BBJ
Father Of The Forum
I hope Mr Fear will be prepared to indulge me here. It's a bit of a flyer but maybe, just maybe, this'll get somewhere.
My Dad, Tommy Connolly, arrived in Birmingham from Belfast in February of 1956. Like tens of thousands of other out-of-work Irishmen, he came with the intention of finding employment in the city where, so the slogan went, they made everything from a needle to an anchor.
He had a relative (a cousin?) who lived, I think, in Northfield, called Billy Connolly (no, not the foul-mouthed Glaswegian!) who put him up for a while until he got a job - which he did at the Austin motorworks in Longbridge - and a place of his own to stay.
Dad spent the next 34 years in Birmingham, my Mum and sister arriving over 2 years later (which is why I have a sibling with a Brummie accent). His working life was mostly on the buses, first out of Roseberry Street and then out of Hockley.
I never did get to meet Billy Connolly and if he's still around, he'd be a very old man nowadays.
However, he's probably got children and grandchildren (and maybe even greatgrandchildren) living in and around the midlands.
As I said, it's a long shot but I'd be thrilled if this rang a bell with anyone.
Likewise, there may be people out there who had family members who worked on the buses back in the day who might have known my Dad.
I have an interest in family history and pursuing it has led me to meet some distant relations. For example, I have a fourth cousin living near Edinburgh. (Our common ancestors are our great-great-great-grandparents from St Helens.)
Of course, there are risks. There is little doubt that there are people walking the streets of Birmingham who are related to me but there is also the horrific prospect that some of them may be Blues supporters. :10:
My Dad, Tommy Connolly, arrived in Birmingham from Belfast in February of 1956. Like tens of thousands of other out-of-work Irishmen, he came with the intention of finding employment in the city where, so the slogan went, they made everything from a needle to an anchor.
He had a relative (a cousin?) who lived, I think, in Northfield, called Billy Connolly (no, not the foul-mouthed Glaswegian!) who put him up for a while until he got a job - which he did at the Austin motorworks in Longbridge - and a place of his own to stay.
Dad spent the next 34 years in Birmingham, my Mum and sister arriving over 2 years later (which is why I have a sibling with a Brummie accent). His working life was mostly on the buses, first out of Roseberry Street and then out of Hockley.
I never did get to meet Billy Connolly and if he's still around, he'd be a very old man nowadays.
However, he's probably got children and grandchildren (and maybe even greatgrandchildren) living in and around the midlands.
As I said, it's a long shot but I'd be thrilled if this rang a bell with anyone.
Likewise, there may be people out there who had family members who worked on the buses back in the day who might have known my Dad.
I have an interest in family history and pursuing it has led me to meet some distant relations. For example, I have a fourth cousin living near Edinburgh. (Our common ancestors are our great-great-great-grandparents from St Helens.)
Of course, there are risks. There is little doubt that there are people walking the streets of Birmingham who are related to me but there is also the horrific prospect that some of them may be Blues supporters. :10: