The Mayor's Office

The Mayor and Mayoress 2013 - 2014

The Mayor of Solihull

Councillor Joe Tildesley

The new Mayor and Mayoress have lived in Solihull since 1983.  They have a daughter Hannah who is currently the youngest Councillor in the Borough.  She is a pupil barrister at St. Philips Chambers in Birmingham.  Joe was born in Sri Lanka where his father served with the army as a bomb disposal expert.  They returned to the UK in 1963 and settled in Warwick.  Joe spent a full thirty years in the Police service and saw service in the Traffic Department, Plain Clothes, the SPG and a number of stints in the Training Department.  He was well known as a full-time Police Federation official serving both nationally in London and finally as the Chairman in the West Midlands.  On his retirement in 2002 Joe spent two years as the Deputy General Secretary of the National Association of Retired Police Officers.

For the last 20 years Joe has been a member of the Management Committee and a Director of the West Midlands Police Benevolent Fund and Private Medical Scheme and was Chairman between 1997 and 2000.  He is also a member of the Birmingham Branch of NARPO.

Joe was the unsuccessful Parliamentary Candidate in Birmingham Selly Oak in the General election of 2005.  He was elected to Solihull Council in 2007 for the St. Alphege Ward.  Prior to his appointment as Mayor he had spent two years as the Cabinet member for Children and Young People and had previously carried out the role of Scrutiny Chairman.  Joe has always been a passionate sports fan and in his youth ran several marathons.  Joe is particularly active in Freemasonry and is a member of several Lodges and Chapters.

The Mayoress of Solihull

Mrs Joan Tildesley

Joan was born and brought up in Erdington, the eldest of five children.  Following her schooling she joined the West Midlands Police in 1976, serving in Birmingham City centre.  Joan spent a considerable amount of her service working within the Surveillance Department and she became the first female officer in the country to lead such a specialised team.  She is particularly proud that she was also one of the first female officers in the country to make the decision to return to full-time Police work following the birth of Hannah in 1987. 

She completed a BA Degree in Adult Education during her period in the Training Department but she would say her greatest achievement is her City in Guilds in Tailoring.

Joan was promoted to Sergeant in 1992 and eventually concluded her service at Winchcombe Road in Solihull, where she was responsible for the Tutor Constable Unit.  She retired in 2006 having completed a full 30 year Police career.  On retirement she worked for Solihull Council in the Trading Standards Department, before promotion and moving to become the operations manager at the newly formed national Illegal Money Lending Team, based in Birmingham.

The Mayoress was a member of the Police netball team and was the Force Ladies Squash champion.  She loves to travel and gardening remains a real passion and any available opportunity she can be found pottering in her garden which remains her pride and joy.

Mayor's Sea Scout - 2013/2014

Anna Usselmann

Anna lives in Solihull with her mother (Miranda), father (Bernhard) and two of her three sisters (Emily and Martha), the eldest (Laura) having just gone to university. She went to St. Augustine’s Primary School and is now in Year 11 at Camp Hill Girls doing her GCSEs. Her favourite subjects are; Maths, Chemistry, Biology, Physics and Geography. She also completed a Higher Project last year, independently studying which aspects of paper planes cause them to fly in different ways.

She enjoys doing many activities including, hockey, cross-country, athletics, show choir, piano and church choir. She is currently working towards Grade 5 in her Piano. She also goes to 4th Knowle Sea Scouts Explorers every Friday. With Scouts she recently went on a Summer Camp to H.M.S. Bristol which all Royal Navy Affiliated Scout Units have the opportunity to go on.

Anna has worked towards, and nearly completed her Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award through Explorers, volunteering at her school athletics club every week. She hopes to make the most of this brilliant opportunity and do the best she can to live up to the role of Mayor’s Sea Scout.