Rear of houses in Wenman Street

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Date:1964

Description:Around the age 15 and 16 years, Keith Whitehouse went to St Martin’s Youth Club in Sherlock Street. “A whole gang of us from Balsall Heath went there, that community feeling spread across from Balsall Heath to Highgate”, says Keith. “Before l joined the club, like a lot of kids raised in Balsall Heath, we played on the bombed sites all around us. We built dens on many of these sites, and on occasions, sleeping in these dens overnight. Another pastime was ‘Follow the leader’ this simply meant getting from ‘A’ to ‘B’ through peoples gardens, crossing whatever walls and fences were in our way. I remember that a favourite route was getting from Wenman Street to Sherbourne Road. Following each other through entries which led to peoples back gardens, then through these gardens and over walls etc. This didn’t mean vandalism or damage to people’s property; we just didn’t do that in them days.”

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Source: Balsall Heath Local History Society

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