Chapter 9 - The Charleys of Birmingham

Chapter 9

The Charleys of Birmingham

It was through Jesse Charley that the writer learned the early history of the Birmingham Charleys, and through Robin Charley of Belfast that it was confirmed that the first Charley, known as “the Unknown” until identified by his research, was Henry Charley and was the one who came from Northern Ireland and settled in Berkeley Castle. His descendants were Eliza, James who settled in Blakeney and “William the Rogue” (1799-1883). “William the Rogue” according to Jesse was “wirey, could hold an ox, and was a great fighter.” He was a plasterer engaged on the construction of Stafford goal, being the first to be imprisoned there for debt. The Earl of Derby was his bondsman. N.B. the Derby influence again.

The next generation included William (1825-1901), John who lost an arm in the Crimea and Harriett (Moorman) of Cheltenham. William, known familiarly among the family as “William the Rich” was born in Berkeley in Gloucestershire and spent part of his childhood in Cheltenham. When about 17 or 18 he tramped to London arriving with only 3s 6 d in his pocket. An experience of two years there convinced him that Dick Whittingtons were not a 19^th century creation and so he wended his way to Birmingham. Here he served an apprenticeship as a plasterer and after years of hard work and drudgery commenced business on his own account. Taking small contracts he accumulated sufficient money to build a couple of public houses in Nelson Street South and Gooch Street. Out of the profits of these he bought up what remained of Harrison’s Brickyard, well known to old residents at Vaughton’s Hole. This he developed so rapidly that from the bricks made there, whole streets of houses sprang up. In fact to William Charley’s energy, the birth of that densely populated district was due. His enterprise was unbounded. He foresaw the growth of a big suburban district and was the pioneer of its development. From the profits he made in his speculation he bought a plot of freehold land at the corner of Brighton Road and Ladypool Road where he built the Brighton Hotel in which he lived for about 12 years.

Having purchased a plot of freehold land at the top of Belgrave Road forming the junction with Moseley Road he built the Belgrave Hotel, nine shops and 55 cottages. Here again he was fortunate for he came upon a fruitful bed of clay sufficient for his own purposes and for all the needs of the neighbourhood. He conducted the Belgrave Hotel for 10 years eventually selling it to Messrs. Flower and Sons, brewers. He sold the Brighton Hotel to Mitchell and Butler Ltd. for £25,250. Mr. Charley was for many years a member of the Kings Norton Board of Guardians and a much respected citizen of Birmingham.

The following are the members of this Charley family:

1.      William (    -1926)

2.      Frederick (    -1933)

3.      Frank (1861-1894)

4.      Ben

5.      Laura (who married John Bamford)

6.      Catherine (who married Thomas Clarke)

William ‘the rich’ retired to Berkeley Place, Newport Road, Balsall Heath, Worcestershire, where he died in 1925. His will dated 1899 evidenced considerable wealth.

Frank Charley (1861-1894) third son of William, who resided in the Sparkbrook district of Birmingham, was distressed by the squalor and wretchedness of the people who lived about him, and began Christian work amongst them by distributing tracts and ministering to both their spiritual and bodily needs. At the request of these people he took a cottage where he conducted religious services. The congregation grew large and there was a Sunday School of 50 children. The landlord objected to Mr. Charley’s tenancy of the house on the grounds that the other tenants complained of the noise caused by singing. He then moved the mission to a cottage on the Highgate Road and a short time afterwards made a third move to another cottage in the same road. Finding that his congregation was ill at ease in his newly furnished rooms he promptly disposed of the new furniture and brought back the old. The mission grew and prospered, but Frank Charley died in 1894 at the early age of 32, eight years after he had commenced his task. The work continued under Mrs. Charley and two others including a Mr. Feather, whom she later married. When she died in 1905 she was described as an “indefatigable worker whose name was one to conjure with among the roughest men of the poorest streets.”

Frank Charley had five children:

1.      Frank Norman (1887-1938)

2.      Leslie William (1889-

3.      Gladys (1890-1959)

4.      Gordon Wesley (1892-    )

5.      Frederick Glen (died as a baby)

Frank Norman was educated at King Edward’s Grammar School, Birmingham and Queens College, Taunton, and after training at Richmond College he entered the (then) Wesleyan ministry in 1913. He served two years with the forces at Chatham and from there went to Canterbury where he was appointed Chaplain to the 57 West Lancashire Division. As some newspaper reported put it at the time “now the Tommies have their own “Charley Chaplain.” After six months at Aldershot he went with his men to France for two years, being invalided home in 1918. As a Methodist minister his appointments included Canterbury, Huddersfield, Ilkeston, Leicester, the South Yorkshire Coalfields Mission, and finally the London Central Mission, where he was also for six years the non-conformist chaplain of Halloway prison. He was a fervent evangelist with a great love of humanity, especially the poor and under-privileged who appreciated his wonderful sense of humour.

Leslie William (Lt. Colonel) O.B.E., was educated at Queen’s College, Taunton, Cambridge University (M.S.) and the German universities of Jena, Berlin and Bonn. He obtained a commission with the Royal Warwicks in 1914 and was transferred to the Intelligence Corps on account of his knowledge of German, French and Semitic languages. He was three times mentioned in dispatches and was awarded the O.B.E. (Mil) in 1919. His peace time appointments included:

1919-1920	Economic Liaison Officer at French General Head Quarters Mayence
1920	Commercial adviser to Allied High Commissioner Danzig until the termination of the mission in December 1920
1921	Economic Section, Interallied High Commission Coblence
1922-24	Assistant director Department of Commerce and Industry Palestine Administration, under the late Lord Samuel
1924-32	Foreign Sales Manager – Gloster Aircraft Company
1932-39	Foreign Sales – Aviation department, Palmer Tyre Ltd.

In 1939 he was called up as a Reserve Officer and sailed for France as a member of the staff of 2 Corps under Lord Alanbrooke, and was evacuated from Dunkirk in 1940. From 1940 to 1941 he was Chief Instructor, Security Wing at the Army Intelligence Training Centre in Matlock. In 1941-1943 he was engaged by the War Office on special work for the Resistance Movement (Special Operations Executive.) and in 1944 he formed the Prisoner of War and Displaced Persons division of the Control Commission for Germany (British Element) and acted as Director. In 1945 he was appointed head of the German and Austrian Section of the Welfare and Re-patriation Division of United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), London, which office he held until its dissolution in 1946.

In 1946 he returned to commerce, travelling extensively in Europe and Africa and was awarded a gold medal by the Emperor of Ethiopia for personal services. He retired in 1957 and now lives in Sussex.

Gladys Charley who married David Longden, director of Gloster Aircraft Company was a very talented woman who painted in oils, played the harp and who was an earnest spiritualist.

Gordon Wesley Charley (after General Gordon and John Wesley) was educated at Cheltenham and Bristol University. In 1914 he joined the Pashley Flying School, Shoreham and afterwards the Royal Naval Air Service (R.N.A.S.) when Pashley was taken over by the Royal Flying Corps (R.F.C.) in 1915. He sailed for the Dardanelles that year and after being invalided home secured a commission in the R.F.C. as 2 Lieutenant Technical Equipment Officer, being posted to the Somme in 1916, and serving in France until 1918. He obtained a B.Sc. degree at Bristol University in 1923, and was appointed Production Manager to Gloster Aircraft Co. Resigning in 1929 he joined Chas E. Bedaux Ltd. afterwards A.I.C. Limited consulting engineers. In 1943 he was appointed Assistant Chief of Personnel in a consultative capacity to Joseph Lucas Ltd. of Birmingham.

It was at this time that he became concerned for the invalided ex servicemen and the other sick employees of the company. He joined forces with William Parish, a psychic healer to assist in their cure and after meeting a carpenter in Birmingham who was also a healer, found that he himself had healing powers. From time to time he was able to heal people in the factories to which his work took him. He devised what he called an “autoscope” to contact people in the “Unseen World.” Using this instrument he was told about a fire that would occur in the factory to which he was assigned, five months before it occurred, exactly as foretold. This encouraged him to continue his experiments in his spare time. He retired from consultancy work in 1963 when he developed a design of violin based on scientific principles, taking it back to the original violin of the Middle Ages, such design being almost an exact copy of a Guanerius Del Jesu. This design enables machine methods to be employed for construction, machine parts being easily assembled from a “Do it yourself kit.” Such a violin would have a clear, ringing tone and be within reach of students with limited money.

His contacts with the Unseen World through the ‘Autoscope' are recorded in ten neatly typed bound volumes covering Diagnosis of Disease, Absent Healing, Location of Missing Persons, Records of Previous Incarnations, and other subjects.