History in the making after book dream is honoured

And when the chairman of Moxley History Society died part way through writing his nostalgic book, his friends and family vowed they would fulfil his dying wish and see his work in print.

Members of the history society came together to continue his hard work on the book, called Moxley and Its People, compiling information and photographs with a little help from former Moxley folk now living as far away as Australia and America.

Now, almost five years on, the book has been printed and is already in great demand.

Fred Gleeson, manager of Moxley People's Centre, said: "Everyone is so proud and over the moon to have been able to complete Bill's book in his memory.

"We can't thank Bill's family enough for all their help and the people of Moxley for helping bring this book about."

The 76-page book includes 53 photographs of characters and scenes well known on the streets of Moxley in days gone by.

It features pictures such as Arthur Neachelle outside his grocer's shop in the 1930s; Wilde's Garage, in High Street, as it looked in the 1940s; images of the High Street in the 1950s and workers from Quasi Arc in the 1940s.

It also includes a foreword written by Mr Moorwood's son Andrew, who now lives in California. He wrote that his father, who was a radio mechanic in the RAF and later worked as an electrician for Joseph Sankey, wanted to "leave a record of places and events that he thought were important but would be lost unless somebody did something about it".

Mr Gleeson said writing a book about Moxley had been a dream of Mr Moorwood's since the 1980s.

"Bill got in touch with me at a time when Moxley was getting a bit of bad press and a lot of buildings were being knocked down to make way for the Black Country Route," he said.

"He said, 'what are we going to do about it?'.

"He came to see me and we set up Moxley History Society. He told me he'd had this idea of doing a book about Moxley back in the 1980s and some of the characters who lived there but it had sort of gone on the backburner.

"So the group, led by Bill, started to put the book together. Unfortunately, in 2008 Bill became ill and we promised we would finish the book for him."

Members of Moxley History Society, led by new chairman Dave Butler-Hollington, worked hard to compile the book, which was the printed with the help of Barry Sutton, of Cannock-based Brownhills Asphalt and Tarmac.

Mr Moorwood's widow Edna helped to launch the book at an official ceremony last week.

It costs £5 and can be bought at Moxley Peoples Centre, in Queen Street, or at the newsagents in Kendrick Road.