In this insightful memoir, incidents, thoughts, and emotions of a Birmingham boyhood are carefully surveyed. The earliest memory recorded derives from the sights and sounds of the Charleston, while the last is that of a lingering kiss from a childhood sweetheart. In between is a journey of self-discovery in a rapidly expanding world-a world that soon ignited with the outbreak of the Second World War. Through the personal upheavals of an extended family in the Black Country, the changes in Eric Armstrong's life are set against a variety of overlapping contexts, from countrywide events (such as the general strike of 1926) to the disturbing events in Europe (and particularly Germany). The author recalls how he marvelled at the achievements of Amy Johnson, Charles Lindbergh, and Malcolm Campbell; he also revelled in the cinematic delights of King Kong and the dancing of Fred and Ginger. These interests and more are reflected in the nearly 200 rare and unpublished photographs found within.Deeply entrenched in cultural and social history, A Birmingham Boyhood 1923-40 evokes, with tender memory, the manners and morals of those days, reflecting the myriad changes in Birmingham (and the wider world) throughout this tumultuous period.

Before the advent of the internal combustion engine, the only reliable means of getting about on Birmingham's roads was by walking or by horse. Many businesses ran fleets of horses and wagons to deliver goods around the city, horse trams carried the burgeoning population of the metropolis to and from work, while hansom cabs carried the well-off to the Theatre or to the city's parks. Within the pages of Birmingham's Horse Transport, Eric Armstrong takes us on a tour of the city, using images of horses at work to tell the story of the growth of the city's road transport network. From the city centre to suburbs such as Aston, Birchfield, Bourneville, Handsworth, Harborne, Lozells, Perry Barr, Saltley and Sparkhill he gives us a flavour of a time long gone, when horses, carts, coaches and trams were a common sight on the city's streets.

When Skyler C. Gull builds a sandcastle, he finds it missing and goes on the search for the "sandcastle thief."
This charming seaside tale will delight children of all ages.

Central Birmingham History Tour provides unique insight into the illustrious history of the heart of England's second city. Local author Eric Armstrong guides us through the streets of this West Midlands powerhouse, showing how its famous landmarks used to look and how they've changed over the years, as well as exploring its lesser-known sights and hidden corners. With the help of a handy location map, readers are invited to follow a timeline of events and discover for themselves the changing face of central Birmingham.

A History of Money and Banking in Barbados documents the development of money and commercial banking in Barbados from the date of the settlement in 1627 to the establishment of the Central Bank of Barbados in 1973. It examines the early years of barter; the introduction of British coins by the Royal Proclamations of 1825 and 1838; the issue of colonial coins (anchor money); the introduction and circulation of foreign coins; the debate over the legal tender of British silver coins and the share of the seigniorage of these coins. Armstrong examines the first banks, the Colonial Bank and the West India Bank, in the nineteenth century, the introduction of Canadian banks in the twentieth century, the expansion of Barclays Bank as well as the issue of Barbados government currency notes; the measures taken by the British government and the Caribbean governments during the Second World War to ensure an adequate supply of currency; and the agreement between Barbados, Trinidad and British Guiana (Guyana) to make their government currency legal tender in each country. Armstrong analyses the establishment and operation of the British Caribbean Currency Board and its acrimonious demise, the establishment of the East Caribbean Currency Authority, the withdrawal of Barbados from the Authority, and the establishment of the Central Bank of Barbados.

For the first quarter of the twentieth century, trams constituted the main workhorses of the public road transport system before Birmingham Corporation buses eventually replaced them completely. 1868 brought the formation of the General Omnibus Co. which ran a fleet of horse buses from High Street to various suburbs. The remaining years of that century are marked by an intricate mesh of private companies and the Corporation owning, leasing and managing transport systems. The first horse tram in the city plodded into service in 1872, operating between Hockley Brook and Dudley Port. In 1882 mechanical power, in the form of the steam tram, pioneered a course between the Old Square in the town centre, and Aston, and quite some time elapsed before the steam tram faced competition from the cable car. By 1904 the Corporation decided to take matters into its own hands and operate its own trams and buses. Overhead electric wiring appeared along steam tram routes and 1907 brought the demise of the beasts, replaced by nearly 200 trams. Following closely the 1937 routes depicted in Volume I and including the fares structure, as well as the social and sporting activities of tramways personnel, this book is illustrated with a wealth of fascinating archive postcards and ephemera depicting tramways operation of the era and placing an emphasis on the tram in its social and historical context. A must for all Birmingham transport and local historians!

This fascinating volume illustrates what life was like for a schoolboy growing up in Birmingham between the wars. Illustrated with over 200 photographs, postcards, periodicals and other printed ephemera, this intriguing collection recalls domestic life and public events, from the opening of Birmingham's first airport to mass evacuation of schoolchildren before the outbreak of the Second World War. Accompanied by detailed and informative text, this book will appeal to all those who have lived through the inter-war years and those who would like to know more about what life was like.

This fascinating collection of over 200 picture postcards provides a nostalgic insight into the changing history of Birmingham during the period 1900-1945. For over a quarter of this time Britain was at war and the political and social changes experienced were immense, not least in Birmingham, a major industrial city. Each image is accompanied by a detailed caption, bringing the past alive and describing many aspects of life in the city, including chapters on wartime, work, sport, shopping, entertainment and celebrations, providing a vital record of vanished vistas and past practices. This book will appeal to anyone with an interest in the history of the area, and also awaken memories of a bygone time for those who worked or lived in the 'Second City'.

From 1907 to 1953, Birmingham Corporation's trams provided an efficient and praiseworthy public transport service throughout the city, carrying millions of passengers during that time. Based on the twenty-eight tram routes in operation during 1937 (a representative year with trams operating in all parts of the city except the south-west sector), readers of this book are taken pictorially on a variety of tram journeys, places and points of interest being identified on the way. In their heyday, trams travelled along all the main directions of a Birmingham compass, moving through densely populated, highly industrialised inner suburbs to leafier outer suburbs, to places of work, places of entertainment and to the busy, bustling city centre. In short, an entertaining kaleidoscope of images is placed on show.

Central Birmingham Through Time is a unique insight into the illustrious history of this major city. Reproduced in full colour, this is an exciting examination of its well-known streets and famous faces, and what they meant to the people of this area throughout the 19th and into the 20th Century. Looking beyond the exquisite exterior of these well-kept photos, readers can see the historical context in which they are set, and through the author's factual captions for every picture, and carefully-selected choice of images, the reader can achieve a reliable view of the city's history. There is something for everyone here, whether they have lived in Birmingham all their lives, or whether they are just visiting for the first time. Central Birmingham Through Time also shows how photography has continually evolved to keep up with an ever changing society.