Description:Elizabeth McKeon (nee Bartley)has fond memories of the street bonfires in Balsall Heath. "About a month before bonfire night we kids in the street collected the materials for a ‘street bonfire’. The ‘gang`, gathered fuel for the bonfire which was built and lit on a bombed building site, where we did most of our playing together when out of the house. We would build these bonfires year after year; often they would be up to 12 feet in height. No one seemed to mind in those days, in fact we were encouraged to build them. Rival street gangs often sabotaged our work by stealing our fire materials or as I remember one year, the gang from Jakeman Road, set fire to our bonfire just prior to the big day. There was no organized firework display as such; we just let off our own personal fireworks when we were ready. The boys liked to put ‘bangers’ under dustbin lids to see them lift off the ground with the force of the explosion. My brother (Shay) hurt himself one year, when a ‘banger’ went-off in his hand.
I remember that our house had a large bay window like a shop and displayed flags for Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation. At Christmas this window was filled with an enormous Christmas tree.
When we wanted coal for our fire to keep us warm we had to go to the coal yard in Balfour Street.
The photograph here is of the Tram Terminus in Mary Street.