The First Residents of 14 Moor Pool Avenue
As residents of the Moor Pool Estate we live in houses built 115 years ago. Maybe you know the history
of your house but most of us can only go a little way back in knowing who lived in our house before us.
However, there are some houses whose early history is known and 14 Moor Pool Avenue is one of those.
Before moving in 1908 to the newly built number 14 Charles Lowe and his wife Sarah had lived on
Queens Park Road with their six children the eldest being Tom born in 1894, who was the Great Uncle
of MRA Committee member Sarah Hanson. The Lowes lived at number 14 for 50 years. When Sarah’s
mother married, she moved from 14 Moor Pool Avenue to number 28 and later number 17 so that the
family between them lived on the Estate for 91 years and of course Sarah herself still lives on the Estate.
First World War Service in France
Tom enlisted in 1915 when he was 21 leaving his employment as a grocer. He became a driver in a newly
formed tank battalion and was at the first tank battle at Flers-Courcelette and served with great distinction
being awarded the Military Medal for his actions during the Battle of Arras. The citation states: ‘during
the action on April 23, 1917, when his officer had been temporarily blinded by splinters and several of the
crew wounded, and the Lewis gun was disabled, this NCO displayed conspicuous courage and coolness
and managed to drive his tank back to its starting point’.
Tom became an instructor and made the scale model of a mark 1 Whippet tank as a teaching aid, and this is
now on display next to a full-size tank at Bovington Tank Museum.
Tom returned to Harborne and after he married, he, his wife and two children lived with his parents at
number 14 until 1929 when the family emigrated to Australia. His grandchildren say that he was very anti
war possibly as a result of his experiences in France. Tom and his wife Ilse settled in Freemantle. He died
in 1955.
The photos show Tom as a baby and the Model Whippet Tank he made as a teaching aid.
Interested in the history of your house?
In the archives of the Moor Pool Heritage Trust are the ledgers recording the rent paid by the first
occupants. These will be on display at the Heritage Festival on September 14th – come along and you
might find out something about the history of your house.
