Iconic VE Day Leicester Clock Tower conga picture recreated
An iconic picture of revellers celebrating VE Day by dancing a conga around the Clock Tower in Leicester has been recreated on its 80th anniversary.BBC Radio Leicester tracked down a number of people in the picture to recreate the dance in the city centre on Thursday.Jill Kempton-Hayes said she remembered her favourite aunt, Jean Smith, being in the conga, and she can be seen wearing a soldier's Glengarry hat in the picture from 1945.She said: "[Jean] found it memorable because it happened spontaneously."
Jill, from Syston in Leicestershire, said the photograph was well known within her family. She said: "Jean was on the buses as a conductor, that was how she came to be in the photograph because she'd come into town to the bus station to see what her next rota was and got caught up in it."Jill said her aunt had talked about the VE day celebrations on anniversaries over the years.She added: "She was a bit of a rebel, she pushed the boundaries so I think she would be very proud and pleased to know that she's still remembered for that photograph."Life wouldn't be as it is today if it wasn't for that occasion."
Also identified in the photo was Sheila Liquorish.Her niece Julia French, from Evington, said she remembered her aunt talking about the day."She told us how exciting it was, how fun it was, the noise, the elation," she said."I think she and her friend skipped out of work to do the conga."Julia said looking at the photograph now, she felt "proud"."To think that today we are walking in their footsteps," Julia added. "She loved a party."Among the other people identified in the 1945 photo were Jean Carter, who was then aged 15, Dennis Hastings, Doris Brown, Iris Smith, Peggy Cort and police officer Percy Moss.Additional reporting by Ady Dayman and Matt Smith
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