Black Country Bookmakers

During and after the 2^nd World War “Street” (illegal) Bookmakers flourished, usually

with the tacit co-operation of the local Police and no more so than in the Black Country

This site recalls memories of three Bookies, two in Cradley Heath, the other in Old Hill

# The Sidaways of Cradley Heath #

#   The Homers of Old Hill  #

#   The Watts of Oldfields #

My knowledge of the Sidaways is mostly first hand, my connection with the bookmaker Benjamin Homer

is that I married his Grand Daughter--Pat Johnson.

She lived next door to him, in Ashtree road for 22 years, and was a well known Hair Dresser in Old Hill

The eldest Sidaway daughter, my Aunt Doris, married Bert-- the eldest son of Garnet Watts. 

Garnet Watts made a book from his terraced house in Oldfields, off Corngreaves Road, Cradley Heath and

ran the business for many years mainly with the help of his three unmarried daughters and his youngest son

With our family history it’s a little surprising that none of the succeeding generations of Sidaways have any

connection with the Bookmaking fraternity.

We all seemed to have opted for fairly safe but, I suspect, a lot less colourful occupations and professions

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