Woodlands Park Recreation Committee

April 1921, click to enlarge.

The Woodlands Park Recreation Committee ran the activities of the top recreation ground, which were originally quite broad, but by the 1920s included bowls and tennis.

Several leaflets about events survive in Birmingham Archive, which have been added to this post, along with transcriptions.

April 1921 (image above)

At this time the Woodlands Park Recreation Committee were:
P. W. ROBERTS, Chairman.
P. R. BRANNAN, Hon. Sec. Bowls Section, 218, Northfield Road.
W. CUNNINGHAM, Hon. Sec. Tennis Section, 14, Kingsley Road.
Bowls Committee:
Messrs. R. R. BRANNAN, V. BAGNALL, E. BRESMAN, F. J. LOCKWOOD, A. SMITH, E. W. WASHBOURNE.
Tennis Committee:
Miss. A. BENNETT, Mrs. J. R. GITTINS, Messrs. P. W. ROBERTS, A. W. EYLES, N. LOCKWOOD, W. CUNNINGTON.

April 1926

Edits for April 1927

The edits made, above, suggest that by 1927 the Woodlands Park Recreation Committee was beginning to split between the bowlers and tennis players, with the 'Tennis Section' planning to produce their own leaflet.

Birmingham Archive (reference: MS 1536/Box 28).

The Tennis Club

Click to enlarge.

From the beginnings of the Tenants Estate in the early 1900s there was provision for a range of sports on the top 'rec' (between Kingsley, Woodlands Park and Northfield Roads), including a bowls green and a tennis court. Clubs formed to utilise both, which flourished, but by the 1990s membership of the tennis club had waned, the court had become run-down, and, despite interest from Kings Norton Boys School, it was decided to remove the court and replace it with a second green for the bowls club.

Due to its closure, and the court being removed, not much is known of the club, but the photo (above) shows some of the members in the early 1950s. They are, from left to right, Bill Tallis, Vic Clark, Hetty Willetts, Grace Clark, Charlie Evans, Arthur Hodgkins, Marjorie Parker and Alison Hodgkins. They're standing on the Quadrangle, outside 30 Kingsley Road, where Alison grew up; the visible house being 34 Kingsley Road.