Brenda Sheldon

Memories of the VE celebration at the Revo Sports Ground

My name is Brenda Sheldon and I was born in Tividale, but I live in Darby’s Hill in Oakham now, and I am 83.

This is a photo of the VE party on the Revo Sports Ground that we had. VE means it was the end of the war in Europe. This sports ground is now a housing estate by the back of Tividale.

So that’s me in the front dressed up with the flower in my hair and on my left is my cousin Vera Pecklow wearing the same outfit. I was 10 years old in this photo. Well, I used to go to Madam Le Tours Dance School and my cousin and our mums had had to buy us these outfits for the shows because we used to go on the at Hippodrome and the like with all the pantomimes and things. So as the VE day party was a fancy dress so we went with these frocks on. 

I lost my brother when I was 10 at the time, so that meant I was more or less brought up as an only child so really I didn’t go short of anything. I had everything. Life was much better then than now, I wouldn’t like to think I had to bring up a family now in this era. I have got 3 sons, 4 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren and I hate to think what’s going to happen to my great-grandchildren. The way things are with the stabbing and murders and things like that.

But I have had a good life, I got married when I was 19 and my lads have done well for themselves and they now have their own factory in the Jewellery Quarter.