Story of national hero who cut his teeth in Castle Brom

THE story of a national hero with links to Castle Bromwich is among the extraordinary tales recounted in a new First World War exhibition.
William Leefe Robinson has been awarded the Victoria Cross after becoming the first British pilot to shoot down a German zeppelin on home soil.
The pilot (pictured), who became an overnight celebrity, was so shocked by the sudden fame and swooning women that he soon begged for a posting to the Western Front!
While his place in the history books has been assured – some claim his VC was the fastest ever presented – the local connection is rather less known.
It has been documented by Solihull Council’s heritage and local studies team and features in the Solihull Remembers exhibition, at The Core Theatre.
The display collates more than four years of painstaking research by the experts.
Their investigations shed light on those local men who had fought in the conflict, as well as the impact the war effort had here in the borough.
Tracey Williams, who oversaw the project, said: “We wanted to tell the stories behind the names on our war memorials.”
In the case of Mr Robinson, he had trained at Castle Bromwich in 1915, a year before he brought down the enemy airship.
The use of a new type of incendiary bullet was a landmark moment, effectively bringing the German bombing campaign to a juddering halt.
As for the young pilot, still only 21-years-old, he would eventually get his wish and was posted to France, but was captured on his first patrol.
His incarceration took a heavy toll on his health and while he survived to be released, he would sadly succumb to the Spanish Flu on New Year’s Eve 1918.
The exhibition also details those recruited to fight from Marston Green’s Cottage Homes and the auxiliary hospital also set up in the village.
Launched to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Armistice Day, when the guns finally fell silent, the exhibition runs until February 2