Sutton Coldfield in the forties - John Bassett

"Sutton Coldfied in the Forties" is a rich tapestry of many individuals' memories and photographs supported by local newspaper reports of the decade.;There are recollections of horse-drawn bakery and laundry services, Whit-Monday parades and, as a prelude, the Luftwaffe's 1939 aerial reconnaissance picture of the Balloon Barrage Centre.;A number of contributors provide memories of air-raid shelters, rationing, the R.A.F. 216 Ralph Reader W.A.A.F. Gang Shows and both V.E. and V.J. celebrations.;Couples share their stories on early post-war weddings, the lack of housing and the maternity bed shortage. The opposing views on the emergent N.H.S. expressed by Sutton's G.P.s and dentists are compared with Sutton's first full-time surgeon.;As the war finished, a vision of the future developed - folk describe the additional school provision, the new N.H.S. developments, the Falcon Lodge Estate and the developing sporting and leisure provision.;The big event of December 1949 saw the commissioning of Sutton's B.B.C. T.V. transmitter for the Midlands which brought visual pictures of the outside world into many local homes.;The era concludes with a 1950 aerial picture of Sutton Coldfield and George Gilbert's contemporary paintings of Sutton scenes (owned by Sutton Library).