Gerald B Baker, Farcroft Estate

Hi, I have recently purchased a group of WW2 medals. They were posted to a address in Coventry listed as, 80 FARCROFT ESTATE, BROAD LANE,COVENTRY, from the Air Ministry and one would assume not long after the end of WW2. They were addressed to a G. B. _ _ KER. The first two letters of the surname are spoilt and cannot be made out. Firstly can anyone tell me anything about this address, as to whether it existed ?Secondly how can I check the record of any persons living at that address, say 10 years before and after WW2? Many thanks, Denis

There is a Farcroft Avenue off Broad Lane

It is almost certainly Farcroft Caravan site, off Broad Lane

Yes it would definitely be the Caravan (mobile home) Estate which was cleared about 1969 and David Charles started building a housing estate (Stonebury Avenue leading off from Farcroft Avenue). The houses were under priced (Bet you have never heard that before???) and the company went bust when about a third of it was built. I think Deeley's might have finished the contract? I am almost sure that the caravan estate was run by the council as the residents never seemed to have the problems encountered by those who had a private landlord. The vans were privately owned with the council providing services. The council might some records of the caravan owners in the depths of their archives somewhere.

If the residents used the estate as permanent addresses, you should be able to check the pre-war and post-war electoral registers. I think that they should be in the History Centre library at the Herbert.

Many thanks for the posts. It appears the consensus is that the Farcroft Estate, Broad Lane was a caravan site, does anyone know when this site was established? Also was this some sort of a holiday / camping site, or was it a makeshift site to accommodate the people made homeless by the Blitz on Coventry? Many prefabricated homes were provided and if my memory serves me right they had the look of a holiday chalet. regards Denis

Hi Denis. I remember the caravan site and it was residential. Some time ago housing was difficult in Coventry, some caused by bomb damage also by the population explosion in Coventry. I remember there were hostels at Willenhall, Walsgrave, Whoberley and maybe others that I cannot at the moment recall. Hostel accommodation was for single people mainly here for war work but they mostly wanted to bring their families to Coventry. There was a similar caravan site off Henley Rd and one in Walsgrave, maybe others as well. Those pre-fabs I remember well, many residents didn't want to leave them when they were due for demolition. Does anyone remember Shanty Town that was in the area to the front of Cheylesmore Job Centre?

Yes DenisH, the Farcroft Caravan site was residential for all-year round occupancy. Most of the vans were 'holiday' type vans but by the time of the closure a few of the more modern double units were beginning to appear. The new mobile home had such luxuries as insulation! In the depths of winter it was not unknown for a van resident to leave a hot water bottle or two in bed before going out in the evening only to return later to find two blocks of ice!!! I did not live on this particular site but I suspect that most units will have been plumbed into the mains and possibly had their own sanitation rather than having a communal block. I was on the area executive committee of the National Mobile Home Residents Association and we had few complaints from the sites in the Coventry - Bedworth - Nuneaton area which could not be said about the sites to the south of the city!!

Many thanks to all that posted regarding the Farcroft estate. It appears that a caravan site off Broad Lane, was known as the Farcroft Caravan Site and it was residential. The entrance to the site was listed as 794 Broad Lane, Eastern Green Farcroft Estates was the name of the business, and the Director/Proprietor was Alan Higgs who I believe was well known in Coventry. The site had a licence for 120 units. The Council after an inspection in the mid sixties noted that there were 140 units and in 1966 the owner was required to reduce the capacity to the 120 it was licenced for and also to carry out a major refurbishment of the site. Failure to comply would mean the site would not be granted a licence and the site would be cleared of all units. This would no doubt have been a costly expense to the owner, and after what appears an on going dispute between the parties Mr Higgs decided to sell the site to a developer. The person I was trying to trace on that site residing at number 80 was named as Gerald B Baker on the 1957 electoral register. He is shown as living alone, does any one have any information regarding this person or did anybody know him personally? Many thanks, Denis

Possibly he is Gerald Bernard Baker born 8th May 1899 in Worcestershire who died in the second quarter of 1970 at Rugby. (source: familysearch.org).

If this is the correct person then he had a twin sister - Lillah Evaline Baker (source: 1911 Census/Ancestry). She married a Ballard and appears to have died in Halifax, West Yorkshire in 1987 (source: Ancestry).

Still assuming this is the correct individual, it seems that the couple Albert E & Lillah E Ballard had a daughter Zillah in 1937 at Halifax. She married Michael J Warry in 1962 at Calder, W Yorkshire and now lives in Huddersfield. With such a unique name it should be possible to find her address or phone number. (source: freebmd.org.uk and 192.com).

Hi Please contact me - Gerald Baker was a relative of mine Many thanks

Hi Deborah welcome to the forum. It's been quite a while since Denis posted, so he may not be reading the site but you could try the contact button. Not all buttons are still connected to a live email so a lack of a reply is not necessarily a lack of interest. However replies sometimes pop up, so even if you don't get a response straight away, you might get a message through the forum at a future date. Personal emails aren't used and Denis will get his via the forum. You may see replies from other people too. Regards Helen