Alan Taylor

"People have visited from various areas and I don’t know of any exception of people not saying what a nice place it is to live, and I'll take their word for it.

I’ve been here all this time, which must mean I’ve been happy here. There has been sad times of course, but generally speaking it's been worth every minute and I've got no wish to move away. Not only for the place itself but for the people I know, who are so good to me."

Alan has lived in The Austin Village for 58 years and has been involved in the running of the Preservation Society since its founding in 1990. Now 96, Alan still works to preserve the sense of community and togetherness in the village as President of the Society. Alan was born in Selly Oak and attended Kings Norton Boys School, not far from Longbridge. He followed his brother into working at Elliott's Metal Co. of Selly Oak, before enlisting in the army during the Second World War, where he shipped out to India, the Middle East, Sicily, Belgium and Germany. Following the War, he moved to a road adjacent to village with his wife Betty, just two houses down from the border of the village, in 1960.