The group’s story [so far]

Graham Partridge and Geoff Forrester, our local librarians, organized the first meeting on the 29th March 2001 at the Willenhall Library to see if anyone was interested in the area’s history. What followed the first meeting has been an eventful two years. The amount of enthusiasm from local people has been surprising. We had talks about the Coombe estate by Bob Moore in May; this was followed by a visit to Coombe on the 10th June. At the meetings so much information was exchanged by everyone: at times one person would be standing looking at the display of photographs, to find the person next to them was an old school friend! The stories of old Willenhall flowed out at a tremendous rate. Over the last two years, the people attending the meetings have gelled into a cohesive group ; things moved along nicely with a competition open to all, to design the group’s logo.

Charlotte Atkins won the prize of a book token and framed enlargement of her artwork: these were presented to her by Jim Cunningham M.P. . Charlotte’s logo of willows and the bridge over the Sowe is now used on all the group’s paperwork.

Simon Morris of Arts Exchange came along to the November 2001 meeting, the group having previously discussed the idea of a video and perhaps some form of History Trail and/or plaques around the area. What took place following this meeting could be described as the formal foundation of the group, as we considered the question of funding. At this point, the legal requirements came out of the woodwork, for example, the formation of a committee. Why did Graham ask Iris, Kath and myself to sit at the front?

My ‘Constitution’ until this point was something caused by what I had eaten. However, we discovered that people are out there to help, and Coventry Voluntary Services were a gold mine of information. A course on ‘How to run an A.G.M.’ opened the doorway to solving many problems, and we became a fully constituted group.

By March 02, we won an award of £500 from the Heart of England Community Foundation, to help with start up costs. In May, we applied to the National Lottery ‘Awards for All’, for a grant to allow us (with Arts Exchange and help from the pupils of Chace and St John the Divine schools) to produce a set of eight historical plaques, a heritage video, and a leaflet describing a history trail. On the 7th June, we were granted £4,049. What followed in the summer of 2002, was many extra meetings, workshops, visits to record offices and even being let loose with cameras!

The group took a look at what was required for us to take part in the 2003 Lives & Times Festival by going to the Memorial Park. Only one requirement was ominously called for by all, a good pair of Wellington boots!

The group’s very first official display was at Coventry University for the Heart of England annual presentation on Thursday 20th June. On Sunday 4th August the group visited the interior of Coombe hotel, and a member of staff, Mr Mel Brookes, had the job of showing some of his old school friends around. The whole of July to September was a continual programme of activities with Simon Morris of Arts Exchange: ‘brainstorming’, planning, photo shoots, interviews and workshops. the group were kept very busy working on the plaques and the video.

At the end of August we applied for a grant for display boards to put the many photographs on display during the National Heritage Weekend. The event was held here in Coventry at the Friend’s Meeting House over the weekend of 14th and 15th September. This was the group’s very first major public display and showed what we had achieved in less than two years. It put the group well and truly on the map, and there followed displays with the new history plaques at the Rehab ward of Walsgrave Hospital, St John the Divine church, Knightlow Lodge, St Anne’s church, Willenhall Wood, Chace and St John the Divine schools and Willenhall Library.

By now we needed somewhere local to hold the launch of the video and plaques, and Kerry Stephenson of the Chace Hotel came to the rescue, offering the oldest room. On the 4th November 2002, with many of the official guest from the council and other interested parties attending, we held the first public viewing of the ‘Willenhall Heritage Video’. The night was a huge success and the video has become a surprise Christmas present in many stockings this year.

Without the help and advice from people such as, Area Co-ordination, C.V.S.C. and many other bodies, I personally would have been still wondering ‘How am I going to do this?’

The group now has a firm foundation to build upon, [thanks to the ‘Willenhall Brick & Tile Works brick!] Over the next few years there is much still left to do. The B.T. Community Computer, which was awarded to the group, is to be installed in Willenhall Library. This will enable us to go World Wide with a web site, to be designed by members. A huge amount of information has yet to be documented, recorded and indexed; members will be able to take up training on how to do this. Audio taping of memories, and then the transcribing and indexing of them, is a priority for 2003. Much research is still left undone: questions about the hostels and the people who lived here during and after WW2, what happened to the Crown Inn during the early 1800’s, what happened to (and in)Willenhall House, and of course ‘What have we missed!’

In conclusion, if you have documents or photographs, which the group could use, please note the following;

1. Put the names of people, places and date on the back, or on a piece of paper attached to each photograph.
   

2. Place them in an envelope with your name and address.
   

3. Please let us know if you require their return.
   

4. Please inform us if we cannot use then for publication. John Russell Chairman 2003

The Secretary’s Story

Since the group was formed, it has certainly been a busy time: numbers have risen steadily, and there are now more than thirty full-paid up members. It is encouraging to see how many families have joint membership; this gives the group a real sense of cohesion as the generations share their memories. However, we are still having problems recruiting younger members; perhaps when we have our own computer up and running, with access to the Internet, they may come and join us.

We also have nine honorary members: perhaps the most famous is Professor Carl Chinn, who combines his academic career at Birmingham University with TV appearances and his own radio show on BBC WM. John Russell, our chairman, is a frequent contributor to the historical phone-in. Professor Chinn has shown a long-standing friendly interest in our activities; he is coming to give a talk on local history at Willenhall Social Club in Autumn 2004. Our local MP Jim Cunningham is also on our honorary members’ list and attends our functions whenever his Parliamentary duties allow. Other honorary members include local councillors and business people.

As well as monthly meetings and research connected with the video and plaques project, we have been working in close liaison with Sharon Mace of Area Co-ordination, based at Stretton Avenue. Our aim is to foster links with other active groups in the area, and to make the best use of the training opportunities available to us at learning centers such as WEETEC and the Hagard. We are acutely conscious of the fact that building the capacity of individuals also serves to strengthen the group as a whole.
We are also in close contact with Jane Wynn of CV1, as we are presently negotiating the venue for our display during the Heritage Weekend in September.

2003 is definitely going to be the year of the interview. We plan to collect as many reminiscences as we can on audiotape, and transcribe them onto computer as a permanent record of Willenhall’s heritage. We hope that all members of the group will become involved in this project. It will have the advantage of bringing us out into the community, so that we can get in touch with elderly people who cannot get to our meetings.

Reviewing our progress so far, the learning curve has been extremely steep, but we have risen to all the challenges. We have also had a great deal of fun and enjoyment along the way. The success of the video, which sold extremely well and aroused much interest, has proved to us that we can handle a sizeable project. We look forward to many similar achievements in the future.

Iris Weir
Secretary