Hi Lindyloo.
By the sound of things, I started in Sheldon well before you and I can fill in some of the information on the area I knew. In fact I moved into 279 Lyndon Road a few days after coming into the world on 28th Feb 1940. I don't remember the war but can remember the Air Raid Shelters which dotted the road, particularly up by the Lyndon Road/Coverdale Road/Barn Lane shops. Opposite us and slightly to the left was a laneway that lead to the Rover Sports Field. It was sited right where the first "Council House" was built. The playing field was where "Campden Green" is and in the far right corner there was an Anti-Aircraft Gun Emplacement and a couple of tethered Barrage Balloons. From the Rover site all the way up to the shops and all the way back to Ulleries Road was farm land with corn fields backing onto the shops and houses on Lyndon Road. On the (present) right hand corner of Daylesford and Lyndon Roads were the milking sheds. Bombs dropped within 150 - 200 yards of our house, leaving three major craters which eventually filled with water and spawned lots of aquatic wildlife. Our house was hit by shrapnel. That is as close as I came to the "action". I can remember Daylesford Road being constructed and of course the Council Housing. And if I am correct, the foundation of the road was made up with layers of old house bricks, laid in a sort of herringbone pattern. I also remember (though not the date) Lyndon School being built. From my bedroom window we watched as concrete was poured into the main halls foundations at night under lights. I had connections with the school as Dad was one of the members of the first Board Of Govenors, and the Deputy Headmaster, Vernon Clark, was a family friend.
At the end of the war, the government set up a series of "British Resaurants" to create a sort of "Community Gathering and Eating Place. Ours was located on the Coventry Road side of Melton Avenue in Lyndon Road. Another was located in Digbeth, near the Midland Red Bus Depot.
I think the Sheldona Cafe was on the Coventry Road diagonally across from The Weatsheaf Pub. And yes, the "Chippy" was The Seagull.
When did I leave the area? I did an engineering apprenticeship at Wilmot Breeden and at the end of my time (1963) there was no job for me. I headed for Southampton and boarded the "SS Fairsky" and travelled on the last but one convoy through the Suez Canal before the Egyption Troubles, bound for Australia. And now, well into retirement I spend my time reminicing and searching out my family history.
Hope all this helps.
Best wishes, OldBrummie.
Oh, another point that might help. The houses in that area of Lyndon Road were built in about early 1937. Dad took out the first lease on 279 but sub-let for 24 months, moving in in 1939.