War Memorial Park

OMG! Brill, brill and brill again, everything hit me. The kids my age, walking the gate, the picnic, the horse and boat, and the barrage balloon close up sent a little shudder through me, playing football on that park at that same time as they. Oh my! The boat - 'Alfred what'? Walking under the balloon, climbing into a wicker basket, the balloon set free, watching the earth fall away, looking at the tail of the balloon, just a few feet away, standing in the doorway wanting to grab the wires on the tail, but no, out and down. Oh my! What a jog of the senses, of time gone by.

Lovely bit of film Neil. Love the way the men all have their collar and tie on for a picnic.

I sent that film clip to the Friends of the War Memorial Park who liked it - They mentioned about the date on the film being 1936 which I had noted but considered as they have suggested that it may have been in preparation rather than during the war - although would that have been a bit early for anything like that at that time?

NeilsYard, I have just watched the film again. I would think nearer the war, late 38/39 - the airmen are wearing flat hats. I believe they were peacetime - wartime, forage hat. I played football on the Memorial Park many times before the war, can't remember seeing goalposts or corner flags then or on the film. Hey! I even remember Foxford had a claret shirt with a light blue V I believe, so did the Villa, I think. Sorry about that, I would have said summer but daffs etc say earlier, although there are different clips. Yes, we wore suit and ties when going out, and stout shoes as in the film. We had black plimsoles, but not when going out. Anyone know the year of the cars? They look late thirties also.

I would agree with Kaga about the year. The cars don't have blackout shields on their headlights, neither do they have the edges of the wings and running boards painted white. This would indicate to me that this was in the period immediately before the outbreak of war but when preparations for war were well under way - hence the barrage balloons. Petrol rationing was introduced during the war so the family would not have had spare petrol to use their car for the picnic, neither would the bunch of young motorcyclists have been out on what looks like a pleasure ride.

1939-- August, Billy Cotton band, We must all stick together, And the clouds will soon roll by, We must all stick together, Never mind the old school tie. People should understand, British people of different classes and localities started talking together for the first time. Bombing meant that not only people shared the same danger, but sheltered together, and fire-watched together, Rationing meant, people ate the same foods, wore the same clothes, bought the same furniture. The biggest shop in town was the Co-op, sales slumped because men where doing twelve hour shifts, so they staggered the hours. There is so much more. Re-the film. Evacuation underway, each kid had gas mask, people began to buy everything, soon the shelves were empty. We searched the town for curtain hooks and blackout material, but sold out. 3rd Sept was hot in the 80's dad and I walked to Woodway Lane in shirt-sleeves, at night we put up the blackout curtains, we couldn't breathe, next day dad fixed a second curtain that allowed the air to enter. The newspapers where cut to half-size of those in the film, Heard the Barrage Balloons where made at Dunlop, The guns and Balloons where in place before the third of Sept. Definitely well before the war.

This article is March 23rd 1939. As many of the trees in the film are bare and there are spring flowers growing, it could well be this day.

Annewiggy, Thanks, must have been a mild early spring with the daffodils out. Can I ask a favour, could you look at the weather 2/3 Sept that year, I'm sure we had a hot Sept but a savage cold winter. Thanks again.

The Friends of the Memorial Park group reminded me that in 2021 it will be the centenary of the opening of the park. I'm hoping to hear of some events celebrating the occasion.

The Coventry War Memorial: I have a question that has been at the back of my mind for a while, in fact about 50 years! In the late 60's a friend and I sampled our new home brewed beer, which proved to be somewhat stronger than we had anticipated. To alleviate the effects we decided a walk in the cold night air might be a good idea and we set off for the nearby War Memorial Park. However, being in the early hours of the morning it proved necessary to climb over the locked entrance gates. We eventually reached the grounds around the War Memorial itself and became aware of light patterns on the ground which gave the impression of being in the form of a cross with the Memorial itself being at the centre point. I have since carried out quite a few searches and some references I have come across mention the Eternal Light at the top of the Memorial. Does anyone know if this is an intentional part of the design of the Memorial to project the Eternal Light in the form of a cross on the ground surrounding the tower? The other explanation well may just be that the homebrew and 50 years of memory may still be resulting in my illusion!

Hi Earlsdon Kid From what I have seen of the eternal light, I'm not sure its 'shine' is strong enough to project anything from the height it is at. Certainly not from the setup it has today. I'm pretty sure as well nowadays the gates to get in to the park are never locked either.

Hi NeilsYard, There are probably too many holes through hedges and fences to bother locking the gates! The eternal light is possibly the answer, and I may be clutching at straws here, but in the late 60's the general light pollution was far less than now and if the sky was cloudy and my intake of carrots sufficient maybe it wasn't just imagination.

It's a lovely touch if it does - mind you, I quite like the thought that you might have seen that due to the local brew

I was at the cenotaph yesterday for the service and wreath laying. My wife walked the dog there this morning and has said that all the wreaths had been removed, today of all days. Is this what usually happens?