Village Voice
PRESERVING THE COMMUNITY
SPIRIT IN THE WEST MIDLANDS
SEDGLEY, GORNAL & COSELEY -
© 2010 ARCOS DESIGN
Previous issues
1939 was a watershed year in many ways. Most importantly, of course, it saw the outbreak of the Second World War. However, life went on as near normal as possible:
John James Benton, the licensee of the Courthouse pub in Sedgley, found himself in trouble with the law when he was fined £25 and disqualified from driving for being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle. At Audnam in Wordsley he drove into the back of a lorry reversing out of a garage onto the main road. He had ignored signals given by a man guiding the lorry driver saying that he “thought he was waving at me, not telling me to stop”. A police constable called to the scene of the accident described Benson as seeming “very peculiar. He had his hands in his pockets in a half soaked way and did some blinking and nodding of his head.”
Jeavons, the grocers and bakers of Upper Gornal, used to organise an annual day out for their customers and in 1939 they hired five Midland Red coaches to take a party of 150 on an 80 mile tour of the Midlands. This took in Earlswood Lakes, Stratford, Redditch and Bromsgrove before stopping off at the ‘Mare & Colt’ in Kidderminster where they ‘danced the night away’ before returning to Gornal in the early hours.
Although the War cut short many sporting activities as increasing numbers of young
men were called up or volunteered for the armed forces, some football did continue.
Amongst those that did continue was Sedgley Rovers who not only had a First Team
but also a Reserve side as well. Both sides were very strong and recorded a number
of double-
IT’S A FACT
THE FIRST ROAD TAX
Throughout most of the 19th century the upkeep of major roads across the area was paid for by income from toll gates along each section.
These toll gates were run by trustees who employed keepers to collect the tolls from all travellers using the road. Certain individuals were exempt—vicars on their way to or from church, farmers moving cattle or sheep to different fields and funeral corteges, for example—but initially most travellers had to pay between ¼d and 1/6d to pass through.
As time went on, however, many trustees realised that employing someone to collect the tolls was not the most efficient way of operating the system and so in most areas the rights to collect tolls were auctioned on an annual basis.
As well as paying for this right the successful applicants had to undertake to keep all the roads properly maintained. Gravel was provided from local quarries and regularly inspectors were sent out to check on the state of the roads. Any poor surfaces would attract fines—and these could be quite considerable, sometimes as much as three times the annual income from the tolls.
DID YOU
KNOW?
Over the last five years over 180 editions of VILLAGE VOICE have been published. This represents some 360,000 copies distributed to homes in and around Dudley and South Staffordshire.
We are always pleased to provide advertisers with full details of our circulation
including a road-
Indeed, often we can alter our distribution patterns according to advertiser wishes.
Just ask for details on 01384
866688.
2010 may not have got off to the very best of starts weather-
Of course, it also increases the risk of injury and despite all the warnings it is still amazing how many adults and children alike play on frozen lakes and ponds. Each year there are deaths caused by people falling through the ice—especially as the thaw sets in. Please don't become a casualty.
Does anyone celebrate Christmas and New Year any more? Ask most people did they have a good time and the chances are they’ll reply, “Quiet”. So what has happened to the wild parties and general carousing that used to be so prevalent in “the good old days”?
Of course the current economic situation has much to answer for but it seems the other problem is the sheer number of “special” celebrations that we have today. Forget about birthdays and wedding anniversaries, we have also got Valentine’s Day, Mothers Day, Easter, Fathers Day, Bonfire Night and Halloween—plus, of course Christmas and New Year. And the card manufacturers are even trying to get us to celebrate Grandparents Day and even pet birthdays!