Shrewsbury Town stars help bring back memories

The club's manager Micky Mellon and left back Mat Sadler, who have both lost close relatives to dementia in the last year, spent two hours talking to patients at the launch of the Meadow Memories project at The Uplands at Oxon.

Legendary '70s goalkeeper Ken Mulhearn and Andrew Tretton from the 1990s joined Mellon and Sadler on a visit arranged by the club's community manager Jamie Edwards.

Dementia patients tend to lose their long-term memory last of all and the club brought along memorabilia such as old programmes, scrapbooks and match reports to the event – even a handwritten log recording every team line-up for each game in the 1950s – for residents to reminisce about the old days.

"I sadly lost my granny (Mary Mellon) to dementia a year ago so when I heard about the opportunity to come here I was keen to lend my support," said Mr Mellon, whose grandmother was in her late 80s. "I enjoy speaking to people and it was lovely listening to all the old stories."

Mr Sadler lost his grandmother Joan Kelly at the age of 71 almost a year ago.

He said: "She was diagnosed with cancer last Christmas then suffered a stroke in the February which brought on the dementia. We lost her too early and it was the year's anniversary a couple of days ago so

it was at the forefront of my mind to do this. I want to do everything I can to promote awareness."

Mandy Thorn has been managing director of the home for eight years and her mother, Trisha West, who is now a resident, set up the home with her late husband in 1985 when it was based in Dorrington.

Mrs Thorn, who is a Shrewsbury Town season ticket holder, said: "This is a lovely thing that the club is doing. We look after 81 people but we also have a day centre so we support people who live in the community.

"So many of those people are lifelong residents of Shrewsbury and lifelong fans of Shrewsbury Town. Anything that can bring back part of their life is incredible."

One lifelong Town fan is Eddie Steer, 61, from Bishop's Castle. He suffers from Parkinson's Disease and attends the day centre.

He said: "It's excellent that the club does good things like this."

Brian Evison, 73, who is originally from Whitchurch, has lived at the home for seven years. A retired driver for a haulage company, he used to watch the team at the old Gay Meadow but he's now confined to a wheelchair with brittle bone disease.

"It's nice to bring back old memories," said Mr Evison. "I used to go to home matches and watch from the old Riverside but I haven't seen them at the new ground because of ill health."