King’s Heath
Business Review 1912
The society
obtained a copy of the South Birmingham
and District Illustrated Review
for 1912. The entries for King’s Heath
are reproduced within this document and this gives a snapshot of the commercial
life within the suburb. King’s Heath had
become part of Greater Birmingham in 1911 and according to the Review had become the second largest
city in the British Empire.
The early
part of the 20th century, before The Great War, was considered by
some to be a golden age. Major events in
Birmingham, such as the opening of the Elan Valley water supply in 1904 and The
University of Birmingham in 1909 by Edward V11 and Queen Alexandra, would have
been witnessed by citizens of King’s Heath who at the time were not part of the
city but who got their utilities such as gas, water, electricity and tram
service from the city.
The Review
gives a view of a lost world as many of the men and boys who worked in the
retail trade in King’s Heath were to perish in The Great War.
Bob Blackham
April 2020