The Coventry Society erected a plaque to commemorate cycling legend Eileen Sheridan on Monday 21st October 2024.
The plaque was erected on a wall at Coventry Rugby Club on The Butts, courtesy of Jon Sharp Executive Chairman of the Club. The site was previously the velodrome where Eileen won the first of many races.
Eileen Sheridan (born Eileen Shaw) was one of Coventry’s most outstanding and enthusiastic racing cyclists. She was a multiple cycling champion who became a household name in Britain in the late 1940s and early 1950s thanks to a series of spectacular record achievements.
She was born in Coventry, where her grandfather, Frederick Shaw, had been a bike builder and keen racing man in the 1890s. Eileen began cycling at 15 and she was also a keen swimmer. She was only 4 foot 11inches (150 cm) tall and so was often known as ‘The Mighty Atom’.
A life member and president of the Coventry Cycling Club, she was also a vice-president of the Road Records Association and in 2016 she was inducted into British Cycling’s Hall of Fame; in 2022 she was celebrated with a commemorative ‘portrait bench’ steel statue on the Lias Line greenway in Warwickshire.
Eileen died in February 2023 at the age of 99.
The plaque was unveiled by Eileen’s daughter, Louise Sheridan. Also present was the Hercules bicycle on which she achieved many of her world records. This was provided by Coventry Transport Museum.
The plaque was jointly funded by the Coventry Society and Coventry Cycling Club and the rugby club kindly provided the refreshments for the event.
You can see more photos of this event on our flickr site.