Carl Chinn

Professor Carl Stephen Alfred Chinn MBE (born 6 September, 1956) is an English historian, writer, radio presenter, magazine editor, newspaper columnist, media personality, local celebrity, and famous Brummie, whose working life has been devoted to the study and popularisation of the city of Birmingham in England.

Career

Born in Moseley to parents from Sparkbrook and Aston, Chinn grew up in Birmingham and was educated at Moseley C. of E. School, Moseley Grammar, and the University of Birmingham. He initially followed his father and grandfather into bookmaking before entering academia, gaining his Ph.D. in 1986.

His work in the community made him a popular figure, and in 1994 he was invited by the "Birmingham Evening Mail" to write a two-page feature on local history. This proved extremely popular and Chinn has written a weekly column for the paper ever since.

Chinn holds the position of Professor of Community History at the University of Birmingham and is also director of the "Birmingham Lives" project. He is the author of over twenty books on the history of Birmingham and the urban working class in England. He presents a weekly radio programme on BBC WM, often appears on local television programmes such as "Midlands Today" and also writes a weekly local history for the "Express & Star".

In 2000 Chinn was a leading figure in the temporarily-successful, but eventually doomed, campaign to save the Longbridge car factory from closure. In 2001 he was awarded the MBE for services to local history and charity. When the rebuilt Bull Ring was opened in 2003 Chinn criticised it for the lack of concern its developers and planners had shown towards market traders who had been the mainstay of the Bull Ring for the 800 years up to 1964, when the much-criticised previous shopping centre was built on the site. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_midlands/3078514.stm] . Chinn has also been prominent in the campaigns to save the last back-to-back houses in Birmingham, now a National Trust Museum in Inge Street; and for a memorial to the victims of the Second World War Blitz on the City, which has recently been sited in Edgbaston Street in the Bull Ring.

Politics

It has been widely suggested that if Birmingham were to introduce direct mayoral elections as in London and some other towns in the UK, Carl Chinn would have a very good chance of success if he ran as an independent, and he has said in the past that he has considered this possibility. As with Ken Livingstone, support for his candidacy would likely eclipse the usual divisions along party lines.

Chinn, however, is something of an unknown quantity politically. His support for working-class causes like council housing and the threatened jobs of the Longbridge workers, his efforts to champion working-class culture and identity, and his criticism of what he sees as the ravages of capitalism and the rise of individualism, often create the impression that he is a socialist. However, he has not made such views explicit, and in the 1980s he was briefly a member of the Social Democratic Party, which broke from Labour in protest at its perceived leftward shift, and later went on to merge with the Liberal Party to form the Liberal Democrats. He stood in the 1983 general election as an independent, campaigning for import controls to protect local industry, more investment in council housing and a return of capital punishment for certain offences.

In October 2007 Professor Chinn accepted the post of PATRON of the ST JOHN'S CHURCH PRESERVATION GROUP, Kates Hill, Dudley. Professor Chinn is a direct descendant of a brother of the famous pugilist and Champion of England William Perry 'The Tipton Slasher', who is buried at St John's Church.The church has been badly neglected and closed to the public. The Preservation Group aim to restore and re-open it. Website www.savestjohnschurch.zoomshare.com

Family

Chinn's parents are Alfred and Sylvia. He was married in 1978 to Kathleen Doyle: they have a son and three daughters. He is a direct descendant of Tipton bare-knuckle boxer William Perry.

Bibliography

* "They Worked All Their Lives: Women of the Urban Poor in England, 1880–1939" (1988) Manchester University Press. ISBN 0-7190-2437-4.
* "Homes For People: Council Housing and Urban Renewal in Birmingham 1840–1999" (1989) Birmingham Books. Expanded and revised edition (1999) Brewin Books. ISBN 1-85858-138-9.
* "Keeping the City Alive: Twenty-one years of Urban Renewal in Birmingham" (1993) Birmingham City Council.
* "Birmingham: The Great Working City" (1994) Birmingham City Council.
* "Poverty Amidst Prosperity: Urban Poor in England, 1834–1914" (1995) Manchester University Press. ISBN 0-7190-3990-8.
* "Brum Undaunted: Birmingham During the Blitz" (1996) Birmingham Library Services.
* "Our Brum" (1997) Birmingham Evening Mail.
* "The Cadbury Story: A Short History" (1998) Brewin Books. ISBN 1-85858-105-2.
* "Our Brum: Volume 2" (1998) Birmingham Evening Mail.
* "1,000 Years of Brum" (1999) Birmingham Evening Mail.
* "From Little Acorns Grow: History of the West Bromwich Building Society" (1999) Brewin Books. ISBN 1-85858-124-9.
* "Our Brum: Volume 3" (1999) Birmingham Evening Mail.
* "Brum and Brummies" (2000) Brewin Books. ISBN 1-85858-181-8.
* "We Ain't Going Away!": The Battle for Longbridge" (2000) Brewin Books. Co-authored with Steve Dyson. ISBN 1-85858-174-5.
* "Proper Brummie: A Dictionary of Birmingham Words and Sayings" (2001) Brewin Books. Co-authored with Steve Thorne. ISBN 1-85858-227-X.
* "Brum and Brummies: Volume 2" (2001) Brewin Books. ISBN 1-85858-202-4.
* "Birmingham: Bibliography of a City" (Ed.) (2001) University of Birmingham Press. ISBN 1-902459-24-5.
* "Brum and Brummies: Volume 3" (2002) Brewin Books. ISBN 1-85858-213-X.
* "Birmingham Irish: Making Our Mark" (2003) Birmingham City Council. ISBN 0-7093-0241-X.
* "The Streets of Brum: Part One" (2003) Brewin Books. ISBN 1-85858-245-8.
* "Better Betting with a Decent Feller: A Social History of Bookmaking" (2004) Aurum Press. ISBN 1-84513-009-X.
* "Black Country Memories" (2004) Brewin Books. ISBN 1-85858-266-0.
* "The Streets of Brum: Part Two" (2004) Brewin Books. ISBN 1-85858-262-8.

External links

* [http://www.history.bham.ac.uk/staff/chinn.htm Carl Chinn's website] at the University of Birmingham
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/birmingham/content/articles/2006/03/13/carl_chinn_feature.shtml BBC WM presenter profile]
* [http://www.virtualbrum.co.uk/brummagem.htm Brummagem Magazine]
* [http://www.bgfl.org/carlchinn/ Birmingham Lives] People's History Archive
* [http://www.virtualbrum.co.uk/ Virtual Brum] popular website about Birmingham with many articles by Carl Chinn
* [http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/GenerateContent?CONTENT_ITEM_ID=1708&CONTENT_ITEM_TYPE=0&MENU_ID=10729 List of books written by Carl Chinn]
* [http://www.austinmemories.com Austin Memories]