PEAKY BLINDERS - A LESSON IN LOCAL HISTORY

I am watching with great interest the new series on BBC2 about the Peaky Blinders.  For those of you who have not had an opportunity to catch this series yet my advice is to set the record button.

The series is set in Birmingham, England in the 1900's and tells the story of a notorious group of  thugs who 'ruled' over the poorer areas of Birmingham. Their speciality was protection and gambling.

Their trademark was stitching razor blades into the firm peaks of their caps, using these as weapons during brawls, temporarily or permanently blinding their opponents.

I recall that my late maternal grandfather would often use the term 'cheeky peaky blinder' or 'cheeky blinder' regularly when I was growing up when referring to someone who had done something dubious or pulled a 'fast one', however it was not until this series was launched that the family now realise where the saying had originated.
Indeed my grandparents would have been raised in or near these areas and possibly witnessed or heard tales of these gangs.

Thankfully as far as I am aware none were directly involved, my grandfather and his brothers being enrolled in their youth into boxing clubs to help channel their youthful frustrations and very successfully too by all accounts.

As a keen historian I regret not having had the foresight to ask my grandparents' more about their youth whilst I had the chance. It is evident that times were very difficult, living conditions and the standard of living dire, families large and housing cramped.
I remember my great Aunt, the youngest of six girls saying that when one family 'spring cleaned' their home in these back to back houses all the dirt, fleas etc were transferred to the home opposite and so on and so forth.
The women at this time must have had a devils own game to keep their homes decent and washing clean.  The dirt and fumes from the factories and foundries would have also contributed to the poor standards of living and health issues.

The series so far has cleverly reconstructed the dirt and poverty experienced at this time and the fear with which this gang ruled. Filming for the series has been done in several locations to gain authenticity, this being Birmingham, The Black Country museum and Liverpool.

I for one can't wait to see more of this fascinating series.