| Description | The brothers, Edward Cadbury (1873-1948) and George Cadbury jr. (1878-1960), both of whom, like their father George Cadbury (1839 -1922), were active in adult school work with the Class XIV group of schools based in south-west Birmingham and North Worcestershire. When they built their houses in the Lickey Hills, they greatly appreciated returning to the peace and beauty of the countryside after spending the working day at the Cadbury chocolate factory in Bournville.
So that others less fortunate than themselves could also enjoy it, they decided to set aside a seven acre field, a wood and a bathing pool, and arranged for a Dutch barn accommodating 25 people, a kitchen with a cooking range and water boiler, and club room to be built and furnished. The site was named St. Oswald’s Camp, after a monk who is said to have lived there in a stone cell and distributed water from the Holy well, located on the edge of the camp and still in use by local villagers at the time the camp was established. Opened by Edward Cadbury on 6th June 1906, the camp was run by volunteers from the adult school movement with the aim of providing a weekend holiday centre where adult school members could relax, enjoy the fresh air of the countryside and benefit from a change to their usual routines.
Arthur T. Wallis became the first Warden of the Camp and organised weekend schools, rambles on the Lickey Hills and in the nearby woods and fields, gave lectures, and taught the adult school groups about the birds, plants, insects and pond life they could see around them. Other activities included football, cricket, table-tennis and card games.
The Camp closed at the outbreak of the First World War but was re-opened to provide accommodation for 50 men, women and children during the August Bank Holiday week of 1915 by some Adult School volunteers. Such was the success of this, similar arrangements were made again for the Bank Holiday week in 1916-1918, and in the latter year, the camp catered for 100, providing four meals a day for everybody, at a time when provisions were hard to come by due to the war.
By the 1920s, the committee decided that some improvements were necessary, and with donations from George and Edward Cadbury in 1922, the dining room, kitchen and warden’s room were re-built, and gas was installed for cooking and lighting. Three years later, the Cadbury brothers built an additional bungalow and installed a new sanitary system, while in 1936 Edward Cadbury arranged for the construction of a swimming bath to be built in the field and for electricity to be installed.
During the years of the Depression, 25 unemployed men were invited to the Camp who helped out with various jobs rebuilding and maintaining the camp. Week-long visits were arranged for poor children from Birmingham, with much of the work to run these undertaken by men from Fircroft College and women from Bournville Women’s Adult school. In 1932, the Conference of the National Association of Boys’ Clubs was held at St Oswald’s Camp, with 120 participants present over the weekend. It was such a success that over the subsequent five years, the annual Conference returned to Rubery, and in 1936 the Camp hosted 250 visitors in tents.
While many Adult School and other activities were curtailed at the outbreak of the Second World War, St Oswald’s Camp Committee decided to continue to keep the Camp open for as long as possible. This foresight was justified as it was heavily used both during the week and at weekends. When there were air raids, many came from Birmingham to escape the danger and noise of the bombings, and catch up on some sleep. This included several families whose homes had been destroyed. During 1941, the Friends Ambulance Unit booked 11 weekends especially for children, when the Camp accommodated 230 children and 30 adults from the air raid shelters of Birmingham. Improvements were made to the sleeping accommodation so that bombed-out families could be better provided for and this was made possible by Edward and George Cadbury. Despite the difficulties of catering for large numbers, Harold Harper, the Secretary at this time, recorded that the Camp provided at least 46 000 meals during the war years.
In November 1947, disaster struck when a fired destroyed the entire kitchen block and dining room. The Camp committee again decided to persevere and in spite of the burnt remains, the Camp was opened to visitors at Easter 1948 and continued be used during the rest of that year. Despite difficulties, the kitchen block and dining rooms were re-built and new dormitories were added, these being opened by George Cadbury jr. in June 1951.
By 1956, the year of its Jubilee, it was estimated that 1000 visitors were coming to St Oswald’s Camp each year. Apart from Adult School members on weekend trips, there were also visits from nursery schools, Sons of Rest, churches, political organisations, Esperanto associations, the British Legion, Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs, natural history groups, works groups, Sunday Schools, Day Schools, and Grammar Schools. In addition to these, via the International Friends League, French, Belgian, German, Dutch and Czech groups came to stay.
The camp continued to be run as a centre for adults until 1961, when it was given up by the Midland Adult School Union and taken over by the Christadelphian Church. Over subsequent years, the site was used less and it gradually became derelict until its renovation as Rubery Community and Leisure Centre in the 1980s. |