Thanks to Brenda Thomas for these great pictures of Stirchley Baths. Brenda is in charge of the photographic archive of Stirchley Community Group and is uncovering some wonderful snapshots of the building’s history. We hope to share more with you soon.
If any of these pictures trigger stories or memories, please get in touch! Email stirchleybaths@gmail.com – use our Facebook page here or tell us about them on Twitter using @stirchleybaths or #stirchleybaths
The deep end and the palm tree mural
During the winter months in the 1940s, the swimming pool at Stirchley Baths was boarded over to create a dance floor and bands used to play. More photographs HERE.
Do you know what this building was used for? Brenda believes it was to store the wooden dance floor boards
Brenda Thomas has been a stalwart of the Stirchley community for decades. She set up the Stirchley Tuesday Youth Club in the 1970s and was instrumental in the building of the village’s existing community centre in Pershore Road. Brenda is a member of the Stirchley Baths community stakeholder group. Here she explains why…
Click HERE to find out more about Brenda and the Stirchley Tuesday Youth Club
Committee member Brenda Thomas set up a youth club in Stirchley in the 1970s with other mums and grandmothers called the ‘Stirchley Youth Tuesday Club’.
It was originally held at Stirchley Primary School – and 200 children turned up on the first night over the two sessions that were held: 6-8pm for primary children; 8-10pm for secondary school.
Brenda says: “I was surprised how many people turned up because it was thick, pea soup fog. You couldn’t see across the playground. And yet all these children were waiting for this youth club, which was amazing.”
Listen to Brenda’s account of the first night here, and the kinds of activities that were held (including south Birmingham youth club swimming galas at Stirchley Baths)…
As well as providing activities for generations of children, the Stirchley Youth Tuesday Club had another legacy for the town too.
A need to find a new premises in the early 1980s (due to extra caretakers being required for out-of-school activities) led to the creation of the Stirchley Community Group and, eventually, Stirchley’s existing community centre in Pershore Road.
Were you there on the first night of Stirchley Youth Tuesday Club? Did you go to the youth club and get involved in the sports competitions and swimming galas at Stirchley Baths? Share your memories and stories with us – please email stirchleybaths@gmail.com – pop it on our Facebook page here or tell us on Twitter using @stirchleybaths or #stirchleybaths
The piece of shrapnel that was found in Brenda Thomas’s loft in the early 1970s
Committee member Brenda Thomas brought along a piece of bomb shrapnel that was found in her loft in the 1970s to the community hub meeting on Monday.
The bomb landed near the junction of Elm Tree Road and Charlotte Road during the Second World War and destroyed a number of properties.
Brenda’s property was about 50 feet away – and a piece of the bomb remained in her loft for three decades before it was discovered.
Have a listen to Brenda explaining all here:
Thank you to Wendy Pearson for this map that shows where the bombs fell in and around Stirchley during the Second World War. The red dots indicate the bomb sites.
Do you have any information about bomb sites in Stirchley or any stories to share?
