Wall Heath author, Terry Church, is launching his fourth book based on life in the village. The launch will coincide with the Wall Heath Remembered Exhibition being staged at Wall Heath Community Centre on Saturday 17 April between 10am and 5 pm.
A Wall Heath Lad has chapters devoted to his early life in the village and how life was in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s with family life happy but no excessive luxuries, He recounts his relationship with his parents and how they made sacrifices for him that he did not fully appreciate at the time.
A chapter is given over to schooldays and the influence on his life of one particular teacher Mr Phil Greenfield, now living in New Zealand, with whom he still has contact.
The annual holidays that he enjoyed, first with his parents and in mid teens with his friends are also recounted.
Terry’s education at Brierley Hill Grammar School began in 1953 and his memories of a first year at a school away from “his Village” are explored and will probably resonate with others who had a similar experience.
The concluding chapter “Lost but not Forgotten” recalls how (so far) he has manage to stay one step ahead of disaster as almost everywhere he worked or even attended school appears to have been demolished or disappeared.
As well as the narrative there are also over fifty photographs in the book showing many faces not only from the village but also people has met during his lifetime whether from education, work or social.
On Friday 16 April 2010 from 2pm I (Terry Church) will be appearing on the Mark Williams Show on The Bridge radio station.
I will be telling him about my latest book A Wall Heath Lad (published this week) which coincides with the Wall Heath Remembered exhibition that opens on 17th April 2010.
The Bridge is the Community Radio Station for Stourbridge and the Southern Black Country and broadcasts on 102.5 FM or you can listen live via their website www.thebridgeradio.net
At Wall Heath Community Centre on Saturday 17 April 2010 there will be an Exhibition called Wall Heath Remembered.
The Exhibition will display photographs, information and memorabilia from the history of the village and also provide an opportunity for people to pass on their memories of Wall Heath.
The Exhibition coincides with the launch of Terry Church’s latest book A Wall Heath Lad that will be available at £3.95.
Refreshments will be available and the Exhibition will be open from 10am until 5pm.
Further information is available from Terry Church on 01384 292170 or by email terrychurch@wallheath.org.uk
Although not quite a crusade it has become an important part of my life to preserve as much as possible of the heritage of ‘our’ village and so far this has led to me writing three publications. I have also held three exhibitions and have given over 100 talks on ‘Village Memories’ my own personal account of growing up in a Village on the edge of the Black Country.
The aim of this website is to bring you information about life in Wall Heath as it is now and as it was in years gone by. We will be making some changes in the coming months and adding some new content, so please check back often to see how it is progressing.
My thanks are expressed to those people who have loaned photographs to me and also to those who have enthusiastically allowed their contributions to be included in the publications.
Terry Church
