Hurley is in the north of Warwickshire 17 miles from both Birmingham and Coventry. The nearest town for shopping is Tamworth which is just inside Staffordshire and six miles away. Many town and village names end in ley which means an opening or clearing in a forest. The forest that covered most of Warwickshire was the Forest of Arden which existed in Shakespeare’s day.
In the 1950’s my father moved down to Hurley to work in the nearby Baddesley Colliery with my great uncle Johnny Stewart(1898 – 1976) and his son Bill(1923 – 1999). My mother and myself followed when a house was available. We joined uncle Johnny and aunt Flora and Bill, wife Emily and their children Malcolm, Joyce and Melinda. A few years later we were joined by Jim Stewart(Pinky) from New Cumnock along with his wife and their two children.
My memory of Hurley is of a melting pot of Scottish, English, Welsh, Irish and West Indians inhabiting the village. At night, Hurley Club was the favourite place to go.
The following photos are for those of us who lived in Hurley and the individual memories we have of our time there.
A visit to John Stewart’s house in Queensway, Hurley circa 1957.
L to R: John Stewart, Nettie Scott, Agnes Glendinning, Flora Stewart, Jim Glendinning, Julia Glendinning
Second photo taken at the same time as the previous one. This time outside Jim and Annie Glendinning’s house at 55 Queensway.
L to R: Julia Glendinning, Flora Stewart, Nettie Scott, Jim Glendinning Snr, Agnes Glendinning.
In the background is the entrance to Cherry Close where Jim Stewart and his wife and children lived. It is also directly opposite John Stewart’s house.
Photo from same place and time but with a slight change.
L to R: Jim Glendinning, Agnes Glendinning, Flora Stewart, Nettie Scott, Julia Glendinning
John Stewart at his front door at Queensway, Hurley around 1965.
Many Thanks to Sandy Stewart who sent me this photo of Jim Stewart(1933-2018) in 2010. Jim was living in Christchurch, New Zealand having left the UK in the early 1960’s.
I met him at the Broomhill Hotel, Kilmarnock in 2013 and had always wondered how he came to move to Hurley. He told me he had stayed overnight at Hurley and my father had told him about Baddesley Colliery.
Soon afterwards he moved to Hurley with his wife and two young children. He worked as a miner at Baddesley Colliey for some years before emigrating to New Zealand where his father lived.
I never thought I would see him again after he moved to New Zealand so meeting him again in Kilmarnock was wonderful.
I remember seeing him in Hurley with his shirt off. He had this muscular body that some would say was that of a boxer. I discovered years later that he was a boxer and he told me a few interesting stories that day in Kilmarnock.
A brass pit token from Baddesley Colliery that is attached to my keyring
This is a photo of Wilfred Pickles, actor radio presenter and media personality and his wife Mabel on stage at Hurley Club around 1956 or 1957. ‘Have A Go’ was a popular radio show in the 1950’s and into the 1960’s that visited and presented from towns and villages.
A Hurley postcard photo taken from the Hollybush and dated 1955. The entrance to the school was up the side of the stone wall with the tree growing above it. Instantly recognisable to those of us who attended the school.