'Emotional' grandson reunited with lost Leicester Tigers memorabilia after seven decades

The grandson of a Leicester Tigers legend has been reunited with his lost memorabilia after almost 75 years. Brian Penny, 85, said he hadn’t seen his grandad’s memorabilia of caps and signed photos since he was “about 12” and only heard about an eBay auction of the items after reading a Leicester Mercury article on it.

He is the grandson of former Tigers player Sid Penny, who made 495 appearances for the club between 1895 and 1910 and played for England, Brian said the memorabilia was found in a cardboard box in an abandoned storage unit in Swansea, before it was listed online.

Brian, who lives in Danvers Road in Leicester near the King Power Stadium, said he was “determined” to bring the memorabilia back into the family. He now wants to get the 120-year-old family heirlooms professionally restored as some of them aren’t in very good condition and so has reached out to the BBC Repair Shop programme.

READ MORE: Memorabilia for 19th century Leicester Tigers legend listed on eBay for thousands

The collection of memorabilia includes an England cap - from Penny’s only appearance for the Red Roses against Australia at Blackheath in 1909- and is Brian’s favourite item. Within the collection there are also signed photos, caps and letters from across Penny’s time at Leicester.

As a hooker, Penny played in a record 10 Midland Counties Cup-winning teams, including eight in a row. He only lost once in 40 cup ties.

After his initial offer was rejected by the seller, they agreed a price of £2,200. Brian said he still gets “emotional” when he thinks about his grandad playing for England.

Speaking to LeicestershireLive, Brian said he can remember going to help his grandad with his pigeons that were kept in a “little loft” in the back garden. He told us how the memorabilia was lost: “When he died he gave them to his daughter, my Aunt Gladys. In 1965 she gave them to my uncle. [However] I do not know what happened to them because the two brothers never spoke.

“My dad never told me about my grandad [playing rugby]. The last time I saw these caps was in about 1950 when I was 12.”

Brian said he put in an initial offer of £1,800 but the seller was looking for over £2,000. “We would have paid more actually but it was still a lot of money,” he said.

“I was determined to get them with the help of my son Robert. [It's] absolutely incredible, wonderful, I couldn’t believe that these were found in an abandoned storage unit in Swansea.

“He bought the unit and that's where they were found by the seller. They are not in a very good condition, not forgetting they are over 120 years old, they have not been looked after and are very dirty.

“The tassels on the caps, some of them are missing and there are a couple of tears inside of the caps. But I am looking for someone to restore them.

“I have been in contact with the repair shop and explained what’s happened and if they would like to take on the project. It's a shame about the condition of the caps.”

Brian said the memorabilia used to be kept in his grandad’s terraced house between the front room and back room on a shelf above a “cubby hole”. He said: “The bit I remember most fondly is not there [in the memorabilia].

“He had a gold picture frame with all of his achievements in it on the wall. It was massive and I think that has gone down to the Leicester Tigers.

“The most memorable thing I have is the England cap. Somebody playing for England is the top for me, in any sport.

“I used to always ask can I look at your stuff and he used to go ‘oh alright then’, I couldn’t believe my grandad had played for England and 500 times for the Tigers. I still get a little bit emotional.”

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