As remembered .....

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Never a dull moment with Sheila!  Although we all cared for and loved one another, she had the gift of being very perceptive: quickly summing up feelings and situations and acting in a compassionate manner when necessary.  She gave good advice, was a problem solver and great organiser.  It was probably her idea to organise 'jobs' for everyone to keep the house clean.  Even after we had all left home and throughout her life she remained central to the strong family bond.

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Educated at Southaw Girls School followed by Pitman’s College, her first job was working in the typing pool at CC Wakefield (Castrol Oils), Grosvenor Square.  That was the prestigious job - I just managed to get into the Motor Department!   As was usual in those days, leaving one job for another after a year or two was more lucrative, not to mention very educational.

 

Sheila spent a lot of time with her younger siblings, taking them out and giving them the attention and care mum didn’t have time for.  She was simply great fun to be with.  Therefore, if it was possible to love one more than the other, she was top of the tree; she was mum to all the little ones.

 

by Rene 2020

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Mum loved her family and growing up as one of the infamous Worthington ten.  I loved her stories of her days at 28 Windsor Drive and oh how I wish I’d asked her to write them down!

 

She was given the nickname Squeaky or Squeak at a young age as she was always crying or shouting 'oh mummy come quick' and the name stuck even if the squeaking didn’t.  I remember her telling how she’d be teased by her siblings and told 'you’ve got to get used to it'.  Another time when she was getting into trouble she snitched saying 'it was half Audrey’s fault mum, it was half Audrey’s fault'.

 

A real treat when she was young was bread and dripping and it tasted even better if someone made it for her and brought it up to her in bed.  One time mum invited a young man for tea and went to great trouble preparing everything and warning everyone to be on their best behaviour.  Mum was mortified when Nana asked him to pass the beetroot, claiming 'I'm a bugger for beetroot' - not the first impression she was hoping for!

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Although it was a great honour for mum to be named after her mother's twin sister, mum didn't like the name Winifred.  On starting senior school a teacher asked her what her middle name was and mum refused to tell her saying it was a horrible name.  When she finally coaxed it out of the 11 year old the teacher said 'that's a lovely name, that's my name'!

 

She once took the twins in their big pram to the local shops and returned with all the shopping but no twins!  And on another occasion the children went to London Zoo but Clive stopped to look in a pet shop window on the way home and they left without him so the police brought him home. 

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by Tracy 2020