttle in 1945 tells the story of its discovery. A Zeppelin bombed Kidderminster
30. In 1929 T. C. Grove, a Kidderminster man and Old Carolian who had worked at the South Kensington Museum gave an illustrated lecture to the Kidderminster Field Society. The meeting was held in the School of Science lecture room and reported by the Kidderminster Shuttle on 13th April. You can read a transcription of this report by using the link : Historical notes on Kidderminster
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31. On VJ day 1945 the old wooden police traffic pulpit at the bottom of High Street disappeared. Margaret Phelan was a witness to what happened to it and this is her story. We have a blurred distant image of the pulpit but if there exists a closeup photograph of the original wooden 'Pulpit', it is being very elusive. The Disappearance of the Wooden Pulpit
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32. The old Free Library in Kidderminster was demolished in 1992 but its foundation stone survived in the Council's Green Street depot where it was recently discovered by Mike Loftus. You can read about this finding and the Free Library Library by clicking the link: Library Foundation Stone
33. The Rev. Treadwell Russell Nash was a clergyman who first published 'The History and Antiquities of Worcestershire' in 1781, in two volumes. A second addition was published in 1799.
The history covers a period from medieval times through to 1781 and includes a diplomatic account of the discord between Sir Ralph Clare of Caldwall Hall and Richard Baxter. The monuments and associated heraldry in St Mary's Church is also described in some detail. To access a transcription of the section pertinent to Kidderminster use the link: Nash History of Worcestershire: Kidderminster
34. So, what do the Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King in Liverpool (less politely known as Paddy’s Wigwam), the Ritz Hotel in Paris and Kidderminster have in common? Give up? They are all among the many places across the world where you can experience the creative and innovative talents of sculptor and artist, William Mitchell.
In Kidderminster’s case we are talking about the huge retaining wall that Mitchell conceived and crafted which skirts part of the ring road between the Comberton Hill and Worcester Road junctions. It is 300 metres long, 7 metres tall on average, 11 metres at its highest point and covers a total area of 2100 square metres. When it was built in 1973 it was regarded as the largest feature faced retaining wall in the country – and may still hold that accolade.
In simple engineering terms, the structure is a retaining wall and it was a vital element of one phase in the construction of the ring road skirting the centre of Kidderminster which took place almost fifty years ago. But it is much more than that: it is a work of sculptural art in concrete. One element of the Wall which has endured in popular memory is the recently refurbished waterfall.
The wall sits in close proximity to other examples of Kidderminster’s built environment heritage – particularly Stour Vale Mills (listing number 1244819) - now housing the Museum of Carpet - and former Worcester Cross Works (listing number 1457827). Maybe it is still not too late to recognise and celebrate that fact, the artistic legacy from which the town continues to benefit and the contribution of the team comprising Douglas Smith, Jack Stewart the Borough Engineer & Surveyor, George Law and Company and William Mitchell.
We think the time is long overdue for a proper celebration and appreciation of this stunning piece of public art and of the men who saw it produced and are Kidderminster Civic Society are in the process of applying to English Heritage for listing status for this huge piece of art.
To read about this fascinating huge piece of art in concrete use the link below:
The Great Wall of Kidderminster
35. William Edward Wadely, fellow student and friend of Sir Edward Elgar, was organist at St John the Baptist's Church, Kidderminster for 66 years and, amongst other many musical activities, was Kidderminster Borough Organist and President of the Kidderminster Choral Society. An obituary in the Shuttle 1st mat 1943 records many details of his life and career. One interesting fact was that he came to Kidderminster aged 10 as a member of the Christie Minstrels, in the care of Mr. William Ball, the father of that famous music hall star - Miss Vesta Tilley.
Read more in The Obituary
36. During a strike by carpet weavers in 1884, the police from Birmingham were brought in to protect factory owners and non-striking workers. The importation of 'foreign' policemen only exacerbated the situation and there were violent clashes between local men and the police. In one of these disturbances William Wheeler of Hill Street was arrested and, after a brief trial, was sentenced to two months in Worcester Gaol - with hard labour. He always denied the charges and was supported in this by the Carpet Weavers' Association and many other local inhabitants. When he was discharged from prison he was met by family, friends and Association officials who arranged a celebratory, but peaceful, procession with a band leading the way. Read the story here: William Wheeler
37. Mr I L Wedley published the book 'Kidderminster and its Borderland' in 1936 after featuring serialised articles in the Kidderminster Shuttle. The material is a general somewhat personalised historical account of Kidderminster but with an emphasis on Churches and the development of Nonconformity, Music and Friendly Societies; and contains information (particularly about the latter two topics) that would be difficult to source elsewhere.
Kidderminster and its Borderland
38. Kidderminster born Richard Eve became a successful solicitor in Aldershot and was an eminent Freemason. He twice stood as the Kidderminster candidate for Parliament but failed on each occasion. A distinctive and colourful monument to him has stood in Brinton Park since 1901. Read his story here: Richard Eve
39. Mike Loftus has been studying the development of Sutton Park Road from its beginnings. His account delves into the political and business shenanigans accompanying the evolution of this leafy residential street. Sutton Park Road
40. Mike Abraham introduces this topic about the history of Broadwaters Mill: Just before “Lock-down” I was lucky enough to be given two old documents relating to the mill, land, buildings and pools of water, some of which still remain in Broadwaters, and which allowed me many hours of research when there was little else to do! Broadwaters Mill
41. 'Whatever is Wrong with this Town?' by Mike Loftus. A story of epidemics, water supplies, and sewerage in Kidderminster in the 19th century when sanitary conditions in the town left a lot to be desired. Find out how the medical profession, the Town Council, rate payers and National Government played their part in this saga, and how the 1884 typhoid epidemic was managed in comparison to the present Covid-19 pandemic. Whatever is Wrong with this Town?
42. A history of the Minster in Kidderminster is the topic considered by Nigel Gilbert here. The name Kidderminster clearly suggests that at one time there was a minster or monastery in the vicinity of the town. Nigel Gilbert considers, in this account, the various possibilities as to where it might have been situated and provides evidence that the most likely site is that of the present Parish Church of St Mary and All Saints. The Minster
43. Here we present the inimitable story of John Boyd Dunlop's invention of the pneumatic tyre.
John Dunlop was a veterinary practitioner in Belfast when the idea of a pneumatic tyre occurred to him as a way of improving the ride on his son's tricycle. The story of how, from this inconspicuous beginning, he went on to demonstrate the incontrovertible potential for his invention, was first broadcast in 1936 by Dunlop's daughter Jean MacClintock, and later reproduced by The Listener.
The account has nothing really to do with Kidderminster except that a copy of the Listener article was found in the 1938 section of a collection of business papers related to the Victory Tea Company that was based in Holman Street for many years from 1931 until the mid 1960s. The narrative is interesting and perhaps the tenuous connection is sufficient to tempt you to read and enjoy the article. John Dunlop and his pneumatic tyre
44. The "Carpet Hill Steps" provide pedestrian access from Park Lane (near to what was once the Horn & Unicorn) up to Hill Street in Mount Skipet. These steps have provided for many years a convenient way for workers and people who lived in the Mount Skipet area to access carpet factories and shops in the town. Here we tell the story of the steps and how they were once moved to accommodate expansion of a carpet factory. Carpet Hill Steps
45. This story of James Albert Ukawsaw Gonniosaw is of a man born a Grandson of a king in a city in the interior of Africa somewhere east of the Gold Coast. This is a self-told account of his life from then until his arrival in Kidderminster c.1770. To read more then click this Link: Gronniosaw
This account is included here courtesy of the Project Gutenberg e-books.
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46. Researched and written by Mike Loftus, this is an account of Henry Chellingworth of Park Attwood (1817-1875) and the complexities of his life as: landed gentry, brick maker and local politician. Perhaps, his most positive legacy to the people of Kidderminster was to push through the installation of the Baths in Mill Street first opened in 1855 and demolished in 1935.
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47. Many buildings and streets, or parts of streets were built in the 19th century by the activity of Land Clubs and Building Societies. Nigel Gilbert has researched the history if Land Clubs in Kidderminster and written a treatise that was published in the Transactions of the Worcestershire Archaeological Society in 2010. You can study this document here: Land Clubs
48​. Here we present 3 transcriptions of leaflets, issued in Kidderminster between July and October 1939, informing the public and food retailers about Government plans to ensure continuity of food supplies in war-time conditions. They considered increased storage of food, emergences, licensing of retailers, rationing and the importance of reducing wastage. Food control in WW2 -1939
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49. For a while we had in our possession three large books of Kidderminster Borough Council Committee Minutes: the Public Health Committee volume runs from 14th April 1948 to 2nd May 1950, the Watch Committee, 12th May 1940 to 23rd January 1940 and the Town & Planning Committee, 8th October 1929 to 24th July 1945. We began transcribing the latter committee meeting minutes which consists of 454 pages. Unfortunately, we had only transcribed the first 114 pages and the Index when the project ceased. The three volumes have been donated the the Museum of Carpet in Green Street, Kidderminster.
Town & Planning Committee Minutes
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50. On the 27th March 1955 the centre of Kidderminster suffered severe flooding. Much damage was done and 'The Mayor of Kidderminster’s flood relief fund for householders' was set up. The documents kept by the Treasurer (Keith Salter) of the fund have survived and are now in the possession of the Kidderminster Civic Society - courtesy Dulcie Salter. Here you can read a summary of those documents.
The Mayor of Kidderminster’s flood relief fund
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51. King Charles I Grammar School. This brief history of the school and its origins is a transcription of an interesting article by historian Don Gilbert. It was found amongst a bundle booklets and documents donated to the Kidderminster Civic Society in 2021 under the title of 'The People of Worcestershire and their Church' 1880-1980. King Charles I Grammar School
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52. A History of St Mary's School. Mr Ernest C. Hodgkins was headmaster of St Mary's Boys' School for some 30 years and retired in 1941. At his retirement 'do' he responded to congratulations and gifts by tracing the history of the school which went back 237 years. This account was published in the Kidderminster Shuttle on 1st March 1941 and a transcription can be found here.
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53. King George V Silver Jubilee celebrations in Kidderminster 6th May 1935. The Programme of events began with a procession of Civic dignitaries setting out at 10.15am from the Town Hall to the Parish Church for a Thanksgiving service. A variety of public events were organised for the rest of the day held in Brinton and St George's Parks including: music by Military Bands, acts by such artistes as Professor Whyley, a conjuror and ventriloquist, a comedian Arthur Howley and a Dancing display by Miss Patsy Heath and Pupils. To culminate the celebrations there was a Bonfire at Old Aggborough under the care of the Boy Scouts and a Firework Display in Brinton Park. King George V Silver Jubilee
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54. WW2 local Blitz Advice. Early in 1939, before WW2 even began, Local Transport `groups were set up with the purpose of rationalising deliveries, saving fuel and allowing use of vehicles by the authorities in times of emergency. Ernest Hill of the Victory Tea Company became the Group Organiser of the Kidderminster Transport Group and received communications in 1941 about actions and procedures to adopt should Worcestershire be Blitzed by enemy action. These details can be read here:
Local Blitz advice for Worcestershire
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55. Brinton's contribution to the WW2 effort. Carpets production in Kidderminster ceased during WW2 and factories were switched to making armaments and war related goods. Brintons were no exception and were involved in making a variety of weaponry and other materials including: blankets and webbing, weaponry, incendiary bombs, components for Bailey bridges and the humble, but vital, "Jerrican" first developed by the German Army in the North African campaigns. Brintons produced 863,491 Jerricans by training unskilled people to do the required technical tasks. Without those cans it would have been impossible for our D-Day Armies to have cut their way across France at the lightning pace that they did. In 1945 Brintons produced this booklet commemorating their war time efforts. Brintons during WW2
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56. A Kidderminster Harriers Souvenir Programme dated 10th March 1953. On this Tuesday evening football match under floodlighting installed not long before, the Harriers entertained an 'All Star' eleven which contained Tom Finney, Bert Williams, Billy Wright and other notable football players of the time. The Programme, Priced 6d, includes photographs and 'pen pictures' of the star players.
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57. Coronation King Edward VII 1902 Kidderminster Celebrations
The coronation of King Edward VII and his wife Alexandra as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions took place on 9 August 1902. Originally scheduled for 26 June of that year, the ceremony was postponed at very short notice because the king had been taken ill and required surgery.
Kidderminster Borough had planned a series of events for the original Coronation day. First between 10.15 and 11.30 a.m. there was to be a Special Coronation Service at the Parish Church attended by many local dignitaries. In the afternoon Bands were to play in Brinton Park, Children's teas were to be held in their respective schools and afterwards at 5 p.m. a Children's Procession would parade from the Bull Ring to the park. In the evening there were to be many events including: Punch & Judy, a Gymnastic Display, a Blindfold Boxing Competition, Climbing a Greasy Pole and Firework displays. Apart from the children's teas and a planned dinner for 'aged' people on the following Saturday (see also Thomas Pensotti's Coronation Album) these celebrations did not take place on that day and every vestige of decoration around the town was removed.
However, most of the celebrations were reinstated and enjoyed by local inhabitants on 9 August when the Coronation eventually took place.
Coronation King Edward VII 1902 Kidderminster Celebrations
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58. Music and Bandstands in Brinton Park
Phil Ginnings has produced this fascinating history of how Brinton Park has been used over the years for our musical entertainment. Of particular interest is the history of the two very different Bandstands that have stood in the park and why the present bandstand is unique in the country.
Music & Bandstands in Brinton Park
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59. Kidderminster Motors Brochure 1949
Kidderminster Motors was a car sales business in Worcester Road run by the Collins family. The motor racing driver Peter Collins who was killed at the Nurburgring during the German Grand Prix in 1958 was a member of that family. This brochure contains pictures of Peter as well as more general photographs that would be expected in a car sales brochure. THE BROCHURE
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60. Jack Holroyd - player/coach at Kidderminster Cricket Club.
Jack moved from Stockport (in the Central Lancashire League) to Kidderminster in 1947. Previously he had been on the staff of the Lancashire County Cricket Club.
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61. Aspects of the Kidderminster Turnpike Trust.
The Kidderminster Turnpike Act was passed in 1760 and that is the starting point for this account which includes indirect details of the Act and gives maps showing the early roads adopted by the Trust which were spread over a much wider area than just Kidderminster. Kidderminster Turnpike Trust
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62. The T.B.C. Directory for 1948.
T.B.C. (the Tenbury Baths Company) were Automobile Engineers and Main Agents for the Nuffield Organisation the auto manufacturing company whose models included: Riley, M.G., Wolseley, and Morris. This small directory was produced in 1948 for T.B.C.'s customers. Want to know the price of a Morris Series E in 1948? Look here.
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63. National Insurance scheme 1948 - explanatory booklet
The first National Insurance Act was in 1911 following on from the act which instituted the Old Age Pension in 1903. It wasn't until 1946 that the National Insurance scheme was further updated significantly with a subsequent widening of its scope in 1948.
This 32-page booklet was found in a substantial collection of surviving documents of the Victory Company Tea Company (1931-1965) based in Holman Street - proprietor Ernest Hill. It provides comprehensive details about National Insurance at that time.
National Insurance scheme - 1948
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64. The Great Fire at St George's Church 1922
On the morning of Monday 20th November 1922 the population of Kidderminster awoke to the sad news that St George's Church and been burned to a shell overnight. This is the story of that fire and the subsequent restoration of the church as revealed by Mattie Underhill. The Great Fire at St George's
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65. An Index of casualty reports in the Kidderminster Shuttle during WW1
For the whole of the 1st World War The Shuttle included numerous reports of local men who died during this awful war. Robert Michael Pugh searched through the issues of the Shuttle and constructed an Index of all the reports which he made available via a website which now seems to be untraceable. However, his worthy efforts have not been lost and you can view the index here. THE INDEX
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66. Food Retail Workers Minimum Wage in 1949. A document dealing with this subject was found amongst the surviving business papers of Ernest Hill who ran the Victory Tea delivery company in Kidderminster from 1931 until 1965. The 16-page leaflet describes the Statutory Minimum Remuneration for Workers in the Retail Food Trade according to the Wages Council Acts 1945 to 1948. The regulations were effective from 17th October 1949. Amongst the very detailed data we can see in the leaflet is that for a male adult food retail worker aged over 24, in places such as Kidderminster, would get a minimum weekly wage of £4.58p (in present day decimal currency terms) and a female £3.25p. In London they would be paid slightly more: £4.80p and £3.45, respectively. As I write the National Minimum Wage is £9.50 per hour outside London. View the leaflet via this LINK
Food Retail Workers Minimum Wage in 1949
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67. The Dorothy Pugh School of Dance. In the 1940s and 1950s there were a number of Dancing Schools in Kidderminster including those run by Dorothy Pugh, Elsie Dyer and Patsie Heath. This extract from the Kidderminster Shuttle published on the 4th August 1945 records the awards earned the pupils of Dorothy Pugh. Use this LINK to access the article
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68. The Murder of Francis Best in 1771. Best was a miller at Caldwall Mill. This is a transcript of an account of this murder extracted from an early edition of the book written by Benjamin Fawcett. You can choose from two options: One the original setting using the 'long 's' and a second where the long 's' has been replaced with a standard 's' to make it an easier read.
The Murder of Francis Best using a long 's'
The Murder of Francis Best using the Modern 's'
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69. Sealine International. Kidderminster, land locked and deep in the Midlands, might seem an unlikely place for a successful business building luxury sea going boats. But it was just that – and the skills and attitudes that underpinned its historic involvement in carpet design and manufacture were readily transferable into a new trade. Jane Murrant tells the story of Sealine here. Sealine International
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70. Edwards' Grocery Shop, George Street - a postcard. This postcard was sent to our society by Roland Karnatz, an Australian descended from the Edwards' family connected to the card. Its first journey was initiated by an Australian soldier recuperating from injury in 1916 ....... A short but intriguing story.
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