The Handsworth Vandal
In order to start the social stories as an additional history of the park, I would like to share a story my wife's grandfather shared with her about the park. He lived in Albion Road for many years and loved to walk his dogs in Handsworth Park every day. He told her about his antics to prevent work to drain the boating lake and create a car park. As the Birmingham Mail article written about it suggests, it is the word of one earnestly spoken man about events there were not many witnesses to and no official confirmation of. But that can be a feature of social histories, they are not always backed up by official confirmation so they can range from fully true to wholly exaggerated but there is always a thread of truth somewhere in there. The park has existed for long enough to hold the stuff of legends and this is the place for them. The official histories are also here for you to read but if you have a tale to tell, from yourself or something passed on by somebody who has used and loved the park, please email it to fohpark@outlook.com and it will be included here. Also please comment if you have anything to add or correct, this is definately a place for comment and debate.