Within government restrictions Brentham went to town to celebrate the 75th anniversary of VE Day. Many houses were festooned with bunting and several people had afternoon tea in, or just outside, their front garden. Here is just one little corner of Brentham celebrating – recorded by resident and filmmaker Angela Kay.
If you have any photos of your celebrations please send them to archive@brentham.com and we will post a selection.
Brentham Garden Suburb 
Most of you may have seen this. For those who haven’t it’s a bit of our history, as the ‘base camp’ of this video is the top of Brentham Way. We bought no. 12 in 1978 for the princely sum of £25K from a lady called Mary Downey. It was in a bit of a state, to put it mildly. Lizzie was brought home here from birth and the health visitor said ‘ You can’t bring a newborn here!’ but we did and the children loved it. We had lovely neighbours, especially ‘Peter’, (nickname, a great niece of the actress Ellen Terry), Tony Scanlan’s mum who was so wonderful with the children. They used to crawl through the hedge to no.14 for tea and treats. Peter got her nickname from her father who worked for the Ottoman Bank. He used to push a bar of ‘Peter’s’ chocolate through the door occasionally on returning from work. She was only 4 or 5 but learned that word! Her real name was Eileen, and her only stage appearance was her story of being carried on stage at around a year old by her great-aunt, Miss Terry, in ‘The Merry Wives of Windsor’. (Sisters Doreen (Lumpey), Christine (Pompey) and Maureen (Mauge) didn’t start arriving until she was 9 as her mother was on stage until they arrived (which coincided with husband Charles Terry returned from making money in South Africa – having married her at 17). Her grandmother, however, was on stage in shows like “The Geisha”, and of course knew Ellen Terry. Peter did however run a ballet school in Reading in the late 1920s, when it would have been the students who were on stage! Her passing was as dramatic as her life. She popped into the Queens Walk surgery, told the doctor she was not feeling well and promptly passed away in the consulting room chair. Tony and Mary and bought 3 Winscombe Terrace for £5,500, having sold a smaller house in Denison Road for £100 more! It was, however riddled with woodworm.
We wanted to move to a bigger house in W13 and put No 12 on the market. A lovely couple made an offer. He was Paavo Berglund, a famous musician, conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and a Sibelius specialist. They needed a base in London when he was recording or performing. The price they offered was not enough to enable our move and we were in a spot. They had taken to us (Jan) and came up with the asking price. We always missed the ‘feeling’ of Brentham and came back to live in Meadvale Road in 2005. The move to Worcestershire was timely but we are drawn back by the children and Brentham friends.
Jim Norris,
Riverside,
Church Lane,
Broadwas-on-Teme,
Worcs., WR6 5NQ
Beautiful video of a memorable VE day. As I walked up to Montpelier park for my daily walk past Brentham way, the sun was out, the colourful bunting flapped in the breeze and elderly residents sat in their front gardens having tea and listening to Vera Lynn’s famous song. Seeing the elderly residents outdoors, enjoying the fresh air and meeting neighbours, I thought Vera Lynn’s lyrics were so relevant to Brentham under lockdown from Covid-19 pandemic…
“We will meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when but I know we’ll meet again some sunny day. Keep smiling through, just like you always do ’til the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away…”.
Vera Lynn – We’ll Meet Again (1943) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5C4meGkNyc
Many thanks Anita! That was exactly the song I had in mind when I made the video. Sadly, it’s not possible to use as a soundtrack (without substantial investment!).
Wow Angela, that brings back so many memories ……. Nick & Helen now in North Dorset
Nick! Hello!! Great to hear from you!! I hope you and Helen are well. Sending love. Angela x
What a fantastic video, it captures the atmosphere of the wonderful celebrations that took place on Brentham.
Angela is a brilliant film-maker. She made a video for my mosaic business. She is professional, creative and a great person to work with.
Thank you Rosanna!
Truly lovely. We are all very lucky to live where we do!
Thank you Tamara!