It was pleasing to learn that our Chairman, Gary Smith, is making a steady recovery after a serious medical operation and hopes to attend Society events in the not too distant future.
Feedback since the 10th October visit to the ‘Mother of Pearl’ establishment has been very positive. Thanks are afforded to Pam plus the team for making the arrangements and to Pauline for providing a summary of the outing as below.

‘The visit was a step back in time and very interesting. A skilled profession (Mr Hook – a one man band) showed us how each step was performed to create mother of pearl buttons on various machinery. The machinery was old but maintained with pulleys and grinders. The shells he used were stacked up in piles and the scrap pile was his ‘stock pile’. He gave a very amusing talk and showed us around the small and cramped unit which had an Aladdin’s Cave of various old items’. The pictures below show Mr Hook at his work.

‘Our onward journey took us to visit the Pen Museum in the Jewellery Quarter of Birmingham. It was very interesting to see how many pen nibs were on display along with fountain pens, typewriters, badges and all sorts of memorabilia. All round, a very enjoyable day out’.

The Society participated in the Bridgtown Society Open Day on October 20th. Tony, Diane and Derrick manned our display and confirmed an interesting day was held as ‘quiet periods were soon over as more people quickly came into the event’.

Rose Westwood gave an interesting talk at the Coffee morning on ‘the life of a Vicars wife’ and also encouraged discussions and thoughts on community life and spirit, especially within Great Wyrley.

Detailed preparations are on-going ‘behind the scenes’ to make good use of the new materials being kindly bequeathed (or donated) to the Society in readiness for the Annual Event on 16th November at Harrisons Club.

Further Great War project details have been provided to the Heritage Lottery Fund in support of our funding request. It has been stated that ‘it is very competitive and we should have a response by the end of November’.

Members were asked at the Coffee Morning if they would wish to receive electronic copies of the monthly newsletter. An initial list has been raised of accepters. Should anyone subsequently wish to join the list, please tell anyone on the Management Committee or drop an e-mail to ron.myatt@sky.com. We would be especially pleased to forward the newsletter to members who are unable, for any reason, to attend the monthly Coffee Mornings.

Ron Myatt

Dave Battersby provided a thoroughly enjoyable session at the coffee morning displaying a large variety of pictures of Cannock from his large library. The picture below shows Dave providing supporting commentary during his presentation.

It is hoped that Dave can join us again at a future coffee morning as there are still many as yet unseen pictures in his library.

It has been decided to postpone further Genealogy for Beginners sessions for the foreseeable future. A provisional restart aim has been confirmed to link with the return to full fitness of Ray Franks and the envisaged Great War data that will be gathered as the commemoration arises next year.

We attended the Cheslyn Hay Society Open Day on September 28th. Our display focussed on productions we have issued since our formation four years ago. Numerous visitors came to the display. They included relatives of an ex-miner (William ’Harry’ Willis from Holly Lane) who died in 1949.

An invitation has been received to attend the Bridgetown Society Open Day being held at Bridgetown Working Men’s Club on Sunday, October 20th.

By invitation, we attended a meeting at the Salem, Cheslyn Hay organised by the Cannock Chase Mining Museum. The meeting shared on-going activities and envisaged future plans with information that could be beneficial to all Societies. A number of neighbouring Societies were in attendance. This included Norton Canes, Heath Hayes and Chasewater Light Railway.

It has been drawn to our attention that a number of members have experienced parking problems at the Centre on coffee mornings. Members are asked to park as considerately as possible, especially in order to retain a happy interface with neighbours in nearby buildings.

Community News

This has been a regular feature at coffee mornings for a considerable time. All updates are given verbally, as preferred. We were asked if they could be included in the written newsletter. We will be pleased to include anything from a charity or not-for-profit Organisation. It can publicise upcoming events, such as fund-raising ‘specials’ or a description of an event that has taken place. Please leave details at ron.myatt@sky.com and efforts will be made to include the requested details in the next newsletter. Many thanks.
Ron Myatt
September 2013

Visit to Mother of Pearl factory confirmed for October 10th. Members are asked to speak with Pam Ball for any further information that is required.

Gavin Williamson M.P. for South Staffordshire joined us for the August coffee morning. He re-iterated the importance of heritage in our community and looked forward to the next publication by the Society.

A letter was subsequently received in which an invitation was issued to the Society to visit the Houses of Parliament, if desired. Members are to be asked if this is something they would wish to be further considered by the Society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andrew George, Chief Archivist at Lichfield Record Office also joined us for the August coffee morning. He bought an array of ‘old’ documents with him that are applicable to Great Wyrley and are retained at the Record Office while available to the general public to view.

Great War Artefacts have continued to be received. Thanks are afforded for the contents received and members are asked for their continuing support. The artefacts received to date indicate that more heirlooms are held in wider family collections (often stored in the attic or similar).

This level of support has encouraged the Society to submit a funding application bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). The outcome should be known in 8 to 10 weeks. If successful, it will enable our efforts to commemorate the Great War to be further developed.

The Express and Star has submitted a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund to digitize its vast photo library and make it available over the internet to the general public. It called for support and the Society sent a letter that has since been published.

The demise of the Carl Chinn show on WM radio has been commented on by members. The Society asked for the support of Gavin Williamson to address the concerns and the following correspondence has subsequently been received.

Community News
Community First Responders attended more than 200 incidents last year in Great Wyrley and Cheslyn Hay last year. They save lives and they are all volunteers doing their best in their spare time. They have a vehicle that is well past its sell-by date spending much time off-the-road. Also, they have very few volunteers in the village. Can anyone help them in some way?

Stan Mould had previously been a long-distance enquirer to the Society about his family heritage. During a visit to the U.K. from his home in Thailand, he called into our coffee morning and spoke of his family history and the gaps in his knowledge. The picture right shows him speaking with the members.

Following his visit, Stan moved on to other locations to undertake further research. A subsequent phone call confirmed a visit to a church in Ranton had provided him with further information about burials within his family.
The visit to the Mother of Pearl factory has been confirmed for October 10th. Transport arrangements have been confirmed and interested members have signed up. A waiting list has been started in the event of cancellations arising. Pam Ball is drawing up the schedule and members are asked to speak directly with Pam for further information.
It is hoped that our M.P. Mr Gavin Williamson will call in for a short visit during our August coffee morning.

The coffee morning schedule has been updated. It now includes:-
November 2013 – Andy Parsons – Uncle Tom in the Great War
January 2014 – Major Ted Green – Staffordshire Regiment Museum

Due to the unavoidable cancellation of the Guest Speaker, an alternative session was quickly arranged for the July coffee morning. Members shared a number of recollections of growing up in the Black Country, Walsall and Great Wyrley. The session provided much comment and jovial inter-action especially ’32 pints of milk being delivered at a doorstep following a 3-2 football result being left for the milkman to know about’. It is hoped that the original guest speaker can join us at a future coffee morning, yet to be arranged.

The Society Open Day was re-confirmed as Saturday, 16th November at Harrisons Club in Wharwell Lane. The main theme of the Open Day is the period after the Great War up to the outbreak of World War 2. A request has been made for all members to re-check their heirlooms to see what photos and artefacts can be made available for inclusion in the Open Day displays. A number of members have kindly lent, or bequeathed, their Great War memorabilia to the Society, in response to our requests. They are being catalogued and archived, as best suited. The range of contents received in July has been excellent. We hope to receive further contents as we move towards commemorating the start of the Great War and produce an inventory to share with members at a future time.

An ‘Expression of Interest’ form has been submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund (hlf) for a possible project about the social history of the village and surrounding areas during the period around, and including the Great War. As part of this Expression, informal discussions have been held with neighbouring Societies to see if a broader social history might be advantageously produced. They are the first tentative steps of many that have to be undertaken should a project subsequently be supported.

The unknown soldier. Does anyone know the name of the soldier in the picture right? More details will hopefully be included in a later newsletter as, and when, we get some responses.
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News From Members
The Wyrley Hub is a community drop-in facility for a pleasant informal chat and cups of tea and cake. Every Wednesday (except August bank holiday week) run at St Andrews Church, Hilton Lane between 1-3 pm. Volunteers are always welcome to support the efforts. Kathleen Curd (07914 413128) will be pleased to hear from you).

 

June Newsletter
A bright sunny June 29th helped to bring a large crowd to the annual carnival held on the Star field. Our stall was visited by a number of Society members plus a lot of general enquiries from carnival attendees. Two general scenes are displayed below.

Mick Drury was our guest speaker at the coffee morning held on June 20th. His vast repertoire of anecdotes about being a miner at Littleton Colliery provided a hugely entertaining session. It highlighted the camaraderie that existed in the teams working in the huge coal seams underground and provided many humorous examples for our members. Mick’s obvious enthusiasm can perhaps be seen in the following somewhat grainy shot taken when he was ‘in full flow’

The A.G.M. was held on 20th June. A précis of the main points arising was:-

The Chairman reported on a busy year for the Society with the highlight, amongst many activities, being the publication of our book ‘Reflections Over The Years’.

The Treasurer confirmed that costs were being regularly monitored, especially the rising printing costs. Membership fees for the forthcoming year were confirmed as unchanged from the current year.

The Secretary stated a request to stand down from the role and proposed that Diane Tolley take over. This was seconded and approved by the members.

A range of actual and desired developments was outlined with a request being issued for further membership participation in the process, wherever possible.

The Management Committee of the Society stated their willingness to continue in the forthcoming year. This was proposed, seconded and approved by the members. Calls were made for further members of the Society to join the Management Committee.

The Chairman thanked all members of the Society, plus the Management Committee for their support and looked forward to another interesting and happy year ahead.

The schedule of speakers for the coffee mornings has been updated. Due to circumstances outside of our control, the guest speaker for July has had to temporarily withdraw. It is hoped that it can be re-arranged for a later time.

The August speaker has been changed and we are pleased to confirm that Andrew George from the Lichfield Record Office will be joining us. Andrew will bring some original records with him for what should be an interesting and informative session.

We are pleased to confirm that Major Ted Green has agreed to join us for our January ’14 coffee morning. The Major will be giving us an address on the Staffordshire Regiment, their museum and some of their future plans.

We are hopeful that an ‘interesting’ guest speaker can be confirmed in the near future for our December coffee morning. The list of speakers scheduled for the upcoming months is included in the ‘events’ section of our web-site.

The visit to the ‘Mother of Pearl’ factory has been confirmed for October 10th. Names of interested members have been forwarded and final arrangements, including cost, will be confirmed in the near future. It is likely that the visit will be combined with a visit to the Jewellery Quarter museum or another local attraction.

Great War and other war memorabilia have been kindly loaned to the Society. They include local details of Great War army volunteers and it is hoped to share more details with members in the near future. It is believed that some contents may be of wider interest and agreement will be sought to display the items in regional displays and exhibitions, if and where appropriate. It is hoped that further contents will be forthcoming from Society members and other people in the local community.

Further requests for support with family and general heritage details have been received. If, and where, possible, any findings are shared with the requestor and other Society members. One long-distance request is being followed up and it is probable that the enquirer may join us at the July coffee morning during a planned visit to the U.K.

The demise of the Carl Chinn show on WM has dismayed many members. This view has also been stated by members of other Societies and Organisations in the locality. It has been suggested that some form of petition / letter of complaint might be raised to the BBC and members will be asked for their support / agreement to this action at the July coffee morning.

The Society shares information on events being held in the community at each coffee morning. It has been suggested that it would be helpful if the details, including feedback from the events, are included in this monthly newsletter. A first entry is included below and members are asked to emai any preferred contents to Ron Myatt for inclusion, if possible.

Ron Myatt

“CALL THIS A PANTOMIME”
By Pauline Kelsey

Great Wyrley Townswomen Guild Drama Group’s performance of “Call This a Pantomime” last March was a ‘Right Pantomime’ and certainly was a great success. “Oh Yes it Was”, especially as the weather dumped 9” of snow on Great Wyrley on the day of the first night’s show, and as they say ‘The show must go on’. Fortunately the audience turned up and the show went ahead.

The ladies of Great Wyrley T.G. had written this Panto themselves with the idea for the storyline from the Producer Elaine Mills and her son Paul. Grandchildren and 3 gentlemen joined the cast and 2 young musicians produced the music and Brian Mills designed and printed the tickets and programmes.

The Synopsis was – At the TG Committee Meeting a discussion took place about the next Panto Production. 2 Tea ladies provided some comedy. Alice fell asleep and dreamt!!! Fairy Godmother became E Fairy.Com and was training up Tinkerbell to be her replacement. Alice in Wonderland was trying to find The Mad Hatters Tea Party. The White Rabbit, rabbit and the Cheshire Cat had stolen the Olympic Torch. E Fairy.Com reported on events throughout the Panto. Tinkerbell and Alice were her roving reporters. Peter Rabbit was the Dwarfs Olympic Coach and arrived on his Scooter looking for the 8 Dwarfs who were supposed to be training for the Dwarf Olympic Games. The Cheshire Cat was turned into a Dwarf. They all enjoyed dancing to Gangum Style and Hey Hey Alice. The punk Ugly Sisters wanted to enter The Voice of Great Wyrley’s Got Talent Competition and were in love with Tom Jones. The Queen of Tarts tried to teach them how to bake some Tarts. Teenager Cinderella didn’t want to go to the old fashioned Ball, she preferred a Disco but did find a Prince Charming from the Audience. The Dwarfs galloped on their hobby horses through the Forest accompanied by Panto Cow Daisy and the two tea ladies, in pursuit of the White Rabbit. Prime Minister Tweedle Dumb and his Deputy Tweedle Dumber were the stand-up comics (a bit like their day jobs then!). The Voice of Great Wyrley’s Got Talent Competition took place and finally everyone found the Mad Hatters Tea Party. The Panto Dame arrived with the Cake and then Elaine Mills arrived with the Olympic Torch to light the candle on the cake. A grand finale followed and the show had been enjoyed by audience and cast alike.

There was plenty of action and comedy throughout the show and audience participation too. Two nights performances raised £787 for three Charities, Cancer Research UK, Children’s Air Ambulance and The Samaritans.