Station Road, Knowle, Solihull, West Midlands B93 0HN

Rev. Basil Bridge  1951—1955  sent the following message when asked, in 2008, about his memories of his time as a minister.  

As you may know, I was ordained and inducted to the pastorate in September 1951.  The membership at that time was about 30; it was classed as "Strategic". This may have been partly because the church was recovering from a very difficult few years.  In 1951 there were six deacons- three men, and their wives! One of them, Sydney Whybrow, had recently become Church Secretary; he and Mabel had retired to Bentley Heath after many years of devoted service at the Ladypool Road Cong. Muriel and I were very inexperienced, and greatly indebted to the Whybrows for their constant wise support and encouragement.  One unusual feature of the congregation was the attendance at morning service in term time of the pupils at Springfield House, a residential school under the Birmingham Education Authority. During my four years a hall was added, and a Boy's Brigade Company started; this latter was thanks to a former BB Captain at Stetchford Meth. moving into our district; after I had moved to Leicester, Reg Priest entered the Methodist ministry. I seem to recall that Jack Deakin gallantly served as an officer!   

Knowle Congregational

Church 5

As my wife and I shared our memories, it struck us what a varied collection of people we were privileged to have joined. For instance, three loyal couples lived in terraced houses opposite the chapel. Mr. and Mrs. Godson were members of long standing; he had planted the bushes at the front of the chapel, and he took great pride in keeping the grounds neat. Before his retirement he had been a chimney-sweep, and a voluntary member of the local fire brigade. Mr. and Mrs. Argent had come to live with their daughter and son-in-law. He was a railwayman, early retired after an accident had cost him his leg. They were Baptists. I remember his prayers, which invariably ended by referring to our Lord “whose we are and whom we serve.” Mr. and Mrs Horton were both severely handicapped in different ways; she also had an artificial leg. She had a knitting machine in their front room on which she augmented his small earnings as a gardener. He had previously been a Christadelphian.

Another loyal couple were Mr. and Mrs. Frank Dutton, who lived at the far end of Longdon Road in an ancient cottage, which they believed had links with the poet Byron! Frank had been a grave-digger (I think at Olton); he cultivated his large garden, and kept goats!   Best wishes to you and the present membership. May you continue to  grow, in numbers, and in grace!    

Basil Bridge (Minister 1951-55)

Above: Induction service of Rev Basil Bridge

Below: Induction - Mabel Whybrow raises a laugh from Basil Bridge & George-Fisher

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