Aroundtown MEETS
bonded with Granny Aggie who lived with them.
Victoria has always steered away from the obvious or predictable - when she asked for a younger sibling, she was thrilled when her father bought her a 12-inch alligator. She shied away from private schooling, the first for generations to do so, and instead attended Barnsley Girls’ High School. Summers were spent at Oxford with her dad’s brother and his family, which is where a 13-year-old Victoria was when she learnt of her father’s death.
Nick’s new Mini was on the drive when she got there which Victoria thought strange as he should have been studying fine art at Durham University.
‘‘Arthur’s family introduced transport to Barnsley, first carrying Royal Mail by horse and cart and later launching the first motorised bus.’’
After more than 50 years of eluding those sad events, Victoria has written a memoir to confront the traumatic times she’d locked away - and to inform, help, change, and possibly save other lives. Head Shot is a warts-and-all tale about the extreme highs and lows Victoria has faced in life, with a little bit of sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll thrown in for good measure. The soul-bearing journey follows her from a teenage muse through her rocky relationships until finally finding peace away from the camera flash.
Born in Barnsley in 1948, Victoria had a respectable upbringing. Her parents, Arthur and Patricia, both from well-to-do backgrounds, had met during the war when he was an army major and she voluntarily drove ambulances. Her maternal great-grandfather had cleaned up after inventing the scouring pad and the family lived at Oakwood Hall off Moorgate in Rotherham. Patricia boarded at Cheltenham Ladies’ College and a Swiss finishing school. Arthur’s family introduced transport to Barnsley, first carrying Royal Mail by horse and cart and
later launching the first motorised bus. His mum Agatha’s family owned pubs including the old Shakespeare Hotel.
Although not directly part of Barnsley’s true elite who grew up overlooking their dad’s workplace colliery, the Nixon-Bookers were highly active in local life. Arthur, an engineer, took over the reins of the family car dealership and managed two sites across Barnsley town centre. Patricia stayed home but was never the mumsy type, choosing interiors that required little cleaning and dinners that required little cooking. Together, they lived an active social life with cocktail parties the norm at their detached house just off Huddersfield Road.
“Despite her Bloomsbury Set- style upbringing, Mum was one of the most down to earth people. Everyone adored her. Men loved her brains and humour, women loved her loyalty as a friend and both loved that she was never the flirtatious type,” Victoria says. Growing up with older brother Nick, Victoria’s childhood was spent outdoors climbing trees. When Nick went to boarding school, Victoria
aroundtownmagazine.co.uk 5
He had been sent to deliver the bad news. Arthur was dead. Nick had discovered his unresponsive body at the family garage. Carbon monoxide poisoning. At just 19, Nick watched their father pass away in hospital. “Dad had no previous history of mental health. There was no indication he’d take his own life, he was the happiest man in the world. The coroner stated he’d had a ‘fit of depression.’ “To this day it hurts so much that Dad chose death as the only option to his financial woes. He’d had worries at work brought on by the Suez Oil Crisis but had placed an order of new Minis which he thought would change his fortunes. Sadly, they’d been under-priced and Dad would only make £15 on a £500 car.”
Arthur’s death was never
discussed, his possessions removed by the time Victoria got home. His passing affected the whole family; Arthur’s brother, who had invested in the family company, cut all ties and Victoria never saw her cousins again. Granny Aggie never came back from Oxford. Back here in Barnsley, many folks didn’t know how to react to the news and avoided the family; they weren’t accustomed to people taking their own lives. For Victoria, life had to go on. She threw herself into sport for a short while, having been inspired by Barnsley’s shining sprinter, Dorothy Hyman.
Then she found boys and her studies took a back seat while she was upfront canoodling. But she was far too young to settle down with the first boy she loved. “I wanted to see the world not marry the first guy I went out with – how could I be sure he was the right one when he was the only one?” While watching Manfred Mann
at Peter Stringfellow’s Mojo club in Sheffield, lead singer Paul Jones first suggested the idea of modelling, not knowing Victoria was still at school. But it wasn’t until a few years later that the idea grew long legs and gained momentum. After Arthur’s insurance policy failed to pay out, Patricia was forced to sell the family home and sought employment, first at a jewellers’ and then as a bursar at Bretton Hall College. Not long after, her brother Nick began to have serious mental health problems whilst a student at university. Perhaps it was time for Victoria to
‘‘She packed me off to see the world and have a good time. ‘Your home is always here to come back to,’ she’d say.’’
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84
