The Local History Group has a large archive of documents, photographs and some artefacts relating to the history of Moseley, known as ‘The Collection’.  Helped by the award of funds from the Heritage Lottery Fund in 2012, the Group has significantly grown the Collection over the years,  developed this website and undertaken initiatives to raise awareness in schools and in the wider community through talks, walks and other events.  You can read the announcement about the HLF project in the Birmingham Mail by clicking on the image on the left to enlarge.  Further details of the Collection are provided by the links below.

The Index to Collection lists the items held in The Collection.  Click to download, then select the tabs at the bottom to view the different spreadsheets. You can filter and search on some of the material.

The Library catalogue lists a number books and pamphlets held in the Collection, which are available to be viewed on borrowed on request.  (Click to view.) Thanks are due to Jim Hone who donated a number of books on World War I (see catalogue).  The Group would be very grateful to receive any further donations to the Collection.

Residents of Streets is a spreadsheet listing the previous residents of some Moseley streets, from files created by G Reeves.  (Click to view)

The Frank Jones Archive is an extensive collection of items related to World War II which were kindly donated or loaned  by the family of Frank Jones, a long-standing member of Moseley History Group who died in 2013.  (Click to view).

The Olive Allen Collection contains items donated by Verity Montague-Smith on behalf of her friend Olive Allen, following Olive’s death in 2014. (Click to view).

Verity Montague-Smith donated further items for our Collection when she left Moseley in 2016.  These include several interesting family photographs and memorabilia.

A photograph of Major Brodie and the Queen was donated to the History Group by a member of the Moseley Society.  It shows Major J. K. Brodie of 29 School Road, Moseley presenting the Queen with a brooch-badge of the Queen’s Own Warwickshire Hussars in 1957.  Click to see the photograph and further details.

The following photographs have been added to the Collection:
Highbury Postcard dated 24th July 1909
Moseley Parish Church Postcard
Sarehole Mill Postcard

Many thanks to Susan Smith (nee Bromilow) for donating letters, a building licence, a marriage order of service (1920), photographs of Yardley Wood Road, St Agnes’ Road and family and friends (1940s/50s), family history, information on local residents and her ‘Moseley Memories’ article, published here on our website, covering Moseley shops, places, people and schools.  An article detailing her memories of Moseley shops is published in B13.

We are fortunate to have in our ‘Collection’ a range of materials from Wintersloe School donated to us by a past member of the History Group and a pupil at the school, Gordon Sproston, which include:

• Wintersloe School Theatrical Productions programmes,  1918-1930 (C2/D3/F3/1-29).
• Wintersloe School Sports Programmes, 1923-1925 (C2/D3/F4/1-3)
• Letters concerning The SH Fisher Memorial Fund set up to honour Mr Fisher, Wintersloe’s only headteacher for many years. The fund provided the Lych Gate for St Mary’s Church, Moseley (C2/D3/F5/1-2).
• Photographs of Staff and Pupils (C2/D3/F8/1-3).
• A. G. Sproston’s exercise books of playscripts for the theatrical productions (C2/D3/F10/1-4)
• Wintersloe School Magazines (C2/D3/F9/1-19). These Magazines cover XLIX 1911 to LXVII 1931 and offer a fascinating insight into the life of the school and include school news, walks, sports, visits, exhibitions, Bonfire Night, carpentering, training, exam results, athletics, pupils coming in and those leaving and reviews of theatrical productions.

A large collection of Britannic Assurance in-house magazines has been kindly donated to us by Reg Monk, who worked for the company for a number of years.  These magazines give fascinating insights into the life and times of the company and contain very interesting articles on Moor Green House and Estate, the site of Britannic Assurance and the building of the new Chief Office there. A summary of these articles ,  ‘Britannic Magazines: Moor Green House and Estate’, is available to read here. To visit the Britannic Assurance Magazines project page click here.

Two copies of a  book of poetry by T Ewart Mitton, have been donated to our Collection.  It was recently republished at the instigation of Patrick Fuller, the great-grandson of Mabel Mitton, J.R.R. Tolkien’s aunt.  See also the article on the wartime activities of Lieutenant T Ewart Mitton ,who was killed in December 1917.

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