The Expansion of Birmingham
With city status Birmingham continued to expand. New
parks, swimming baths, libraries and entertainment venues
were built in the city.
Joseph Chamberlain originally a Londoner, took the
city to new heights. The Council House, The Museum and
Art Gallery, the elaborate buildings in
Birmingham University were all projects under the
vision of Chamberlain. Borrowing heavily and using finance
from the commercial sector the Birmingham Corporation
transformed the city.
In Stirchley in 1878 George
Cadbury and his sons had purchased 14 acres of
land . The company moved to
Bournville with cocoa as their main product. In
1895 the Bournville model village land was purchased
providing accommodation to the working class of Cadbury's
factories. It is even today managed by the Bournville
Village Trust set up by the Cadbury family. The developments
of Cadbury and the international status it has acheived
is just one of the success stories of the region. The
Cadbury Visitor centre is one of the city's leading
tourist attractions.
Home of the Industrial Revolution, known for its contribution
to arms manufacture and transport, the transatlantic
cable, brass and iron,the Orient Express. Importing
raw materials from and exporting to all four corners
of the world, Birmingham has made it's marked contribution
to the United Kingdom as we know it today. Indeed Birmingham
is known throughout the world for its innovation and
manufacturing. City of a thousand trades, home of the
motor industry, Dunlop, Lucas and BSA, to name but a
few.
The First World War
Birmingham city sent 150,000 men to Flanders, many
of whom did not return or returned with terrible injuries.
The importance of Birmingham cannot be underestimated.
It's factories were vital to the war effort. BSA produced
the Lewis gun at over 10,000 units a week. Millions
of cartridges and shells along with armoured vehicles
poured out of the city. Cadbury's produced food for
the war effort. Following the war a massive housing
development scheme expanded the city further. The city
had escaped the worst of World War I by its distance
and the limitations of the technology of the day. It
had more than paid for this in the numbers of men lost
in France during the war. The second world war changed
the face of Birmingham forever.
The Second World War
Prior to 1939 Birmingham had already in place four
aircraft factories and the skills with which to produce
any aircraft needed in the event of war. War broke out
and the German Luftwaffe had already targeted the city.
400,000 of Birmingham's population were engaged in war
production. It is arguable that without the Industrial
might of Birmingham, Britain could well have lost the
second world war. Spitfires and Hurricanes poured out
of Birmingham factories. Ammunition, shells, armoured
vehicles, motorcycles, engine parts, amphibious craft
and trucks supplied the British war effort. The blackout
made navigation difficult for the Luftwaffe bombers.
Time and time again the city suffered as the Luftwaffe
tried to find the factories. Only the BSA factory suffered
seriously at the hands of the enemy aircraft but over
6,000 homes were destroyed and over 5,000 citizens were
killed or seriously injured. Many of Birminghams fine
buildings were destroyed in the air raids.
The Rebuilding of Birmingham
After the war the city was rebuilt. In the 1950's
and 1960's immigrants from the caribbean and Asia found
their way to the city enriching its cultural heritage
and founding the mixed race and cultural centre that
Birmingham is today. The harsh buildings and some bad
planning on the part of the Council has ensured that
Birmingham has received much criticism for its appearance
and its manufacturing decline in recent years. I leave
the post war events to the citizens of Birmingham. Many
today are still aware of the changes both good and bad
that have shaped the city in recent years. However,
the dismal and depressing drab city that you may have
seen 15 or 20 years ago is going through a major change.
