The Deputy Mayor of Solihull
2022-2023 Councillor Joe Tildesley
The new Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayoress have lived in Solihull since 1983. They have a daughter Hannah who is a barrister and has lived and worked in Bermuda for the last five years. 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 working from their Headquarters in Wakefield.
For the last 30 years Joe has been a member of the Management Committee of the West Midlands Police Benevolent Fund and was Chairman between 1997 and 2000. He has just celebrated 20 years as a member of the Branch Committee of the Birmingham Branch of NARPO.
Joe was the unsuccessful Conservative 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 and has subsequently been re-elected on three further occasions. For a number of years Joe has been a member of the Cabinet firstly for Childrens Services and Education and latterly as member for Leisure, Tourism and Sport.
Joe and Joan were the Mayor and Mayoress of the Borough in 2013 – 2014 and carried out the Deputy role in the following year.
Joe and Joan were involved in a serious crime outside their home address in November 2020, in which Joe was run over by a stolen vehicle and seriously injured. As a result of those injuries he stood down from his Cabinet role in July 2021. Later that year the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner awarded Joe and Joan along with a near neighbour, ‘A Special Recognition award for Outstanding Bravery.’
Joe has always been a passionate sports fan and in his youth ran several marathons. He is a member of Olton Golf Club. Joe is particularly active in Freemasonry and is a member of several Lodges and Chapters.
The Deputy Mayoress of Solihull
2022-2023 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 academic achievement is her City and 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. She finally retired from a life of Crime Fighting in May 2021, after a total of almost 46 years.
The Mayoress was a member of the Police netball team and was the Force Ladies Squash champion. She is also a member of Olton Golf Club where she is a very active member of the Ladies section. She loves to travel particularly to Bermuda and gardening remains a real passion and any available opportunity she can be found pottering in her garden which remains her pride and joy.