The visit to the Houses of Parliament on May 13th was considered a great success. In Gary’s words, ’48 of us paid a visit. We were met by Gavin Williamson, our M.P. and had the usual group photo (as shown below) in the Great Hall of Westminster. Avery helpful guide took us round the building. A marvellous day out was enjoyed by all which will not be the last day out, I’m sure’

Thanks to the co-operation and support of Ron Mattison and Dave Dunham, a visit has been arranged to the Chase Training huts on 12th June. The coach will leave the Senior Citizens Centre at 10.30 am and return to the Centre by no later than 2.30 pm. The cost is £2.50 per person. There are places available on the coach that can be booked with Diane (414417) or coming to the Centre on the day, subject to availability. A café serving snacks and drinks is nearby and it should be possible for the Great War Trail in the Chase to be followed, if preferred, during the visit.

The June coffee morning is the A.G.M. followed by Gary speaking about Landywood Farm. The July coffee morning address is given by a long-standing resident of the village (Derek France) and includes his participation in the exciting world of speedway racing.

Due to illness, the speaker at the May coffee morning had to withdraw at short notice. A hasty replacement enabled the Society to outline its Great War project, as supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, with special mention being given to a number of on-going and planned activities therein. It is hoped that a written summary will be available for members attending the June coffee morning. One of the activities is summarised below.

Restoration of the plaque / inscription at the Institute on the corner of Norton Lane is scheduled for July time-frame. The feasibility of further restorations is being considered. At present, it includes plaques at the Wesley Chapel and a change to the Memorial Gates.

Recording of coffee morning speakers has been raised for consideration. It especially applies to members who cannot attend the coffee mornings for whatever reason. Speakers’ permission will always be sought before the coffee morning. Would members have any objection to the possibility? It should be raised at the A.G.M. for consideration and, hopefully, agreed, if possible.

Broadband facility should be installed at the Centre in near future. It had been requested by coffee morning speaker(s) in the past and will be invaluable during our Great War project when further research is being undertaken.

As Gary confirmed at the May coffee morning, the Society hopes to start a drop-in facility and, at the same time, help members of the community with their family history. The broadband capability should be of tremendous assistance with this latter objective. The intent is to run the sessions on the fourth Thursday of each month and a provisional autumn time-frame to start has been indicated.

An interesting enquiry has been received from the USA re Wyrley origins and any knowledge of current (or relatively recent) Worley families in the area. Can any members provide any information? It is possible that we may be visited in foreseeable future to further consider the question.

Community Events
The Society is preparing its materials for the upcoming Carnival being held on the Star field on 28th June. The main theme of the Carnival is ‘history’ so we hope to see many members there joining us.

Visits to the National Memorial Arboretum, as supported by District Council members on the Parish Council, are still scheduled, as previously mentioned. Feedback from the earlier visit has been excellent and further information, or bookings, can be made with Sian or Debbie at the Community Centre on 414768.

The Society is promoting an event on behalf of the Royal British Legion and SSAFA for the poppy appeal. On 9th August, a big band concert is being held at Great Wyrley Sports and Social Club. It starts at 8 pm. Advance tickets cost £4 from Gary or £5 payable at the door. The music is provided by the Miller Tones with vocal support from a male and female singer. It promises to be a great night of Glenn Miller tunes and swing music of that era.

At the April coffee morning, Sue Plant provided an entertaining and thoughtful talk on the life and times of her dad, Jack Plant. It especially addressed his war time prisoner of war efforts working on the notorious Sumatra railway line.

Reg Fullalove will be the speaker at the May coffee morning. The A.G.M. will be held at the June coffee morning and will be followed by a talk by Gary Smith outlining his on-going work with the owner of Landywood Farm.

The St. Georges Day celebration went well. This was probably helped by the good weather with the procession and the side stalls (including ours) at Harrisons Club reporting an enjoyable day. Pictures from the day, including some unusual transport are displayed below.

Paul Ford gave an interesting address at an evening meeting at the Centre on April 28th. The topic was ‘Walsall during the Great War period’. It covered various aspects of the town and the community, as seen by the following pictures.

Ron Mattison and Dave Dunham had previously spoken at a coffee morning about the training huts on the Chase during the Great War. They have since issued an invitation for the Society to visit the huts on a specially arranged visit. Gary and Pam extended the invitation to members at the April coffee morning. It is likely that transport can be arranged for a small party to visit in the June / July time-frame, with costs therein borne by the Society. It is hoped that details will be completed to share with members at the May coffee morning and places would be filled on a ‘first come first served’ basis with a ballot being held if it is over-subscribed.

The background research and other work on the Great War continues apace. Numerous current activities are on-going, and future planned activities are being scheduled. It is hoped to summarise the details with members at the May coffee morning. Members may also be especially interested in a wyrleyblog site run by Paul Ford. It has interesting news and also demonstrates the linking threads between the local communities and the Societies therein.

The Society received a photo of an ‘unknown soldier’ some time ago. It was followed up by Tony and Diane with the resultant findings being reported in an article in the Chronicle. We are delighted to receive further similar contents and a recent example is displayed below.

We have initial details and any findings will be shared with members at the May coffee morning. At the same time, it will be inserted in our Great War Facebook page so that feedback can also be received from other audiences to help our research.

Community News
Excellent feedback has been received from attendees visiting the National Memorial Arboretum in March. The visit arranged by the Parish Council office was supported by allowances from the District Councillors on the Parish Council and further visits are scheduled for later this year. It is understood that a substantial number of bookings have already been made. Members should contact Sian or Debra at the Parish Council office on 414768 for further information and are recommended to make bookings before the ‘house full’ signs are displayed.

South Staffordshire Council support a range of ‘walking for health’ activities. Therein, a program has been raised ‘commemorating the one hundredth anniversary of the outbreak 0f World War 1’. On 6th September, a Great Wyrley & Cheslyn Hay Memorial Circular walk is arranged with both Societies providing supporting talks and displays. Everyone is invited to join the walk and are asked to speak with Cath on 07817 507954 for further information.

 

 

At the April coffee morning, Gary and Pam will be confirming the final details for the visit to the Houses of Parliament scheduled for May 13th. It is suggested that anyone unable to attend the coffee morning arranges to speak directly with Gary or Pam, as best suited.
Paul Ford is giving an address at the Senior Citizens Centre, Broadmeadow Lane on 28th April starting at 7.30 pm costing £1. The generic title is ‘Walsall During the Great War’. Paul recently commented ‘it is not about munitions factories or saddles for the cavalry. It is three tales from the home front in Walsall. One considers a school and how the war exacerbated their running problems. Another concerns a food-hoarder and the legal expertise used to defend the hoarder. The final tale displays community spirit when a lady loses her mother and daughter in a military aeroplane accident. Communities and their approaches to commemoration are standard aspects’. It promises to
be an interesting and informative evening. It is hoped that members and their guests join us for the event.
Much detailed research on the Great War project is being undertaken by the Society team. We are extremely pleased that Paul’s extensive expertise is linking with the project team to provide specialism and further impetus to our efforts. At the same time, it has been identified that more inter-action is needed by the team with people who can contribute their family history in and around the time of the Great War. To facilitate this, a couple of Facebook pages should be installed in the near future.

Larry Scarfe provided a different and absorbing address at the March Coffee Morning about his time, and experiences, working in the Law Courts, as displayed right.

The speaker at the April Coffee Morning is Sue Plant who will be speaking about the life and times of her dad, Jack Plant and the speaker at the May Coffee Morning is scheduled to be Reg Fullalove.
At the February Coffee Morning, Ron Mattison and Dave Dunham spoke about the training huts on Cannock Chase. We have since received the following message ‘With regard to the offer from Ron and me to open up the hut especially for the Great Wyrley Local History Society. It would need to be during daytime during the week and not during school and bank holidays. Between us, Ron and I will give an overview and demonstrate the exhibits and items on display. Photographs can be taken and we will try to answer any questions that might be put. We suggest an hour or so and refreshments are available in the main Marquis Drive centre nearby.’
Are members interested in a visit? Gary and Pam will ask for feedback at the April Coffee Morning and next steps will be taken after the response has been received.

Great Wyrley had a community / friendship link with Quiliano, an Italian community. As part of this link, a number of artefacts were exchanged and displayed in the Community Centre. Examples are visually displayed below.

They have now been formally transferred to the Society storage area and will be bought to future Open Days / Annual events and exhibitions, as appropriate.
The annual St Georges Day fete is being held on April 19th. The procession starts from Harrisons Club at 12 noon and the Society will be in attendance at the club. Members are asked to support this community event.
Can anyone help Mr Patrick Hogan? He called in to the March Coffee morning. Does anyone know of a murder in the 1930’s / 40’s in New Horse Road, Cheslyn Hay? Could you please let Gary know with any information / anecdotes or inferences?

Summary – Events Calendar
April
17th – Coffee Morning - A talk by Sue Plant
19th – St Georges Day procession & fete (See Note 1)
28th – ‘Walsall during the Great War’ address by Paul Ford (See Note 2)

May
13th – Visit to Houses of Parliament
15th – Coffee Morning A talk by Reg Fullalove
18th – St. Thomas More fete

June
19th – Coffee Morning – AGM & a talk on Landywood Farm by Gary Smith
28th – Great Wyrley Carnival

July
17th – Coffee Morning

August
3rd – Peace Games (see Note 3)
14th – Coffee Morning

September
6th – Walk for Health
18th – Coffee Morning

October
16th – Coffee Morning

November
15th – Annual Event/open day
20th – Coffee Morning

December
18th – Coffee Morning

Note:
1. Procession starts at Harrisons Sports & Social Club at 12 noon.
2. Starts at 7.30pm at Senior Citizens Centre, Broadmeadow Lane. Cost £1
3. Starts at 10am at Wyrley Juniors club, Long Lane.

Final details have been received for the visit to the Houses of Parliament on May 13th. For example, the scheduled tour times and the length of the tour. Gary and Pam will confirm the details at upcoming coffee mornings.
Further storage facilities have been installed at the Centre. Photographic contents have already been transferred and arrangements are being made to bring other contents, such as the Great War artefacts, to the Centre in the upcoming months.
Ron Mattison and David Dunham provided an interesting coffee morning. Ron’s memorabilia and David’s recollections of the huts on Cannock Chase during the War build-up were enjoyed. David’s comments on the heating arrangements between the officers and the lower ranks were duly noted!

Speakers at upcoming coffee mornings are Harry Scarf in March and Sue Plant in April. Harry will be talking of his time working in the Law Courts and Sue will be speaking of the life and times of her dad, Jack Plant.
Parts of the Quiliano collection of artefacts will be transferred from the Community Centre to the Society facilities in the near future. The schedule will be decided as agreed with Landywood School and the Parish Council.
A number of early Royal British Legion (RBL) records and memorabilia are being loaned to the Society. At the same time, we are starting to work with RBL on their early profile in the village. Tony Newell will be providing periodic updates, as appropriate.
Gary is continuing to work with the owner of Landywood Farm to enable heritage objects to be steadily transferred to the Society. A number have already been transferred and are being sorted and catalogued. It is anticipated that more will be forthcoming as the site development activities are further planned.
The riddle of the Unknown Soldier has been solved. Thanks primarily to Diane and Tony for their perseverance ascertaining the details. The original and two subsequent pictures are displayed below.

The actual details were printed in the Chronicle dated 27th February. Diane hopes to have copies of the article available for the March coffee morning and I’m sure Tony or Diane will also give a brief verbal update at the time.
A ‘community event’ has been agreed as part of the Great War project. It is called the Peace Games and will be held on the actual day that the war started 100 years ago. It is being held in conjunction with other Groups and Organisations with final details currently being pulled together. It is hoped to provide further details in the coming weeks.

COMMUNITY NEWS
Great Wyrley Wesley’s next Mini-Market takes place on Saturday, 15th March 10.30 am – 12 noon. Everyone welcome – especially to enjoy the famous ‘bacon butties’.
A number of informal comments have been raised at coffee mornings about visiting the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas.This is especially relevant in the year commemorating the start of the Great War 100 years ago.
I’m pleased to confirm that District Councillors who sit on the Parish Council have arranged a number of visits. They depart at 9.30 am from the Co-op car park and will cost £3for residents and £6 for non-residents. Tickets will be issued on a first come first served basis from the Community Centre. Please speak with Debbie or Sian on 414768 for further information at any time.
The dates currently confirmed are Wednesday, 26th March, Wednesday30th July, Tuesday 5th August, Wednesday 6th August and Wednesday, 12th November.