Following the ‘50 years of friendship’ article in our recent edition of Old Joe, we have received many wonderful stories about enduring University friendships. In this edition, we hear from five friends who first met at the University in 1954, 70 years ago.
Wendy Henningsson (née Phillips), Anne Carter (née Friedlander), Claire Hewitson, Margaret Hancock (née Wishlade) and Betty Weiner (née Schlesinger) all studied Modern Languages at Birmingham – graduating in 1957. They have stayed in touch ever since.
Studying around a blazing fireplace
Studying languages at Birmingham looked a lot different 70 years ago. Students spent their days in the city centre rather than on campus – modern languages were taught in a Victorian building on Edmund Street in the 1950s.
The friendship group recalls: ‘In the colder months, the coal fire would be blazing in the lecture room. In between lectures a porter would do the rounds with his bucket of coal and stoke up the fires.’
When the Clean Air Act of 1956 created ‘smokeless zones’ in parts of the city, they had to wrap up much warmer each day. ‘With no central heating at the Edmund Street building, it made for some bitterly cold lectures!’ they added.
Left to right: Margaret Hancock (née Wishlade), Betty Weiner (née Schlesinger), Anne Carter (née Friedlander), Claire Hewitson, Wendy Henningsson (née Phillips)
Living in student digs
The five friends were scattered at various ‘home from homes’ across the city. One had a place at the Womens’ Hall of Residence on the Edgbaston campus, but the others all lived in ‘digs’ from Stirchley to Erdington.
‘Accommodation was provided by the University and it was mostly satisfactory,’ as Wendy remembers. ‘It would be cornflakes, tea and toast for breakfast, and in the evening the landlady would prepare a hot meal for the students. Then, when the table had been cleared it’d be soon covered again with books and files, pencils and fountain pens. It was rare to meet a student who had access to a typewriter.’
Jazz nights and student hops
Leisure time was more than a little different for 1950s students, too. The group remember: ‘The only television in the houses was in the landlady’s private sitting room, out of bounds to students. On an evening, we’d make frequent visits to the cinema and, come Saturday night, we would head to the “Hop” at the Guild of Students – dancing to the jazz and blues of Chris Barber and his Band before they became known for helping launch the “beat boom” of the 1960s.’
Reunions and a new generation
Since graduating, the five remained friends and have shared many reunions over the years, be it in places where they had settled down (across the UK and beyond) or for a group visit to, for example, the British Library in London, Birmingham Art Gallery or a performance of Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon.
A particular highlight for the group happened only last year, where one of the five friends attended the Summer Degree Ceremony on campus to see a grandson, James Chubb (BSc Natural Sciences, 2023) receive his degree. He and his grandmother were photographed together at the same spot she had stood, with gown and mortar board, in 1957.