For some years prior to 1920, the Knibb family had been tenant farmers at Cole Hall Farm. They also operated the Knibb Dairy round delivering milk as far away as Aston. William Knibb Snr, together with his wife Elizabeth and daughter Florence Amelia died during the 1918 flu pandemic. William James Junior was now in charge of the business, and together with his new wife, Ethel nee Merriman, decided to move the family to a new residence in Castle Bromwich. The Lindens, at 10 New Street, was to be the family home until Ethel’s death in 1979.
I do have to declare an interest in this family, as William and Ethel were my husband’s grandparents and it was their grave in Castle Bromwich graveyard that inspired the graveyard project undertaken by Castle Bromwich Youth & Community Partnership, of which this website and the stories we’ve uncovered forms a small part.
So, let me introduce you to William and his family. William was born on 6th July 1887 in Heath Street, Birmingham. He had an older sister, Florence Amelia, and two younger sisters, Beatrice Marie and Annie Elizabeth. His father William had been born in Charlwelton in Northamptonshire and was a man who turned his hand to anything. He started life as a Agricultural Labourer, then worked at Kelmarsh Hall as a stable boy and a groom, before marrying his first wife, Mary Goodband, and moving to Birmingham. Here he established a small business as a gardener and beer retailer. Following Mary’s death from TB in 1883, William married Elizabeth Dale. Elizabeth’s extended family were milk farmers, and following in their steps William set up his own farm and milk business from Cole Hall Farm (later the Poacher’s Pocket.)
William James was to meet his wife Ethel during WW1 when she joined the Land Army and was sent to assist at Cole Hall Farm. They married in 1919 and moved to 10 New Street shortly after.
William and Ethel had four children, Vera, William, Florence and Harold. They were encouraged to play a full role in community life and attended the Castle Bromwich Baptist Church, brownies, scouts and school at St. Lawrence’s College.
At the outbreak of WW2 Harold joined the army, Florence joined the land army, Vera tried to join the RAF but was turned down on medical grounds and provided administrative support to the war effort instead. William Jnr. had injured his arm as a child and was unable to play an active role in the war. He received a white feather as a result, as he hid his disability well.
Both Florence and Harold met their future partners during the war and moved out of the family home. William married later in life and Vera remained single. On leaving the army Harold set up various businesses, including the Saturn Garage on the Chester Road and the Venus at Erdington.
Florence recalls that the house was always a home. Her friend Margaret Turner MBE, who many will have known due to her charity work, once told me that her days spent in the Knibb household were always such fun and there was never a dull day. I have a few photos that show that it was definitely not a typical house. I love this one of my husband’s Grandfather with a pigeon on his shoulder. I’m told that the pigeon followed him everywhere and even sat on his shoulder as he walked to collect the horses for the milk round which were homed at Shard End.
William James Snr, died on 14th September 1948. My husband was born in 1949 and so has no memories of his Grandfather, but he remembers his Nan and the house well. He recalls that she was great fun and would play cowboys and indians with him around the sitting room, hiding behind chairs and firing guns and bows and arrows. He also recalls her garden which was full of fruit trees, a green house and geraniums. There was crazy paving at the back, and one day after misbehaving he and his cousin Gerald were set the task of clearing it of weeds. Being canny children, they cleared the plants and left the weeds. The same punishment was never handed out again. There was also a well covered by a large slab in the back garden and the crank for drawing water up from the well was situated on the nearby house wall.
Ethel died on 9th April 1979 and the house was sold. It did however remain in the family as it was bought by Ken, the step-son of Ethel’s son, Harold.
My husband’s Aunt Vera took me to see the family grave. It is located in an easy position to reach, half way down the central path on the right hand side. Auntie Vera knew the position well, but due to ill health hadn’t visited for some time. She became extremely distressed when we struggled to find it due to bramble over-growth. The truth was the whole graveyard was lost to nature, but not in a good way. I promised that I would sort the family grave, and it became an obsession that spread to clearing all the graves. From small acorns, mighty oaks grew and a whole community project came about with help from many individuals and groups. It has its ebbs and flows, but it is something that I always return to.
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