By the time the family moved to Brownhills around 1880 the village had changed from little more than a hamlet with a population of eight at the turn of the century to a bustling mining centre with a population of over 2,000. Having to spend their first night at the Railway Station in Brownhills after their first ever train journey because Dad had forgotten to tell Mother where it was that they were going to be living only added to the sense of adventure. Dad arrived the next day with their belongings on a cart after having walked all the way along the Watling Street from Shropshire. Once reunited the family, consisting at that time of Jonah, his older brother, Tom, a younger sister Alice and their parents settled into Lancashire Cottages on Watling Street. Settling in close by were his grandparents, Tom and Margaret Green along with their three youngest boys William, Thomas and Richard and his Uncle Bill Deakin [Dads brother], Aunt Emily [Mothers sister] and their two young ones Mary & Henry.

Jonah’s family immediately associated themselves with Watling Street Wesleyan Chapel [also known as Park View Chapel being situated right across Watling Street from the local park] and Jonah’s association with that church lasted for the rest of his life. It was here that he met his future wife, Jane Shingler, and here that he served in many capacities over the years. The church and his religion were Jonah’s consuming passion and during his life he held practically every office open to the layman.

In order for his ambitions to be fulfilled Jonah realised early that he had to earn more than five shillings a week and so in 1896 at twenty years of age he began selling insurance for the General Accident, Fire and Life Assurance Company.

Methodists in those days were noted for their success in handling money and Jonah proved he was no exception. In four years he had saved up enough to buy two houses in "Titty" Norris's Row and to convert the front rooms into a shop, which he called "Central Stores", for the purpose of selling Groceries and Provisions.

Rev. Charles E. Frozzard married him and his childhood sweetheart, Jane Shingler, on December 26th 1899 at Hammerwich Parish Church. This same church had seen the marriage of Jonah’s older brother Tom to Jane’s older sister Mary Ann in 1898 and would later see the marriage of Jonah’s younger sister Ada to Jane’s younger brother Tom.

1900 was the start of a new century and a very busy year for Jonah and Jane. In addition to being newly married and opening the new business their first son was born in November. He was christened Charles Edgar, perhaps after the Rev. Charles E. Frozzard for whom Jonah had a great admiration. Over the years their business prospered and their family grew with the birth of another son, Jonah in March of 1906.

By 1910 there were 122,000 telephones in use in Great Britain and Jonah and Jane had one of the first telephones in Brownhills. The first Post and Telegraph Office was next door to Jabez Brewe’s Bakery and Confectionery store on the corner off High Street and Lichfield Road. The exchange was a small cabinet fixed on the wall behind the counter. By 1917 this proved inadequate and the exchange moved next door to an upstairs room above Coopers. Miss Hedley was the operator in the early days and she was one of the best informed people in Brownhills – she always knew everybody’s business!

Two of his acquisitions around 1902 were a couple of houses in Hednesford Road and his parents went to live in one of them. Later his brother Tom and his wife Polly moved into the house next door. He also bought a little Drapery shop directly across the Watling Street from where he later built "The Hollies" and his sister Ada Shingler ran that for him. Eventually it was bought from him by his sister Florence Maddox who ran it as a sweet shop. He aquired land up the "Fault" and in Howdles Lane and also a large piece of land across from Central Stores. In the early days the Chapel Soccer and Cricket teams used this land for their games and he managed to obtain an abandoned railway carriage for the teams to use as their change rooms after he had had it moved onto the field. In the 1930’s he had Sam Pickering, a local builder, build him a number of houses on two sides of this field along with a house for his own use which he called "the Hollies". He continued throughout his life to put money away and to acquire more property in preparation for his retirement until, at the time of his death , his estate was worth over ten thousand pounds.

Jonah was a thrifty man and was noted, as was his brother Tom, for being a bargain hunter. Neither of them could resist a sale. As a small child I remember him bringing home what he called helmets for our dolls to wear. We were unable to understand the hilarity they caused the adults until we were older – it seems that the "helmets" were in fact foam rubber "falsies" that he had obtained very cheaply from a nearby rubber factory. He had been unable to resist recycling them. I think that the present trend towards recycling, reusing and yard sales would have greatly appealed to him. Even the beautiful oak parquet flooring which he put down in "The Hollies" was recycled from a Hall being demolished a few miles away.

Grandpa was one of the leading Methodists in the village and was a trustee of Park View Church for much of his life. For some years he was Sunday School Secretary and later followed in his father in laws footsteps and became Sunday School Superintendent. He was a local preacher, though never on "Full Plan" and was often called upon at any hour of the day or night to baptise newly born children who were sickly or not expected to live. His life was the church and there was nothing he would not do for it. He undertook any job willingly and cheerfully whether it was of an organisational or practical nature and the intensity of his love for the church shone through everything he did.

He never participated in activities associated with drinking and gambling – both were regarded by him [and all Methodists for that matter] as wasteful and degrading. He was conscious of the evils of drink and temperance work was an integral part of his chapel activities. He was never known to use bad language. Beside being temperate and thrifty Grandpa was also what I guess we’d call a Sabbatarian – he didn’t believe in spending money on a Sunday or taking part in any activity that was not involved with Chapel. Sundays were spent, along with his family, in religious activities only. They attended Chapel in the morning and evening with early morning and afternoon being devoted either to teaching in or attending Sunday School. Some Sundays Grandpa would travel the Circuit to preach in other chapels. Relaxation was a little hymn singing after evening service or prayer meeting.

Looked at down the years his life seems to have been based on a series of "thou shalt not" notions and along with his disapproval of drinking and gambling he did not approve of dancing or card games of any kind. He loved his occasional game of lawn bowls and had a weakness for playing draughts [checkers]. He would have a game with anyone who was willing and during the thirties he played regularly with his brother Bill. He taught his grandchildren to play as they became old enough and he always played to win – no concessions given! The day we won our first game against Grandpa was a day for great rejoicing.

Jonah Senior owned Central Stores for thirty three years before handing it over to "young Jonah" and Doris after their marriage in 1933.He had prided himself on giving "Service, Civility and Satisfaction" no matter how trying the times during his ownership of the Stores.

During World War I food supplies remained fairly adequate so Jonah was able to keep his customers well supplied and it was not until 1917, after the submarine campaign, that rationing was introduced and life became more difficult. Sugar was rationed initially with meat, fats and other foods following in 1918. Prices rose 133% during the war and so some folk suffered real hardships. As if this wasn’t enough income taxes rose steeply and leaped from 1s 8d in 1914 to 6s in the pound by 1918.

Regular customers not living close to the Stores were visited weekly by Jonah to have their order collected. For many years he made these rounds with a pony and trap. Sometimes he would be the one to return the completed order to the customer and take the time to have a little chat and get caught up on all the local gossip and sometimes he would send his delivery boy [often young Jonah or his own younger brother Bill]. In this case the delivery vehicle took another form. In he early days it was simply a metal basket on wheels and later a three wheel bike with a basket on the front advertising "Central Stores". The pony and trap were in use for many years and looking after the pony "Dolly" was Jane’s responsibility.
CENTRAL STORES,   WATLING STREET.

Jonah and Jane made regular buying trips into Birmingham to purchase their supplies from the wholesalers, Wilkinson and Redel. Some of the household items that were sold in the Stores were specially made up for Jonah. His pride and joy was a large "mangle" which proudly proclaimed DEAKINS around the top.

Jonah had great expectations for his sons and it was important to him that they obtain a good education. Learning was encouraged at home and examinations were part of Sunday School life as well as at day school. Both Charles and Jonah went on to Grammar school after completing their primary School education. After Charles completed his years at Queen Mary’s Grammar School in Walsall he joined his Dad’s brother, Bill, at the Harrison Colliery Offices as a Clerk. It was while working here that Bill and Charles apparently left their mark for all the world to see. According to Bill they were accused by the Senior Clerk of dropping a blot from their nibbed pens in a wages book and then closing the book. Apparently the artistry of the blot had to be seen to be believed and so the Senior Clerk felt that an explanation was in order. Consequently the blot was preserved for posterity along with the following note – "These picturesque views and landscapes were printed by Deakin and nephew". Charlie eventually entered the Methodist ministry much to his parents surprise and Jonah Junior ended up going into the family business.

The Labour Party, with 59 M.P.’s, became the official Opposition Party for the first time in Lloyd George’s "Coupon Election" of 1918 and the Labour movement was gaining strength everywhere, particularly in areas like South Staffordshire where coal mining was the principal occupation. Jonah was always interested in politics and local government and during election time in Brownhills, along with his brother, Tom, he would find a spot on Brownhills Common and "get up on his soap box". It didn’t matter that he and Tom spoke for opposing sides – that only added to the excitement. He tried many times to get elected to the Brownhills Urban District Council, which had been formed in 1894, but he was never successful. The Labour Party were very strong in the area and always conducted a vigorous [and often vicious] campaign with much waving of red flags and name calling.

Grandpa was first involved in local government as the Clerk to Hammerwich Parish Council around 1901. At that time the Rev. Frozzard was Chairman of the Council and later both he and Jonah became members of Lichfield Rural District Council with Jonah being its Chairman for a while.

Jonah was a man who commanded respect from all who knew him and was looked on as a man of some standing in the community. He was a friend and advisor to many and his role in the community at times seemed to be that of an old fashioned "Village Squire" according to his brother Bill. He was always ready, willing and able to give guidance, encouragement and assistance to anyone who required it at any time of the day or night no matter how inconvenient it might be to himself.

Following World War I there was a spell of prosperity but it was followed by a slump with a consequent rise in unemployment. The General Strike of 1926 made things even worse and many people were in dire straits. Jonah extended a helping hand to as many as he could and gave credit to many of his customers, not knowing whether he would ever receive payment but having a strong belief in people’s integrity. He was rarely disappointed.

The problems associated with the Strike and unemployment hit close to home and Jonah’s brother, Sid, a miner, was one of those badly affected. He had a struggle for quite a while but with help from his family he eventually pulled out of the crisis. Jonah’s sister, Zilla [Priscilla] was in charge of a soup kitchen that was in operation at the Brownhills Zion Chapel during the General Strike.

By 1933 Jonah was ready to give up the Stores and devote all his time to his political interests. He was a liberal at heart but didn’t believe that a man should be behoven to any political party in local government. He always therefore ran in elections as an Independent candidate and this way he was under no obligation to anyone and was able to vote according to his conscience and for the betterment of the community. He was a man of integrity – upstanding, honest and trustworthy and his word was his bond.

A recommendation was made in 1938 by the Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire that Jonah be made a Justice of the Peace and this appointment was conferred on him by the Lord Chancellor. He derived much personal satisfaction from his work "on the bench" and considered it a great honour to have been chosen to serve his fellow man in this way. He was particularly patient and understanding with young people brought before him. He was elected to Staffordshire County Council as the representative for the Shenstone Division in 1942 at the age of sixty six.

He always encouraged young people in their sporting activities and considered them a good, healthy way of releasing energy. He sponsored and supported the Wesleyan Chapel Soccer and Cricket teams for many years and as well as providing them with a field to play on he also supplied the refreshments at half time. He was a kindly, genial and patient man with children and my sister and I always enjoyed the regular babysitting visits when our parents went out to the pictures or a dance. Despite being stern and standing no nonsense from us he was our staunchest defender against angry parents and was very popular with us. One particular time stands out in my memory when my sister and I were jumping rather vigorously from the bed head onto the mattress and the bed collapsed under us. Grandpa rushed upstairs, calmed us down and despite the fact that we were doing something forbidden defended us vigorously on our parents return. He was always deeply interested in all his grandchildren and concerned for our futures and despite the fact that he was not a demonstrative man his love for us all shone through to us in his actions.

Grandpa was one of the first people in the village to own a car and his driving remained erratic throughout his life. Driving with him was always an exciting experience and one never knew quite what might happen next. For years he had the same black Morris Ten with the number plate AEA 530 and it possessed more dents and bashes than any other car in the area. Running into things and over things was always part of the excitement of driving with him. On one trip back from London with Charlie and young Jonah he was travelling at sixty miles per hour when he realised that his coat was caught in the door. Without further ado he opened the door to release the coat and lo and behold the door flew off. It was certainly a more exciting experience than the Lords Cricket match they had been to watch.

He suffered for many years with sick bouts and stomach pains from a persistent ulcer and in April of 1951 he elected to go into Birmingham General Hospital for surgery to correct the problem. He was convinced it could be fixed and went in despite Jane’s insistent pleas not to go. She never saw him again as she was unable to visit him in the hospital having recently broken her hip and he never returned home. On Tuesday April 10^th 1951 he died of complications following his surgery. Jane was broken-hearted.

The funeral service was held in Park View Church, his spiritual home for 70 years and he was laid to rest in St. James Churchyard, Brownhills.

A service was conducted at Park View Church on Sunday June 28^th 1953 by the Rev. Heath Burgess to dedicate the Jonah Deakin Memorial which had been purchased from a fund set up by Jonah in his will. The memorial was "In blessed memory of Jonah Deakin, Senr. Veteran of this Church who died 1951 aged 74 years". Rev. Heath Burgess noted that "The Communion rail and blue carpeting, which constitute the Memorial, will add dignity and beauty to the interior of ‘Park View’ Church which meant so much to Mr. Deakin".

Jonah will best be remembered by all who knew him well for the three things he enjoyed most in life - a good chat, a spicy joke and a hearty sing.

He was born on March 29th 1906 at Central Stores, Watling Street, Brownhills the second and youngest son of dedicated Methodist parents, Jonah and Jane Deakin. He was to have been baptised John [probably after either his grandfather John Henry Deakin or his great grandfather John Shingler] but at the font his father made a hasty change, much to his mothers surprise, and Jonah was named after his father.
JONAH DEAKIN ( JUNIOR ) 1906 - 1980

He began his education at Watling Street Primary School under the watchful eye of Miss Taylor the infants mistress and passed his standards without too much effort eventually moving up to the Junior School headed by Charles Atkins and his wife Emily.

1911 saw the Coronation of King George V and a committee was formed in Brownhills to co-ordinate the celebrations. While the temperature in London soared to an unprecedented 100º Fahrenheit in August the Coronation Committee in Brownhills was reporting that they had a surplus of nineteen pounds five shillings and five pence following the celebrations. A proposal was put forward that a Public Clock should be purchased and everyone helped out with the fund raising events including schoolchildren like Jonah. Eventually enough money was raised and the clock - a beautiful thing made of copper and porcelain with gold trim - was purchased for ninety five pounds.

Growing up at Central Stores, the family's grocery store, was a lot of fun for a small boy looking for excitement. There were many outhouses behind the store just ideal for playing "hide and go seek". There were pigs in the pig sty, a pony in the stable and a slaughter house where all the butchering was done each Monday. If you were lucky you might even get the pigs bladder to use as a balloon after Mr. Robinson or "Sticker" Russell had finished their butchering. With his Uncle Bill only four years older than he and his brother Charles six years older there was always someone to get into mischief with and Jonah knew how to do that without any difficulty. Additionally, his mothers widowed sister, Esther, with her two daughters, Ethel and Jennie lived in premises at the back of the store so there were always playmates around.

There was much excitement among the children of the area in July of 1913 when the railway company purchased three plum and cream coloured buses and began a bus service in Brownhills connecting it with Hednesford, Chasetown and Chaseterrace. Unfortunately the service did not last long as it was discontinued when the war broke out in 1914.

When Jonah was about eleven he was sent to stay on a farm in the Rugeley area, much to his delight. It was his first holiday and with it came his first introduction to matters concerned with "the birds and the bees". He was able to watch the breech birth of a calf and was fascinated. His delight in the holiday was short lived however when he found out that he had been sent to Rugeley so that his parents could go on holiday to Blackpool without him!

Jonah did well in Junior School and in 1917 won a scholarship or free place to Lichfield Grammar School. The building which was then the Grammar School was the fourth such building and had been built a quarter mile further south on St. John's Street than the third school. The new site was much larger with plenty of room for expansion and it boasted extensive playing fields. It was undoubtedly here that Jonah's love of soccer and cricket first began to surface. The third Grammar School, built in 1845 in Tudor style with a fine beam roof, later became the Rural District Council House where Jonah and his father spent many hours in debate after their election to the Council years later. Photographs of both of them are still hanging there. During his years at Lichfield Grammar School he was a member of the Officers in Training [later the CCF] which had been founded in 1909 but he progressed no further in the Military hierarchy.

The South Staffs Railway Company had opened their line through Brownhills in 1849 and travelling by train was still the only way to get to school during the years Jonah attended Lichfield Grammar School. His practical joking had free reign on the train away from his mothers watchful eye and with the encouragement of his friends. One day he and his friends stripped one hapless youth of his trousers, lifted him onto the luggage rack in the compartment, tied him up there and then left him to travel all the way to the end of the line in Walsall after they had disembarked in Brownhills.

Jonah never lost that sense of humour and he always loved a good joke - particularly one with a bit of spice. If he found something amusing he would soon have everyone laughing with him - his laugh was unmistakable and very infectious. He was a great tease and no one was spared - not even his grandfather Shingler who was noted for being a very sombre person.

Attendance at Chapel and Sunday school every week was expected and Jonah learned early to love a good hearty hymn sing - the hallmark of a true Methodist! A service wasn't ranked as good if the preacher hadn't chosen some well loved hymns that Jonah could put his whole being into. He learned to play the piano and later the organ and in his younger years he even pumped the bellows for the chapel organ. His delight in practical jokes surfaced many times during those years.

By 1918 the school leaving age was raised to 14 so Jonah remained at the Grammar School until 1920 when he left to begin training as an electrician at Chasetown Colliery Workshops. He remained there only one year before beginning an apprenticeship at Wiggins Grocers in Lichfield. His brother Charles had surprised the family by deciding to go into the Methodist Ministry instead of the family business so Jonah stepped into the breach. He worked his way up from the bottom at Wiggins and then began working for his Dad. During his apprenticeship he learned to reel off a long list of assorted grocery items for the benefit of customers coming in to buy their supplies. His list would jog their memory in the event that they might have forgotten something. Jonah learned his list so well that he could still recite it in his retirement years.

There was always a little bit of the actor in Jonah and at any given time he might burst forth into a rendition of Rudyard Kipling's famous poem "If' and give it every bit of feeling that he possessed. Maybe he should have gone into the Ministry, too!

As a young man he showed a great deal of promise as a soccer player and at one point considered turning professional. His team, the Watling Street Wesleyan Football Club, were district soccer champions many times over. Soccer was the working mans sport and with more people enjoying a Saturday half holiday, it became even more popular. Teams and clubs were formed by church and chapel groups, pubs, institutes and industrial concerns

Local pillars of the community were happy to help these young men fill their spare time with a recreation that was healthy, harmless and satisfying and Jonah's Dad filled this role on Watling Street. He sponsored the Wesleyan Football Club and provided the field for them to play on as well as change rooms and refreshments after each game. Albert Poxon, who played on the same team as Jonah recalls that the team was affectionately known as "Jonah's team" because they were captained by Jonah and they used to have some really good times together. Soccer became a national sport and the only other sport that mattered as much was cricket which Jonah also became involved with during the summer months when there was no soccer.

The 1920's were years of many contrasts. For many people they were years filled with depression and unemployment and the worst troubles were in the coal industry. Being right in the middle of the South Staffs coalfield Brownhills suffered along with everyone else and when the General Strike began in May of 1926 everyone in the community was affected to some extent. Soup kitchens were a common sight and Jonah's Aunt Zilla [Priscilla Deakin] ran one in front of the Zion Chapel. The miners stayed out for over six months until poverty and hunger forced them back to work. For many others the standard of living improved and Jonah's family were amongst them. They were lucky enough to be able to purchase a car and a "wireless" and to afford the luxury of the occasional trip to the seaside.

Jonah learned to drive his Dad's car and to play tennis and it was this combination that led to his meeting with Doris in 1931. He had driven to the tennis courts on Lichfield Road and was playing on one court when Doris and her Aunt Kitty [Catherine Tongue] arrived on motorbikes with two boys from Hammerwich to play on the other court. Suddenly the firebell on the side of the Council House went off and Jonah grabbed Doris and took her off to see the fire! He pursued her relentlessly after this even to the point of buying her a second hand baby grand piano shortly after they started courting and presuming that that was all that was needed to persuade Doris to marry him.

By this time, of course, Jonah was twenty five and anxious to get married and settle down. Doris was only nineteen and not nearly so anxious! Jonah, however, was a most persistent suitor and nothing Doris could do discouraged him. Even after the Tongue family moved to Handsworth and Jonah would have to have Doris home by her curfew of 10p.m. and then walk himself home he continued to be enthusiastic. His persistence paid off and on December 28^th 1933 Jonah and Doris were married in Perry Barr Methodist Church. Fred Towe was Jonah's best man and Kitty Tongue and Maggie Espley were Doris's bridesmaids. Doris's sister, Brenda Tongue, was the train bearer.

On their return from their honeymoon in Bournemouth the newlyweds moved into Central Stores which had been given to them by Jonah's parents as a wedding gift. Jonah Senior and his wife, Jane, moved into their newly built home, The Hollies, across the Watling Street from Central Stores. During the years after his marriage and before the outbreak of the Second World War Jonah became active with the Loyal Order of the Moose joining Walsall Lodge number 114. Around the same time he also joined the Walsall and District Grocers Association. He was elected to the position of President of this Association in 1948.

1939 saw two important events occur in Jonah's life. His first child, a daughter, Gillian was born on January 16^th and eight months later the second World war broke out in Europe. Being unable to fight in the war for medical reasons Jonah volunteered as a special constable and at the end of the war received a medal for faithful service in this Constabulary.

The first impact of war which affected Jonah and his family was a series of rules and regulations. Everyone was issued an identity card [OTKO 40:1/2/3/4 were the numbers allocated to our family] and a gas mask and a blackout was imposed on all lights after dark. Car headlights were initially banned but were later allowed to be masked due to the dramatic increase in the number of road accidents. Petrol was rationed right from the start of the war and by 1942 none was available at all for pleasure motoring. Food rationing began in January of 1940 and this was undoubtedly one of the biggest sources of complaint amongst Jonah's customers about wartime restrictions. As a grocer Jonah found the Governments scheme for distributing food equally and fairly not too difficult to implement. Food remained available, prices were controlled and many foods remained unrationed.

Initially rationing began with meat [including bacon], sugar, tea and butter and by 1941 a points system had come into effect. Under this system the customer could choose which of the various commodities e.g. canned meat, breakfast cereal, jam, biscuits etc he would buy with his weekly issue of "points" coupons. "Personal points" for sweets and chocolates followed in 1942. The weekly quantities allowed - especially of meats and cheeses looked pretty small but Doris and her mother and other housewives came up with ingenious wartime recipes which made even potatoes and dried reconstituted eggs seem tasty.

The events which gave Jonah and his family [and most other Britons] their most severe and bitter taste of war were the air raids on the larger cities which began in November of 1940. Coventry and Birmingham were two of the prime targets of the Blitz and Norton Pool [later renamed Chasewater] was used by the Germans as a "signpost" to these two cities. Air raids were commonplace and at the first sound of a siren everyone headed for the air raid shelter. At Central Stores the shelter was set up in the cellar and eventually single and double beds were set up there for the duration of the war amongst the rolls of butter and cheese that were stored there. At air raid time the cellar became a second home to Jonah and his immediate family along with his parents, his aunt Esther and her daughters and families and Doris's parents [who had by this time packed up and left Birmingham and landed on Doris's doorstep because they couldn't stand the noise of the guns any longer]. Air raids certainly united people.

Many civilians became wardens or ambulance drivers, firemen or special constables as Jonah did. The A.R.P. began as a voluntary service and then their members were not allowed to resign. The Blitz petered out in the summer of 1941 but small scale "tip and run" or nuisance raids continued until 1944 when much more serious air raids began again.

War brought many restrictions and greater austerity which directly affected Jonah and his young family which had grown in April of 1942 to include a second daughter, Jennifer. There could be no holidays at the seaside because the beaches were mined and cordoned off, there were no Sunday afternoon pleasure drives and almost no sporting events took place. Books were printed on poor paper with close type, newspapers were thinner, houses became shabbier as paint became scarcer. Railings and iron gates were commandeered by the authorities to be used as munitions and even aluminum saucepans were given by Doris to help the war effort. She recalls that people gave very willingly whatever was needed to help out.

The Board of Trade devised a Utility Scheme in 1941 in which clothing, furniture etc was made to a tolerable standard to be sold at controlled prices. Utility beds and bedding purchased by Jonah and Doris during the war are still going strong sixty years later, and are of better quality than some items and materials purchased much more recently.

The Government's concern for it's people's well being led it to provide cheap milk for all expectant mothers and children, including Doris, Gillian and Jennifer as well as cod liver oil, vitamin tablets, orange juice and free school meals for children and British Restaurants for everyone. The stressed the importance of elementary rules about health and billboards carrying slogans such as "coughs and sneezes spread diseases" were to be seen everywhere.

Everyday life for Jonah and his family during the war involved many tiresome hardships but there were things to be set against such things as queues, over crowding, shabbiness of clothing and housing, shortages and even air raids. The BBC was one of these things. It helped to bring some light relief to the War years. One program which was outstanding and which Jonah and his family liked to settle down to listen to every Sunday afternoon was the comedy show, ITMA [Its That Man Again] starring Tommy Handley. It seems to have been one of the most popular wartime shows and was a show that helped unite the ordinary people more than would seem possible.

The war with Germany eventually ended in May of 1945 and was celebrated across the land with street parties. Watling Street, Brownhills was no exception and Jonah and his family were in the midst of the celebration "V for Victory" teas.

Jonah had been a strong supporter of Winston Churchill and his coalition government during the war and believed that something better should emerge following the war. It had brought a revolution in men’s thinking about the role of government in economic affairs and Jonah began taking a more serious interest in politics. 1949 saw him elected to Lichfield Rural District Council as an Independent candidate. Though he always leaned to the right politically he never affiliated with any particular party at a local level and this way he always maintained that he could vote for what he believed was right rather than for the party when any controversial issues were brought up. He had very strong beliefs and would not compromise over things he felt strongly about. Sunday opening at Chasewater was one of his "Donny brooks". He enjoyed a good discussion and was always willing to listen to the other person’s point of view even though he might have no intention of changing his own mind on an issue!

The Beveridge report of 1942, which pointed the way towards Social Reform, received a very popular welcome and the Butler Act of 1944, which was to serve as the framework for much of the educational developments of the next twenty years was received enthusiastically by men of all political persuasions. Jonah believed that young people should be able to receive as much education as possible and that it should be freely available and he worked very hard all his life to see that this should be so. He maintained an interest in the welfare of young people all his life and served, at one time or another over the years, as a member of the Cannock Chase Divisional Executive, as Chairman of the Brownhills Everning Institute, as a member of the Brownhills and Aldridge Youth Council and as a Governor of Brownhills Central, Ogley Hay Girls and Shire Oak Grammar Schools.

Church was always an important part of Jonahs life and in 1945 as well as being a part time organist he became conductor of the Park View Methodist Church Sunday School Anniversary. He continued in this capacity for many years as well as being a trustee of the Church.

During the year 1948 while Jonah was President of the Walsall and District Grocers Association he and Doris took a trip to Denmark with the Association. Spending money on the trip was very limited [fifty pounds only] as that was the year the pound was devalued due to Britains poor financial health. While Jonah was away his mother fell and broke her hip and she never again regained full mobility after the accident. Jonah regarded his mother very highly and was most upset about her accident.

1951 saw the beginning of some years of change for Jonah. It began with the death of his father in April. Initially he moved the family over to "The Hollies" after having some alterations and an expansion done on the house so that his invalid mother could live with them and would have someone to care for her. After her death in June of 1952 he sold the family business and began working as a Sales representative for the John Drew Flour Mills in Perry Barr. The business had been in the family for over fifty years having celebrated their anniversary in 1950. Working for someone else was quite a change for Jonah and it was a change not altogether to his liking. Over the years he became progressively more involved in real estate and eventually quit his job as a sales representative and became a full time real estate salesman. He went into partnership with Victor Cox opening an office in Lichfield and later in Wolverhampton.

In August of 1952 Jonah and Doris took a trip to Austria and in 1955 travelled to Germany. They were appalled at the hatred shown to the British tourists by many of the German people, particularly the youngsters.

Jonah was elected to the Brownhills Urban District Council in 1956 - something that his Dad had never been able to do - and he was very proud of that achievement. That same year he was made Chairman of the Lichfield Rural District Council Housing Committee.

In 1958 he and Doris celebrated their Silver Wedding Anniversary with a big party at the Brownhills Memorial Hall. There were people there from all walks of life and they were indicative of his wide involvement in public life. The time he spent on his public life of necessity cut back on the time available to his family but he was very proud of his girls and had high expectations for them. He was a firm believer in the old adage "a child should be seen and not heard" and he made his daughters well aware of this. Despite this he had a very soft spot for them and hated to see them punished.

He thoroughly enjoyed his life in Brownhills and particularly the fact that he was somebody special in his community and that his doors were always open to anyone needing help. He was always willing to go the extra mile to give a helping hand to someone with a problem and he was always well regarded both in and out of the Council Chamber. Jonah retired from Lichfield Rural District Council in 1966 but remained on Brownhills Council and became its last Chairman before its amalgamation with Aldridge. He continued on as a member of the amalgamated Aldridge/Brownhills Council until April of 1972. In 1968 he was made President of the Brownhills Chamber of Trade and in 1969 came the highlight of his life when his years of public service were recognised by the Queen and he was named in the New Years Honours List. He travelled to Buckingham Palace, London in February 1969 where he received the OBE from Queen Elizabeth.

His two daughters had both emigrated to Canada by this time - Gill in 1962 and Jenny in 1963. Both were now married and had young families and despite numerous trips back and forth across the Atlantic Jonah and Doris missed being close to their family - especially the grandchildren. The momentous decision was made to emigrate and August 18^th 1972 saw them land on Canadian soil as emigrants.

During his retirement years in Kamloops Jonah became a keen lawn bowls player [like his father before him] and was able to indulge his passion for a good chat anytime he found the opportunity. He encouraged his grandchildren on the soccer field and enjoyed nothing more than going to a game and shouting instructions from the side line much to all the family's chagrin! He worked as a volunteer for the Canadian Cancer Society and became an active member of the Tranquille Auxiliary. Kamloops United Church became his spiritual home for the eight years he lived in Kamloops and it was there that the funeral and service celebrating his life took place after his death on June 21st 1980. The hearty singing of some of his favourite hymns was a fitting end to his life. Jonah would have approved!