Ethel Parry was born on the 31st January, 1906. She was one of 3 children born to George William Parry (Motor chain maker) and Sarah Ann Stych.
Her father died when she was very young and when she was 5 she lived at 89 Arley Road, Saltley where her mother had a shop. Her mother later remarried to a Harry Meehan and the family moved into a back house in Charlotte Place off Long Acre, Nechells where her step sister Kathleen was born.
Ethel went to Eliot Street School until she was 14. She had a few jobs and at the aged of 19 she worked on a hand-press at a firm called Brampton’s. Later when she was out of work her step father got her a job as a barmaid at the ‘White Horse’ public house on the corner of Long acre and Holborn Hill. Although Ethel never liked the job she was made to do it by her step father who was a very strict man. She could hold a tray with five pint glasses on it in her left hand and pull the hand pump with her right to fill them. Ethel like all the barmaids at the pub wore a velvet waistcoat and a bow tie.
It was whilst she was working at the ‘white horse’ that she met her future husband Jim Kirby.
Ethel married Jim on the 6th December, 1930 and they lived in lodgings in Saltley. They were living in Saltley when their daughter Kathleen was born.
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Around 1940 Jim was offered a house to rent by his employer Mr. Frederick W. Evan’s of F. W. Evan’s Bakelite Moulders, Long Acre and so the family moved into number 289 Long Acre, Nechells. Later they moved into 295 where their son John was born.
To get the extra things she wanted for her home Ethel at one time after the war worked at ‘Foundry Services’ in Long Acre. In the mornings she used to serve in the canteen and later on she changed this job to one of washing upglassware used for experiments etc in the laboratory and then on the night she would return to do her other job as a cleaner, cleaning and polishing the laboratory floors.
In 1963 F. W. Evans knocked down the houses 287 to 297 in Long Acre that they owned for building land and the Kirby’s are moved across the road to number 69 Chattaway Street. (Evans’s had 2 of the houses they owned in Chattaway Street converted into flats. The downstairs rooms became 2 separate flats for a man and a woman and the 6 bedrooms upstairs were converted into a flat for Jim, Ethel and son John.
With the inner city redevelopment of the 1960-70’s most of Nechells including Chattaway Street is knocked down and the people re-housed. In 1975 Ethel and Jim move into a council owned bungalow – 58 Wyrley Way, Erdington.
In 1980 Ethel and Jim celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary. Ethel was so proud of the certificate congratulating them that they received from the Queen that it took pride of place for her on the living room wall.
Aged 88 Ethel died of stomach cancer in Good Hope Hospital, Sutton Coldfield on the11th March 1994.
Ethel married Jim on the 6th December, 1930 and they lived in lodgings in Saltley. They were living in Saltley when their daughter Kathleen was born.
To get the extra things she wanted for her home Ethel at one time after the war worked at ‘Foundry Services’ in Long Acre. In the mornings she used to serve in the canteen and later on she changed this job to one of washing up glassware used for experiments etc in the laboratory and then on the night she would return to do her other job as a cleaner, cleaning and polishing the laboratory floors. 
In 1980 Ethel and Jim celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary. Ethel was so proud of the certificate congratulating them that they received from the Queen that it took pride of place for her on the living room wall.