Wesley Perrins - Black Country History & Humour | Staffordshire Memories

Wesley Perrins was a Labour Politician for Birmingham Yardley and a Local Historian of the Black Country in the 20th Century. This is a recording of a Radio broadcast he made on the topic of Black Country Humour.
Biography:
Wesley Perrins was born the 21st September 1905 at Balds Lane, Wollescote in Stourbridge to a working class family. His grandfather had been a nailer and was known locally as '"Wise Tummy" because he could read. His father was Councillor Amos Perrins of Stourbridge and his mother was Rose Hannah Jesper.
Mr. Perrins was educated at Wollescote Council School and at the Upper Standard School in Lye.
In July 1932, Perrins married Mary Evans, the daughter of Charles Evans. They had 2 children;
Inga (8 March 1935) and Bryn (18 January 1944) who both pursued successful careers in higher education.
He was elected at the 1945 general election as the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Yardley with the Labour party, a position he held until 1950.
He was a members of Worcestershire County Council from 1955 to 1974 and of the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party from 1965 to 1965.
When Mr Perrins retired he did the people of the Black Country a further service by taking up a role as a local historian, his works have been cited by many who came after him including the likes of folklorist Jon Raven.
In 1965 Mr Perrins narrated an episode of a BBC local History television broadcast called 'Grass Roots'.
Mr Perrins passed away on the 12th January 1990 at the age of 84.
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The exact date and circumstances of this radio broadcast are uncertain, though it may have been one of a series of such talks, possibly produced for BBC Radio, though no listing of it can be found in their archive. It was provided to me with kind permission to upload it by Mr Andrew Bulman who is Mr Perrins Grandson.
Mr Bulman edited the separate sound files together (about 13 or so), and I have done some noise removal myself to try and make the recording easier to listen to.
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Wesley Perrins on Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.o...
BBC programme index listing for 'Grass Roots' which was narrated by Mr Perrins:
genome.ch.bbc....
An interview with Mr Wesley Perrins by the Liverpool University Press:
www.liverpoolu...
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[@giorgiogouldberg3742]

Hi there . Great channel . I have a Staffordshire Bull terrier, so I have interest in the old history of the Black Country. New sub here.

[@rayderry7068]

Excellent! Love the history and accent of the black country, thank you

[@77MrRd]

Just came across this fantastic piece and I remember Wesley Perrins well , he some times gave talks at our school and god could he talk 😄 he didn't talk the same Black Country as us but more of a posh Black Country because he was "educated" , but fun to listen to ,,, great memories , thanks

[@topgun10ify]

Love it - my dad's family lived in Hurst Hill (some of the earliest Council Housing), and yes my grandad used to keep pigeons. Many in the family were nailers - They all supported each other through 'thick and thin'. Happy days visiting them in the 1970s. Many a student or government representative ....would benefit from gaining a better understanding of black country grit, humour, and community cohesion 😊

[@julianmorris9560]

The black country, lovely, clever people, hard working and made the very best to be exported the world over. Renowned for sharp edge tools among many, many other things. Lovely video thanks for showing to us.😀

[@vickyhill8156]

I remember Wesley Perrins well. He used to visit St. Marks Primary School , Stambermill ,Lye in the 1960's He would teach us about the Black Country.

[@paulsmith3026]

Thank God we a brummie, black Country folk, the finest people in the world

[@photo3642u]

An interesting piece, says one Perrins to another! (There aren't many of us left).

[@OdinzEinherjar]

Nice "Hidden" gem.

[@markwilson4052]

Yo’m yampy, yow lot am.