Queen victoria’s diamond jubilee in 1897 was celebrated in several ways in Dudley.
As well as with the usually festivities the great occasion was marked by the opening of a new Victoria ward at the Guest Hospital, fundraising for the rebuilding of the Grammar School, and every schoolchild in the borough was given a special jubilee copy of the Bible or New Testament.
We thank Val Worwood and her fellow members of the Woodside Memory and History Group for supplying these pictures of one of those jubilee gifts.
We have a picture of the cover and of the plate inside, stating that this New Testament was presented to Lily Wood. The last picture was taken at Cross Street, Woodside, in 1886 and shows baby Lily with her parents Joseph and Elizabeth Wood and an unnamed girl.
Woodside Memory and History Group meet on the third Monday in the month at Woodside Community Centre, Highgate Road. For more information contact Val Worwood on 01384 865495 or Lenard Hughes on 01384 565291.
