1941 About Us

Birmingham in the Blitz

These railings were deliberately left unrepaired by Wilfred Fattorini to mark a period of our history for contemplation.

The worst blitz occurred the 19th through to 22nd November 1940 when both the Lucas and BSA (Birmingham Small Arms) factories were bombed. There were apparently 700 fires out of control in the city with all the canals drained dry trying to cope. This period of intensive bombing did last from April 1940 for some 14 months.

During the second world war William Ramsdale was employed by Thomas Fattorini Limited as a night watchman at its Regent Street Works in Birmingham. The company presented him with a watch commemorating his bravery in saving the Works from fire following a direct hit by a German incendiary bomb.

On 9 November 1940 F J Palmer, director of J.G. Hammond & Company Limited wrote the following reference:
“Mr W J Ramsdale has been employed by this Company for nearly 30 years as a machine minder and we have always found him during the whole of this period a most willing, honest, sober and trustworthy servant. In the ordinary way we should have been pleased to have employed him for many more years but unfortunately enemy action has made this impossible. We have no hesitation in saying in our opinion he will prove as valuable servant to you as he has done to us.”