Birmingham Air Raids Remembrance Association (BARRA)
Welcome to BARRA
THE BIRMINGHAM AIR RAIDS REMEMBRANCE ASSOCIATION (BARRA) was formed February 27th 2001 and is a committee led association elected by its members.
PATRON The Lord Mayor's Office of Birmingham
PRESIDENT Sir Albert Bore
VICE-PRESIDENT Kevin Johnson
Annual Service of Remembrance
Our 2025 Annual Service of Remembrance will take be on the 11th October 2025 at 11.00am.
This will also be the 20th Anniversary of the unveiling of our memorial.
History of BARRA
Our association evolved from a service held in December 2000 hosted by Dr. Carl Chinn (now Professor) and who is Birmingham's Community Historian based at Birmingham University. From this very stirring occasion was born the desire to establish a memorial to the civilians of Birmingham who were killed in the years of bombing raids endured in World War II and to publicise the fact that the Security 'D' Notice passed by the Government and lifted on other towns and cities upon the cessation of war had inadvertently remained on Birmingham for a further thirty years thus denying our city the rightful recognition of it's vital role during the war and of all the suffering of those concerned.
During this thirty year period a lady named Marjorie Ashby fought ceaselessly for the removal of this 'D' Notice, finally succeeding and then spent her remaining years seeking interest in a memorial, taken up by Carl Chinn and commented upon at the 2000 service.
From this a nucleus of 13 members formed our Association with Jean and John Purser as Chair and Treasurer respectively. Interest and membership grew speedily with fundraising a priority.
Professor Carl Chinn agreed to be President, Alex Henshaw (Chief Test Pilot) when approached agreed to be Patron and The Very Reverend Peter Berry DD (Provost Emeritus of Birmingham) agreed to be Vice President.
With the structure and committee of the Association established, efforts were then concentrated on choosing and funding a fitting permanent memorial, as was Marjorie's dream
Roll of Honour
The original Roll of Honour was taken from the Commonwealth War Graves list and was augmented after many months of intensive research by our Archivist June Eastlake. Her efforts have resulted in a further 76 names being added to the memorial. The Roll of Honour is also on display in the 'de Bermingham' Chapel in the church of St. Martin -in - the Bull Ring. This was generously provided along with the BARRA Standard by the late Alistair G. Cave. Hanging above the display cabinet containing the Roll of Honour is a framed print depicting the B.S.A (Birmingham Small Arms factory, Armoury Road, Small Heath, Birmingham) during one of the many air raids Birmingham suffering during the Blitz in which 53 people were killed.
The Roll of Honour is available to download (Click here).
Please note that this documents is in pdf format and you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to access them. Adobe Acrobat Reader is available for free download (Click here).
School Visits
We can visit Schools by arrangement to help educate and inform children.
Please Contact Us for details
Membership
Membership is £9.00 p.a for single membership and £14.00 p.a. for joint membership. Membership runs from 1st March to 28th February each year.
Please contact BirminghamAirRaids@outlook.com for an application form.
Birmingham Blitz...Our Stories
Compiled by Brian Wright
A proud moment for Brian Wright, Barbara Johnson and all members of Birmingham Air Raids Association. The Launch of their 190 page book remembering those they lost during the Blitz on Birmingham during the Second World War. A great read for just £9.95. Congratulations to all who contributed their stories, another marvellous achievement once again by BARRA
THE NEW BOOK BIRMINGHAM BLITZ OUR STORIES
PRICE £12.50 (INCLUDING POST AND PACKAGING)
PHONE 07792300261 / 07745375310
Please Contact Us for details
A Tribute to Barbara Johnson 1934 to 2018
Barbara Johnson was one of the founding members of the Birmingham Air Raids Remembrance Association (BARRA) and was also instrumental involving Swanshurst School (2006/2007) in compiling a data base of all those killed and wounded in Birmingham during the war. She has also attended every Veterans’ Day at Swanshurst from 2008. She was chair of BARRA from 2006 to 2018. Her death in May this year has come as a great shock to all who knew her and she will be sadly missed.
Contact Us
Members meet on the 3rd Thursday of each month at The Brasshouse, 44 Broad Street, Birmingham B1 2HP from 12.00 noon.
Current Committee Members are as follows:
CHAIR
Hon. Alderman Anita Ward Tel: 07792 300 261
VICE-CHAIR
Brian Wright Tel: 07745 375 310
VICE PRESIDENT
Kevin Johnson Tel: 07946 701953
SECRETARY
Brian Wright Tel: 07745 375 310
TREASURER AND MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY
Joan Durose Tel: 07740 647906
WELFARE OFFICER
Nadine Beddows and Mike Leddy Tel: 0121 458 2735
E-mail: BirminghamAirRaids@outlook.com