Editor's choice November 2007

November 2007 Balsall Heathan

Taunton Road Memorial

A moving memorial ceremony was held at Taunton Road Gardens on the 26th October to commemorate the people that tragically lost their lives on the site 67 years ago.

Around 75 people came to pay their respects to the 19 people that were killed and the many more that were injured during an air raid attack on the Balsall Heath cinema on the 25th October 1940, during World War II.

A moving ceremony by Reverend Rodgers in which he blessed the site and prayed for the families of those who were killed began the service. Professor Carl Chinn MBE, the president of the Birmingham Air Raids Remembrance Association (BARRA), gave a touching speech that commemorated the loss of lives. He also showed gratitude to the people that were significant in making the garden a success. Amongst the mourners where Vidah and Valerie Pierce who both lost their parents in the vicious attack. Standard bearers from the United Club and BARRA where present on the day alongside important local community figures and the memorials organiser Barbara Johnson.

Groundwork Birmingham and Solihull worked alongside young people from Anderton Park School to design the memorial garden. The landscape design illustrates the shape of a cinema, with a bowl-shaped grass area for the auditorium, and a straight brick path for the screen, inlaid with 19 slabs of slate. A stone carving was laid on the site with the design features of an Irish knotwork pattern woven around the word ‘peace’ written in Arabic, reflecting the changing communities of the area.

Jafar Raza a local resident who has campaigned for the garden said “I feel proud of today as it is the result of the 25 years that I have been working to bridge the gap between the Muslim and Christian community. I am very proud of today and are very thankful to the dedication and commitment from all the people that have made this memorial possible”.