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Showing posts with the label Handsworth

Family Home to Museum : Family History #2

Charles James and Florence Beatrice Simmons  My husband’s grandparents were both English politicians.  Jim’s grandfather, Charles James Simmons represented various constituencies in the Birmingham area, and his grandmother  Florence Beatrice Simmons was an alderman in Birmingham City Council  in the 1940’s to 1950’s.( they were known as Jim and Beatrice). Their individual stories take more than a blog entry to cover – in fact, Jim’s (Charles James)  autobiography, The Soap Box Evangelist , tells his story while  he was a member of the  House of Commons  and a conscientious objector in khaki during World War 1. So, this blog post focuses on the fascinating story of their house at 20 Slack Lane ( corner of Slack Lane and College Road , Handsworth)  which we visited recently. 20 Slack Lane ( corner of Slack Lane and College Road, Handsworth, Birmingham    Known as the Handsworth Town Hall , the former  home of the...