History Talks

Local History Talks move online

Following the success of the Bromsgrove Society’s Summer Season Talks Online, the Tuesday evening Local History Talks will be held on the Zoom platform until the end of the year.

An average of 85 participants watched the three afternoon talks held in July, with viewers tuning in locally and from American and Canada, to hear about Bromsgrove’s Perry Hall, Tracing your Ancestors and the Bromsgrove Guild.

The first Tuesday evening talk will be on 15th September at 7.30pm. Local historian and researcher Annie Deeley, who runs the popular Facebook page Bromsgrove Past & Present will give the presentation.

Homes Fit for Heroes? Bromsgrove and the Post War Housing Crisis

The story behind Prime Minister David Lloyd George’s famous slogan and Bromsgrove’s efforts to overcome the national housing shortages after both world wars. The talk will be illustrated with examples of slum clearance in Bromsgrove and, in 1946, the arrival of the first prefabs in Sidemoor and the development of council housing in Catshill, Charford and Aston Fields.

On Tuesday 29th September at 7.30pm, Alastair Moseley will commemorate a big birthday!

Big Bertha: Celebrating the Centenary Year of a Bromsgrove Icon

Alastair is a long-time railway enthusiast with a passion for the Lickey Incline, sparked at a young age when he visited the Incline to watch the trains with his father. Alastair will tell us about the development of Bromsgrove’s much-loved banking engine, why it came to be created and why it was fondly known as “Big Bertha”. He will explore some of the engine’s technical features and how these were developed and changed during its 36 year career. Alastair’s presentation will include photographs of the locomotive throughout its life, some of which have not been previously published.

This talk is sure to be of interest to railway enthusiasts and Bromsgrovians alike.

Anyone interested in viewing the talks should register via www.bsoc.co.uk Participants will be given the option to make a donation to cover costs and for the Methodist Centre where the talks are usually held.