People Associated with Castle Bromwich Archives - Page 2 of 3

Peter Murray-Willis – Gentleman Cricketer

March 30, 2015 by William Dargue Leave a Comment

Peter Murray-Willis was born in Castle Bromwich in 1910 and became known as a county cricketer, though not to universal acclaim.

His stay here was brief! The 1911 Census has him in London and, after the First World War, he attended St George’s School in Harpenden, a co-educational boarding school almost unique in its day, which attracted wealthy parents of a progressive mind. When the young Murray-Willis was there, the school was undergoing an exciting period of increasing pupil numbers and new buildings. It must have been at St George’s that Peter discovered his love of cricket; the school had its own team and the long-established village eleven played on Harpenden Common just minutes from the school.

From 1930 Murray-Willis played for the Warwickshire Club & Ground team at Edgbaston and briefly for the Worcestershire county team. Then in 1934 he began his career at Northamptonshire under captain Robert Nelson, an old school friend from St George’s who was killed in1940 in the Second World War. Murray-Willis was determined to keep the club going during the War and helped to organise matches every summer from 1939 to 1945. As much as a reward for his efforts, and for his association with the previous captain, as for his ability, he was given the captaincy when the War ended.

Gentlemen and Players

Cricket at this time was organised along British social class lines: there was a clear distinction between Gentlemen and Players. Gentlemen were amateurs who came from the upper and upper-middle classes and considered the crème de la crème of the game. They deigned to receive only expenses (though these could be substantial). Players were paid professionals and generally working class.

On tour the Gentlemen had superior travel and lodging and changed in separate dressing-rooms in the club pavilions. Gentlemen addressed Players by surname, while Players addressed their social betters as ‘Sir’ or ‘Mr X’. On match programmes the Gentlemen always had their initials printed before their surname, professionals after.

As was his predecessor, Murray-Willis was very much a Gentleman amateur and, as such, suitably qualified to captain the Northampton county team. His successor was also an amateur, Arthur Childs-Clarke, who successfully took the county team to the bottom of the table for the next two seasons.

Wins Northants County Cap

Peter Murray-Willis played 29 times at first-class level before and after the War, winning his county cap for Northamptonshire and captaining 18 times. However, despite admiration from some for his spirit, he was not a successful captain or player. His team tactics were criticised. And his playing style was described as ‘eccentric, flopping about in a friendly manner here and there’, ‘his flailing arms and legs making little progress on the turf.’

He finally lost credibility when, chasing a ball to the boundary, his cap blew off and he stopped to pick it up before returning the ball. Fortunately, the Surrey batmen were laughing so much that they failed to take the advantage and no runs were scored. This incident was one of the factors that persuaded Murray-Willis to resign mid-season, subsequently leaving the county game.

However, he continued to play cricket into his mid-fifties, appearing from 1946 to 1966 with the Forty Club, a team of experienced players of 40-years-old plus, whose aim was to challenge school and college teams and to set an example of standards of play and behaviour.

Peter Murray-Willis died in Sussex on 7July 1995 at the age of 84.

Alan Coleman – King of Soap

March 28, 2015 by William Dargue 1 Comment

The house at 36 Chipperfield Road is not there now; it was destroyed by a German bomb in 1940. Although he was only four years old, Alan Coleman vividly remembered the night his house was destroyed. The family had evacuated on hearing the air raid warning to their Anderson shelter in the garden.

A German bomber, on its way to destroy the Spitfire factory on the Chester Road, scored a direct hit on no. 36. The force of the blast blew the Anderson shelter into next door and the Coleman family were left sitting in the garden watching the ruins of their house being consumed by flames. But they were safe.

(After the War a row of shops was built on the bomb site at the corner of Millington Road and no. 36 is now a small local supermarket. Part of Castle Bromwich at that time, Chipperfield Road would now be thought of as in Hodge Hill.)

The Coleman family was evacuated to the tiny rural hamlet of of Mousley End near Lapworth where they spent the rest of the war.

Joins ATV as a Cameraman

After three years at Sparkhill Commercial School Alan Coleman had a wide variety of jobs: newspaper reporter, insurance company rep, actor with the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, shoe salesman, RAF photographer and hospital radiographer before joining the ATV in 1964 as a trainee cameraman. He soon became a director and was the first director of ‘Crossroads’, the world’s first five-nights-a-week ‘soap.’ He spent eight years with the series. In 1971 he was appointed Head of ATV Children’s Drama.

Moves to Australia

Alan Coleman was headhunted in 1974 by Reg Grundy and he moved to Australia to establish Grundy’s TV Drama Department producing Australia’s first ever teen soap. He later produced other serials including ‘Prisoner Cell Block H’ and was a prime mover behind Australia’s longest running series ‘Young Doctors’.

After leaving Grundys, he set up his own production company, returning in the early 1990s to produce ‘Neighbours’ and ‘Shortland Street’ in New Zealand and later ‘Home and Away.’

In 2008 Alan Coleman received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Aussie Soap Awards and was made Honorary President of the ATV Network in 2010. At the age when most people have sunk quietly into retirement, Alan continued to work as a director and run workshops for television actors. He died aged 76 in 2013 in Wyong, New South Wales, Australia.

Rifleman Joe Murphy – Hero Killed Helping To Save A Fellow Trooper.

March 23, 2015 by William Dargue Leave a Comment

In June 2009 the British Army launched Operation Panther’s Claw in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, an offensive whose aim was to eradicate the Taliban insurgency there before the US presidential election was to take place.

And it was during this operation that 18-year-old Joe Murphy of Castle Bromwich was killed helping a comrade.

Joe’s talent as an artist was recognised at Archbishop Grimshaw School (now John Henry Newman Catholic College) but his art teacher was unable to point him in that direction; Joe had set his heart on joining the Army as soon as he left school at the age of 16.

After training at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate, he went to the Infantry Training Centre at Catterick in North Yorkshire to undertake the Combat Infantryman’s course.

2009 Joseph Murphy Rifles Regimental badge — Rifles’ Regimental badge

Joe Murphy then joined The Rifles Regiment, the largest in the Army, and was allocated to the 2nd Battalion, a light-role infantry battalion trained for short notice worldwide deployment. After initial training, he was deployed to Forward Operating Base Wishtan near Sangin in Afghanistan in March 2009. He had just turned 18.

A Young Man With Potential

Although newly posted and relatively inexperienced, his commanding officer saw the potential of the young man appointing him as one of the platoon’s light machine gunners; Joe had already set his sights on training up to the challenging role of a sniper.

On 10 July the Ministry of Defence announced the deaths of eight British soldiers over the previous 24 hours, Joe Murphy being one of them. This brought the total number of British personnel killed in Afghanistan since 2001 to 184.

Killed Helping To Save A Comrade

On Friday 10th July, Joe Murphy was patrolling from Wishtan Base when his ‘battle buddy’, Croydon born Rifleman Daniel Simpson was hit by a blast from an IED, an improvised explosive device. Joe was carrying his 20-year-old comrade to safety when they were hit by a second blast which killed the two of them outright.

Joe gave his life while trying to save that of his fellow soldier.

Five members of the Rifles lost their lives near Sangin that grim day. As the wounded and the bodies of the fallen were taken back to base, the bugle major sounded the advance as the sun set across the valley. Their comrades saluted them, picked up their rifles and returned to Wishtan.

Funeral Service At St Wilfred’s

Joseph Murphy's Funeral — Joseph Murphy’s Funeral

Rifleman Joe Murphy was flown back to Britain and hundreds of mourners lined the streets as his funeral service was held one month later at St Wilfred’s RC Church in Shawsdale Road, Castle Bromwich. He was then buried at the Woodlands Cemetery with a wake at Castle Bromwich Remembrance Club.

The Rifles’ Roll of Honour can be viewed online at http://www.careforcasualties.org.uk/rollofhonour.html.

Castle Bromwich Lord dies at Bosworth alongside Richard III

March 23, 2015 by William Dargue Leave a Comment

The remarkable discovery in 2012 of the skeleton of King Richard III, beneath a car park in Leicester, has provoked renewed interest in the Battle of Bosworth of 1485.

Although Richard III is the most famous casualty at Bosworth Field, over a thousand supporters of Richard and Henry Tudor also lost their lives in the fighting. Among the dead was the lord of the manor of Castle Bromwich.

Sir Walter Devereaux Inherits His Wife’s Titles

Walter Devereux's Coat of Arms (1485) — Walter Devereux’s Coat of Arms (1485)

Walter Devereux and Anne Ferrers were married in 1444. Walter’s father was the Chancellor of Ireland; Anne’s father was one of the landed gentry whose many estates included the manor of Castle Bromwich. On their wedding day Walter Devereux was 13 years old and Anne was just 7. When Anne’s father died at the age of 38, his titles passed to his daughter. She too died young at only 34 and her lands and titles, including the lordship of Castle Bromwich, then passed to Sir Walter.

This was the time of Wars of the Roses. The houses of York and Lancaster and their supporters were battling for the crown. Walter Devereux was an active Yorkist supporter. Indeed, for his bravery at the Battle of Towton, he had been knighted by King Edward IV on the battlefield in driving snow on Palm Sunday 1461.

The Battle Of Bosworth

Now, on a Monday morning 24 years later, Sir Walter sat astride his horse in a Leicestershire field alongside Edward’s brother, Richard, king for just two years. The date was August 22nd 1485.

12,000 of Richard’s men were prepared for battle near the village of Market Bosworth. Sir Walter had with him his own men, many of them tenants of his manors summoned to support the Yorkist cause. Numbered among them on that fateful day may well have been Castle Bromwich men.

Richard’s large army held a good position on the top of Ambion Hill, while his Lancastrian challenger, Henry Tudor, with a force less than half that of the King’s, was positioned in the marshy valley below. However, Henry had with him skilled Welsh longbowmen. Their deadly arrows injured and killed many of the Yorkist army, even before the battle had begun. Then the opposing forces met and the battle raged for three hours. Hundreds on both sides were injured or killed. And among those to die was Sir Walter Devereux fighting alongside the King.

Richard and Sir Walter are Killed

To cut a complicated story short: Richard decided to end the battle by killing Henry Tudor himself. Charging directly at him, he killed Henry’s standard-bearer Sir Percival Thirlwall and came to within a sword’s length of Henry. However, he was thrown from his horse by Henry’s bodyguard, losing his helmet as he fell. Fighting manfully, he died from several vicious blows to the head. The Yorkist army fled.

Richard’s crown was found in a bush near where he had fallen and Henry Tudor had himself crowned then and there on the battlefield, King Henry VII.

Richard’s body was stripped naked, thrown across a donkey and paraded round the field of battle, before being taken to Leicester to be displayed to the public. Henry wanted there to be no doubt as to the death of the Yorkist king. Richard’s body was taken to the Greyfriars’ church in Leicester before being buried in an unmarked grave where it lay for 527 years before being discovered.

As for Sir Walter Devereux, his body was one of a thousand others that were later taken to nearby St James’ church at Dadlington and there buried in a mass grave. The burial is unmarked and the exact location in unknown.

John Devereux Receives His Father’s Estates

Henry’s retribution against the supporters of the dead king was to confiscate their lands and titles. But, as chance would have it, Sir Walter’s son, John Devereux had been a boyhood friend of Henry Tudor and so his father’s estates and titles were given back to him, including the manor of Castle Bromwich.

The extent of Sir Walter’s connection with Castle Bromwich is not known. Landed gentry such as he had lands across the country and more than one residence. However, it may be that the church at Castle Bromwich was rebuilt during his time.

From the 12th to the 15th century, Castle Bromwich had only a small stone chapel, the size of the present chancel. Around the middle of the 15th century a large timber-framed church was added to this, making up roughly the area of the present nave. This may well have been at the instigation of Sir Walter, a clear and outward sign that the manor had passed from the Ferrers family to the Devereux.

Connection With Castle Bromwich Remains

The present heir of Sir Walter, is the Viscount Hereford. Although the Devereux family sold the lordship of the manor to Sir Orlando Bridgeman in 1710, Viscount Hereford is the 16th baronet of Castle Bromwich and is the patron of the Castle Bromwich Bell Restoration Project, an ambitious scheme to renovate and augment the bell installation.

(For more information, visit the bellringers’ website – http://cbbells.webs.com.)

From the single bell that rang out in the 15th century, the ringers hope to have a peal of eight in place in the near future.

The Sad Story of the Rushton Boys

March 10, 2015 by William Dargue 3 Comments

On 10th April 1860 Joseph Rushton and his younger brother George, aged 15 and 12 respectively, were returning from Castle Bromwich station with a handcart full of coal. Their large family lived in a small cottage at Bucklands End and every one of them had a household job to help out. Wheelwright George Rushton and his wife Ann had eleven children and, although the oldest had now left home, there were still six to care for, three of them younger than George.

The boys had spent all day planting potatoes for a local farmer and then, about 5 o’clock, they had to walk the 1½ miles to the station and back to get coal for the fire at the cottage. It had been a long day. Ahead of them was the steep Mill Hill up past Castle Bromwich church and the lads were tired and hungry.

They passed over the bridge by Twamley’s Mill. (This stood upstream of the Chester Road bridge over the River Tame on a site now underneath the M6 motorway viaduct.) Looking over the stone parapet of the bridge, the boys noticed a floury bread-like substance on the projecting ledge a metre below them. Joseph, being the tallest, scrambled over and passed the substance to his brother and the two boys satisfied their hunger. They then made their way up the hill to Castle Bromwich.

The Boys Become Ill

By the time Joseph and George had reached the church they had started to vomit and continued to do so. They were getting weaker by the minute and could barely walk. It was nearly 8 o’clock in the evening and getting dark when Thomas Spursbury was making his way home after bird nesting with Alfred, one of the younger brothers of the Rushton boys.

Joseph and George were now so weak that they had to be supported the rest of the way home. By the time they got to the cottage they were unable to speak.

Their worried parents assumed it was something their sons had eaten that had caused their illness and made them drink a little brandy and gave them some home-made remedies. But the boys grew worse and drifted in and out of consciousness, still vomiting and suffering convulsions.

At midnight George died, screaming and in great pain.

A Doctor Is Summoned

Poor families did not call a doctor unless they really had to. But now George Senior had no choice. He set off to walk the six miles to Coleshill in the dark to find Mr Bailey, the surgeon, in the hope of saving Joseph.

But long before the doctor arrived, Joseph too had died. Mr Bailey ordered that the boys’ vomit be kept for forensic examination and, having officially confirmed the deaths of the two boys, he left the family to their grief.

The next morning, father George went out with neighbours to retrace the route the lads would have take from Castle Bromwich station. They found traces of a bread-like substance which was sent to the surgeon at Coleshill as evidence for the inquest.

An Inquest Is Convened

The inquest was convened four days later at The Castle Inn with the Warwickshire coroner in the chair; respected local schoolmaster John Blewitt was the foreman of the jury. Having been sworn in, the jurors went over to Bucklands End to view the bodies of the boys.

When the jury returned to the Castle, George Rushton sorrowfully described the events of that tragic night. Coroner Carter then adjourned the inquest for a week to allow time for the contents of the boys’ stomachs to be examined along with the substance that George and his neighbours had found.

Local People Suspect Poisoning

Although not given in evidence, local people at the inquest informally talked about the case. It was assumed the two lads had inadvertently taken poison. It was known that a rat catcher had been working around Castle Bromwich and that he had left by train on the day of their deaths. It may have been rat poison that had killed Joseph and George Rushton.

The following Saturday the jurors reconvened at The Castle Inn and Mr Carter resumed the inquest. A local coachman, James Wall gave evidence. On the morning in question he had walked along the Chester Road down to Castle Bromwich station with William Stanley, whom he knew. Stanley was catching the train to Dudley.

As the two crossed the bridge over the River Tame, James Wall saw Stanley empty a bag over the parapet of the bridge into the water. He had not discussed it with Stanley and had thought nothing of it. The inquest was adjourned yet again until the rat catcher William Stanley could be summoned.

The Rat Catcher Gives Evidence

Finally, on Monday 30th April the matter was resolved. William Stanley gave evidence to the jury. He was a farmer near Stafford but also travelled around destroying vermin. On 10th April he had been in Castle Bromwich laying poison to kill rats. The substances he used were arsenic and barium carbonate mixed with flour and bran.

When he had finished his work laying poison, he had inspected the rat holes and collected any surplus poison in a bag for safety’s sake. He did not want to carry this on the train and so had disposed of it safely, so he thought, by throwing it over the bridge to be washed away by the river. Little did he know there was a ledge projecting out about a foot on the other side of the parapet.

John Henry Trollope Bailey, the surgeon of Coleshill, then testified that arsenic had indeed been found in the contents of the boys’ stomachs and that the horrible manner of their deaths was commensurate with arsenic poisoning.

The Jury’s Verdict

The jury’s unanimous verdict was ‘Accidental Death’, but they recommended that William Stanley use extreme caution in the future to prevent a similar occurrence happening again.

Stanley was so deeply upset by the affair that he was unable to speak and the Coroner desisted from making further comment. Although he himself was the father of a large family, Stanley gave a gold sovereign to George Rushton and the jury were also generous in their contributions.

Joseph and George Rushton were buried in Castle Bromwich graveyard where they lie in an unmarked grave. Their father was to die only four years later at the age of 58.

Interestingly, at the time of the 1891 census Joseph and George’s younger brother Alfred Rushton was living in Bucklands End with his wife and four sons, very likely in the same cottage. He named his eldest son after himself, and his second son was called George.

Acknowledgements: This article has been developed from research by Terrie Knibb and the Castle Bromwich Youth & Community Partnership. For more information about the Castle Bromwich Graveyard Project go to http://castlebromwichgraveyard.co.uk/