George Smith was born in 1901 in a horse drawn caravan on travellers ground at the back of the ‘Country Girl’ pub in Bordesley Green, he could speak the Romany language very well. Some years later his parents Isaiah and Annie moved and took George and his three brothers to live on a Gypsy site at the bottom of Aston Church Road, Nechells.
Later on in life George had a caravan and stables for his 3 horses on the site and did a lot of delivery work using his carts. When the month of May came around he would trim his horses up with ribbons and rosettes and join in the Mayday Parade. He won the award for the ‘Best turned out Horse on Show’ quite a few times.
He met, courted and later married Florence Annie Haynes at St. Clements Church in Stuart Street, Nechells on the 5th March 1928 and went to live at 8/60 Holborn Hill, Nechells.
After he was married he started work at Bromford Tubes. He worked there throughout the war years and right up until he retired at the age of 65. Then for quite a few years after that he was a Groundsman for St. Michaels Football Club in Boldmere.
With the inner city redevelopment of the 1960-70’s the house in Holborn Hill was knocked down and George and Florence were re-housed in Hermitage Road, Erdington.
On the 17th of March in 1983, George passed away in the Heartlands Hospital he was 82 years old.
George Smith was born in 1901 in a horse drawn caravan on travellers ground at the back of the ‘Country Girl’ pub in Bordesley Green, he could speak the Romany language very well.
He met, courted and later married Florence Annie Haynes at St. Clements Church in Stuart Street, Nechells on the 5th March 1928 and went to live at 8/60 Holborn Hill, Nechells.
With the inner city redevelopment of the 1960-70’s the house in Holborn Hill was knocked down and George and Florence were re-housed in Hermitage Road, Erdington.