YOUR MEMORIlES OF A BYGONE GORLESTON

PLEASE CLICK HERE IF YOU WISH TO CONTACT A CONTRIBUTOR OR SEND IN MEMORIES

MEMORIES OF GORLESTON FROM KENNETH  MORTIMER IN LEBANON

                Mrs. Fisk used to wear an old-fashioned bonnet, a linen bag with a broad brown ribbon threaded round.  Before he died, her bearded husband proudly showed me his Masonic apron.  A grand-uncle in Yarmouth had a shrimper  (boat).  Shrimps were cheap and we ate a lot.  About 1888, my grandmother had married Charles Ambrose Shepherdson, a chartered accountant, in the church of Yarmouth, where afterwards they followed tradition by sitting in the skeleton of a whale.  I have a photo of my grandmother as a little girl taken in a Yarmouth studio about 1869.

                We spent our time in  one of the “cosies” on the pier (can one still sit there?)  I fished with a line, on rare, exciting occasions catching a dab or a flounder.  Every day I would buy one of those boys’ story magazines such as Pilot.  ButEM my real joy was our friendship with the pilots and their two mechanics, Harris and Bert Beavis, especially the latter.  In the mornings I would polish the brass of the pilot’s boat and steer it when we took out or brought in a pilot.  When there was a sailing vessel stacked with timber, we went far beyond the sands with Captain Burton, a short, gruff man with bulldog face who had taken sailing ships round Cape Horn.  What a man to be able to drive sailors to work frozen ropes and sails at night in howling gales!  I remember the entrance and the inside of the pilots’ hut most distinctly.  I can still feel under my fingers the smooth surface of the timbers of the pier and see the great capstans with their spars.  We were friends also with an officer at the lighthouse at the end of the pier, who would sometimes let me look through his telescope at the red-sailed Thames barges.

                When there were rough seas, my mother and I would go for a trip round the lightship in the old open lifeboat or the paddle-tug United Service.  We sat in the bow, covered in oilskins against the spray, enjoying the view of the mountainous wave rushing towards us and then of the abyss below into which we crashed.  But in 1938 the United Service, of which I have a photo, spent much of its time floating helplessly in the river mouth with broken-down engines.  I wonder when she was built.

                Before the river took its final seaward curve, there were little boats in which for tuppence the boatman would take you to the sandy beach the other side.  There was an absolutely Dickensian hut for smoking fish, with barrels of salted herring, bloaters and kippers.  Why is it impossible now to buy bloaters or kippers in London High Streets, in the fishmongers with their marble slabs, and rabbit and poultry carcasses on a rod over the entrance dripping blood on your neck?  My grandmother remembered the Scots fisher-girls coming to Yarmouth in autumn to gut the herrings.  If their knife slipped and cut their finger, they were certain to die, such were the hardships of life in those pre-antibiotic days.

We sometimes swam near the concrete breakwater, often using a bathing machine occasionally pulled by a horse over the crunching pebbles.

                Does Trinity House still stand near the pier and the restaurant where we ate fillet of plaice with a slice of lemon for lunch?  No doubt there have been a few changes since 1938.  Kenneth Mortimer, Zouk Mikayel P.O. Box 516, Kesrouan, Lebanon, M.E. .

M. G. RAYNOR'S  MEMORIES OF GORLESTON WHEN STATIONED AT RAF HOPTON

DAVID PROFFITT'S HAPPY HOLIDAY MEMORIES OF GORLESTON

Hi my name is David Proffitt from Leicester and I and my family took holidays at Gorleston-on-Sea all through the 1950's. When I say my family I mean my extended family, aunts, uncles, cousins etc. and many friends of my parents. At times there would be about 15 to 20 aunts, uncles and cousins all having the best holidays of our lives. The majority of them are sadly no longer with us but we that are left still talk of the wonderful times we had at Gorleston. My parents and I, and my brother and his wife, stayed with a lovely old lady named Mrs. Gallant who lived in a little house at 5 Drudge Road that is still there.

It is great to look at your page and recall some of those wonderful times. My dad trying and failing to teach me to swim in the pool at the Floral Hall. The pubs such as the Ship Inn, The Oddfellows Arms and sitting in the garden of the Cliff Hotel, we were much to poor to ever imagine we might stay there! Fresh morning loaves from Matthes Shop on Englands LaneI, and a little grocer by the name of Wilson, dad always called him Willie Wilson, I don't know if that was his name or my dad having a bit of fun. Also I  remember going on the coach to Potter Heigham on the Broads for an evening out. My dad would organise the coach and our family would fill it! We met a family from London Jim and Meg who had a lovely daughter named Marie, but they went on to better things; holidaying in Jersey as I recall. I don't personally think it could have been better than Gorleston!

We had the best fish and chips in the world from Harry's fish and chip shop on the corner of Beach Road and Cliff Hill. Harry (I think his second name was Bullock) at one time offered to try and get my dad a job on the docks and we so very nearly moved to Gorleston, that be around 1956 but we never made it. My friends and I chased the local girls with little success, it would not be fair to mention their full names but Valerie and Anne were two that stand out in my memory! Another fond memory as a little lad at that time was the pony rides along the prom, sixpence a time and I used to love a particular pony namedTrigger!

Mrs. Gallant had a granddaugher when we stayed with her, named Susan and she was Harry Bullock's daughter if I remember correctly. I know Mrs. Gallant had at least two daughters but I can't remember their names, they would be very old now of course. I think Susan must be in her 50's. Mrs. Gallant at one time had a fruit and vegetable shop just down from the Ship Inn, towards the harbour. I reckon we started going to  Gorleston around 1949/50 and my last holiday there was in 1962, so as a family we were there for a long time. Some of my cousins were still  going there in the 80's! When my parents died in the 70's my brother did not go for a main  holiday any more but still visited occasionally.

My wife and I were last there in June this year.One memory I have as a small boy was the tug boat Richard Lee Barber  tied up by the docks at Gorleston. When we got there I always dragged my dad down the quayside to see if it was still there. I also used to look forward to a river trip to Great Yarmouth on the steamer. A real treat was going out on the Norwich Belle to view the seals on Scroby Sands.  There was also the Eastern Princess and the Golden Galleon, we went on them all at one time or another.

I had a model yacht stored at Mrs. Gallant's house and spent many hours sailing it on the yachting pond, I was relieved to see that the pond is still there.One character I recallwas a mentally handicapped young man who everyone called Willy who used to run around and entertain us in the cinema queue  or outside the Floral Hall, it was sad in a way  but he was totally harmless and people just left him alone and to be honest he seemed happy in his own way. I wonder what happened to him?

You are quite correct about Mr. Wilson, that was an accurate description, another of my dad's friends was Percy the landlord at the Ship, who always came out to welcome us. Did you know Duggie Pye's  betting shop on Beach Road? It must have been illegal in those days but
my dad and my uncles could always be found there after lunch. And Edwards cafe, I think that family must have owned most of the business in Gorleston at one time or another.

Now and I am older and have been to many exotic places around the world but Gorleston will have a special place in my heart for always.  
 

A.G. DYE -  LIGHTSHIPMAN, BEACH HUT OWNER, SHOPKEEPER

A triumph over adversity

My memories…….. by Jack Dye

Alfred George Dye was born 1874 and died 1954.    He first went to sea as a young man serving on the Orient Line and made trips to Australia and South Africa before deciding to change over to making a career with the Trinity Service.   His service was brought to an abrupt end when, in 1895 at the age of 21 years and shortly after joining the crew of the Longsand light vessel a terrifying gun accident took away both of his lower arms and blinded him in his left eye!    Lightships at that time, used cannon as signal guns to warn off ships in danger of running aground. Alfred was ramming a charge when remnants of the previous guncotton charge still smouldering, caused a premature explosion! The procedure was for the breach to be swabbed clean with a wet mop before an attempt to reload was made. Whether this was done at this time or just done badly is not clear but the result cost Alfred dearly!

My knowledge of him coming into my life began in the late 1920s and continued up until the Second World War. Alfred was actually my father’s uncle but to me he and his wife Harriet ( Hettie ) I always called Aunt and Uncle.   Aunt Hettie was an essential other half of their lives! The start of their day saw her ready at hand to assist him in fixing his artificial arms and then to assist in dressing and all the little jobs that were required by a person without any upper limbs. That must have been an ordeal for her! One can only imagine the frustration for Alfred in not being able to do such menial tasks for himself! Her encouragement and tolerance was an integral part of their lives, giving him the drive to achieve what he did in later life after the sad events of 1895

The artificial arms of those bygone days were constructed of metal and covered with cork. A harness was used to attach each to the remaining upper arm and the only movement was the ability to raise and lower each, usually for the purpose of pointing out some feature or perhaps a distant ship or other object of interest.Personally, I remember this well as many times it involved painful memories for me as a young lad. Calling “Young Ernie” he would ask me to look through his telescope to view passing boats and would direct my gaze by pointing with one of his artificial arms. In order to do this I would stand under his raised arm but had to be very careful to be not too close when he decided to lower the arm again. Many times I was caught by the weighty arm on various parts of my upper body!Uncle Alfred, with his drive and determination, started his own business of beach huts and tents on Gorleston beach in the early part of the 1900s. The huts and tents were booked on a weekly basis by visiting holidaymakers to the town. In the heyday of the business he would attract around 4000 visitors each season.   At the outbreak of the First World War the holiday industry was severely affected.

Alfred and Hettie then went into the grocery business and started a shop on Upper Cliff Road. This flourished and he eventually passed the shop over to his daughter Lily and her husband in 1924 whilst continuing with the beach business which had restarted after the Armistice in 1918.

The tents were mounted on wooden frames and were box shaped in appearance. Each evening the tent covers were removed and the wooden frames left standing overnight. There were other such businesses adjacent i.e. Leggett’s and Bensleys but our business seemed to me the largest. (50 beach huts, 100 tents). We had the tallest flag pole and the largest telescope of the three.

The flag pole was always topped with the Union Jack. The raising of it was always undertaken first thing in the morning and it was lowered again last thing at night.It was a task at which Alfred was always present!

The business was always a family affair. Alfred’s wife used to stitch the tents using a treadle Singer sowing machine. Both the construction and subsequent repairs were carried out in this way. My own father Ernie worked for the business and seemed to me to be ever present. Although my name is Jack Dye I was always referred to as “Young Ernie”, usually by Alfred with a twinkle in his eye! Such was the man who was most cheerful in spite of his adversities!

The main beach hut which formed the office covered quite a large area. It seemed more like a lounge to me. Inside there was a desk on which Alfred used to write his letters and do his booking etc. He was a talented Scribe using his mouth to hold a pencil or pen and use an inkwell to write various letters for his business, Others members of the family and his many friends often consulted him on various matters. He was a self educated man who used his knowledge to help others navigate the often stormy waters of life!

He was also a bit of an inventor in that he once designed an automatic chicken feeder based upon an alarm clock, for those who kept chickens on a distant allotment! The construction was carried out by his son Arthur according to his directions.

By 1938-39 and aged about 12, I felt quite confident in his company. Being able to give him his cup of tea, biscuits and sandwiches and making sure that this was done before his afternoon nap. Little did I know that at this time dark clouds were on the horizon and by 1939 the storm had broken!

The business A. G. Dye Beach Huts and Tents was about to be cleared and stowed away for the duration of the war.

He retired after the Second World War and sold the business to the Great Yarmouth Corporation.

DAVID WARREN'S MEMORIES OF HIS CHILDHOOD VISITS TO GORLESTON OVER 40 YEARS AGO

 What does the Norfolk town of Gorleston-on-sea mean to you? I suppose that depends on whether you are a "local" or a "visitor". If you are a local, then its somewhere to live, work and generally enjoy the pleasant lifestyle. If, however you are like me, then you will be an occasional visitor, probably a holiday maker, and instead value the unique amenities which the holiday resort of Gorleston offers.
Now, I must be honest here and admit that I have not visited the area for about 6 or 7 years now, however, knowing that the pace of life of the area, it probably hasn't changed much in that time with the possible exception of new housing estates on the fringe of the town. If I had to choose whether I would live in either Gorleston or Yarmouth, I would always choose Gorleston. That's not to say Yarmouth is a poor relation, its not. Its just that I prefer the gentler and slower lifestyle that the southern town offers. In fact I would go so far as to say that if I had a free choice of where to live - anywhere in the UK, I would happily pick one of the larger detached houses facing the green on top of the promenade bank overlooking the sea just along from the Cliffe Hotel. Shear perfection.
My love of Gorleston-on-sea stems from early childhood. My earliest recollections are from around the mid-late 1950's when I was about 9-10 years old.
I will split my ramblings into smaller chunks to make for a more logical tale as listed below :-

1. Introduction and travel
2. Aunt Mabel's house and the town in general
3. On and around the beach
4. Along the River Yare


1. INTRODUCTION AND TRAVEL

My name is David and I used to live near Blackheath in south-east London. I came from a large family and had Aunts and Uncles dotted all over southern England. One of my Great Aunts, Mabel, lived in Gorleston-on-sea. She was a lovely lady, a widow, her husband died when I was very young. I don't remember him at all I am very sorry to say. So she lived in this big end of terrace house in Lowestoft road on her own, except for the occasional lodger or two. As my Mother was divorced from my Father, we did not have alot of money to spare for luxury items like posh clothes, expensive toys for me - and holidays. Now holidays, for as far back as I can recall where ALWAYS spent at Auntie Mabel's. And what great holidays they where! OK, so it wasn't abroad and it wasn't always nice weather, but what fun I had! Looking back now in my mid-fifties, I can honestly say that those where the happiest days of my childhood, those days in Gorleston.
I used to go up to Mabel's at least once a year for two weeks in the school summer holidays. Some years we would go up 2 or 3 times in the spring and autumn holidays as well. It always surprised me how few people there were around "out of season" as the locals would say. Early morning along the prom out of season would often be a very lonely and windy place!
We nearly always used to travel up to Gorleston by coach. Either Timpson's or Grey-Green. We picked up the coach by the "Royal Standard" public house around 9am on a Saturday morning. We used to struggle up to the pick-up point with our many suitcases, buckets, spades and me with my model yacht to sail on the boating lake!
The journey "up north" would usually take about 4-5 hours depending on the traffic. If the traffic queues were bad - usually around Colchester - then you might not arrive until 4 or 5 late afternoon. 7 or 8 hours on a coach is not fun I can tell you. Remember, this is pre-motorway days! There were however two stops for refreshment and the call of nature and always in the same pubs. Waiting for the coaches to arrive at Gorleston where troupes of young lads with home made wooden push carts to take peoples luggage to their guest houses/hotels. I seem to recall it was about sixpence for a short trip, and longer trips would be a shilling. Nice little earner for the local boys! Once or twice we went by train. Cant really recall much about that at all except that I would stick my head out of the carriage window and end up with soot spots all over my face and in my eyes from the steam engine. Of course Gorleston-on-sea station closed many years ago and I can remember seeing them demolish it.
At Mabel's, I would always have the same bedroom. It was at the front of the house directly over the front door and it overlooked the noisy and sometimes busy Lowestoft road. It always took me a few nights to settle in properly as my bedroom at home was on a quiet side street. I can remember laying in bed looking out the window watching the people walking past with handfuls of fish and chips late at night going back to their guest houses. It was not unusual for me to drop off to sleep looking out the window!
Of course going home was the reverse of the up journey. Except that I really hated going back home. That was not enjoyable. I knew that return to school and all what that entailed would shortly follow. No, not good at all.

2. AUNT MABEL'S HOUSE AND THE TOWN IN GENERAL

As I have already stated, Mabel lived in Lowestoft road. Number 37 I think it was. I remember it as an old end of terrace - probably Victorian. It had quite a small garden with an outside loo, a big shed where I would spend many hours colouring and painting - and a sort of lean-to thing which served as a bike/storage area. There was also a big old leaky lean-to greenhouse which was boiling hot in the summer, but literally freezing in the winter!
The town of Gorleston as I recall from way back was a fairly small town with so many roads that lead either up to Yarmouth, or down towards Lowestoft. I can recall the building of the "new" hospital on the right near the old Gorleston super holiday camp site. I can also remember exploring the abandoned holiday camp over many years. That site must have been unused for at least 5 or 6 years at least. Coming back into Gorleston, the old railway station was on the right hand side with several roads leading down to the cliff tops. This was obviously the "posh" end of Gorleston as nearly all the houses up the top end of town were big and detached. Move down a bit nearer and you start getting the narrower roads full of terraced homes, probably the typical "2up 2down" type. Shopping in Gorleston was split into two. There were the shops around the Bells road area, near the old "MATTHES" sunshine bakery, now long closed. What glorious smells of baking bread used to find their way up your nostrils from there! Even if you weren't hungry, it made you feel peckish that smell. The other main shops were of course down in the main part of town on the road to Yarmouth. Shops that I have fond memories of are the double-fronted toy shop that was almost opposite Matthes bakery right on the junction of Lowestoft road. There was a little shellfish shop further down that road (was that Englands Lane?) that used to sell huge Cromer crabs and shrimps and cockles amongst the more common local herring and bloater. The fish and chip shop just round the corner from the library always had fantastic fish. Huge slabs of fish that you build a house with. That was the first fish shop where I can ever remember hearing anyone ask for "6 of chips and a portion of scraps". I didn't know what "scraps" where. It wasn't a phrase that was used "down south". Aunt Mabel told me it was the small bits of batter and fish that broke of during frying and would normally be thrown away. All the local boys and girls would ask for it, so I suppose it must have been tasty. What I can recall was that "6 of chips" (or 2.5p in new money) produced a HUGE bag of chips. Too much really, but they were SO good that you made yourself eat them all up even though it nearly made you ill. Other shops which I have fond memories are of course all those right on the beach front just past what was the floral hall.
I can still see them all now. The first shop, just round the corner from the main row was a photographers shop. We used to get our snaps developed there, and purchased films. Around the corner was the main shops. There was of course several souvenir shops, of which I would roam many times every day searching out toys and the little paper flags you would stick in tops of your sandcastles. There was a few cafes with soft ice cream machines outside. I have been trying to remember some of the names, but all I can come up with is something like "Della Spina" or something like that. There was for a short time an arcade of slot machines with a juke box right next to the pavement. I can remember hearing Cliff Richards record "Livin doll" played so many times that year. And last, but not least was the small Bingo shop at the end near the donkey rides. I must have spent a small fortune in there over many years. It was run by three or four men, and I think they were all brothers. Never found out their names. I would go in there at the beginning of my holiday and try to win as many vouchers as I could to go towards a big prize like a sailing yacht or big toy car. I think I have still got a penknife somewhere from there which I won when I was about ten.
Being a boy in the 50's and 60's usually meant that you where an avid collector of some sort or another. Some collected stamps or even birds eggs, others, cigarette and tea cards. I however, collected matchbox and the lesser known matchbook labels. I still have my albums of them at home! Of course, going up to Gorleston for my holidays every year gave me many golden opportunities to increase my collection significantly. Many local traders and companies produced their own matchboxes all with their own labels and designs. Of the many that I collected, the ones that still spring instantly to mind that I obtained from the pavements and gutters of Gorleston and Yarmouth are Lacons beers, Adnams beers, Tolly Cobbold beers and numerous shops and businesses from the area. Even the bigger local pubs would have their own matchbox designs. Even the big pub at the bottom of Lowestoft Road (by the traffic lights and bus stop) had their own label. Cant recall the name of the pub now, but their empty boxes would be found all over Gorleston! Nowadays of course, what with the decline of smoking and other factors, you rarely see discarded matchboxes in the street nowadays. Perhaps that's a good thing generally, but the bad habits of many provided me with a free and interesting pastime over many years.
One further thing. Anybody who ever holidayed up in the Yarmouth area coming up from London by train might recall the large colourful trackside advertisements along the route. Once out of London and well out into the "country", you would see a HUGE advertisement proudly proclaiming "You are heading towards the STRONG country". Another twenty minutes or so would go by, and there would be another HUGE sign saying "You are now entering the STRONG" country". Yet another ten or twenty minutes would pass and there was ANOTHER hoarding saying "You are now IN the STRONG country".
For years I never what the signs referred to. Then I found out it was the name of yet another East Anglian beer. I don't think I ever got a matchbox label for that particular name however.
Nowadays of course, you can still buy Adnams beer, even in my Sainsbury's and a few local pubs! I can also remember seeing Tolly Cobbold up to fairly recently. However I think Lacons Ales no longer exist as I have not seen any reference to that name for many years. I think their matchbox label slogan was "I like Lacons!" and had a picture of an eagle as well.
Of course, you can tell INSTANTLY whether someone was a local or a visitor/holidaymaker by their accent. Talk to anyone around and you never ever had to ask the question "Do you live in Gorleston, or are you on holiday"? Their broad local twang could never be ignored. Unlike some other local accents from other parts of Britain which can be a bit unpleasant or difficult to understand, those born and bred in Yarmouth and Gorleston has a lovely lilt. Unmistakeable and such a real pleasure to hear.

3. ON AND AROUND THE BEACH

As I have already mentioned the promenade shops above, I think that would make a good place to start off from. Going south from this point (towards Lowestoft) takes you past the old donkey ride stand and then the model boating pond. I must have whiled away so many days around that pond, with my white sailing boat "Sea King". On the beach were dozens of rows of green and white beach huts. We always hired a beach hut, and so did many of my friends that we used to have the same huts year in year out. My best friend was Michael Penfold. He lived in Theydon Bois in Essex, and such was our friendship, that I was his best man when he got married. He had an older sister, Jill. She was a quiet shy girl, very tall and pretty, but because she WAS a girl, didn't really ever join in with our boy games and pastimes. She would while away her days either sunbathing or going round the shops with her mum and dad while we two would dig HUGE holes in the sand, often 4 or 5 feet deep. Makes me tired just thinking about it now! Michael and me would also walk miles up and down the beach in search of unusual shells or stones to take home as souvenirs. One of the biggest inconviences (pardon the pun) was the lack of public toilets near the beach. As I recall there was a ladies and a gents near the Pier hotel adjoining the end of the Floral Hall, and the only other public toilets were right up by the ravine in the other direction. A long walk either way if you were busting! One thing we never did was play round the breakwater. We were warned so many times NOT to play on or around the breakwater that we always stayed well away. It was just so dangerous. The undercurrents in the sea around that end of the beach made swimming impossible and I seem to recall a few deaths from drowning off the breakwater. We would often walk up the beach, past the ravine, past the lone cafe at the far end and right past the end of the promenade. Once past that point the beach was usually deserted apart from the odd local or two walking their dogs or groups of men doing sea fishing. During the late 50's/early 60's there was still various items from the war hanging around. There were a few abandoned pill boxes set at odd angles due to them sinking into the sand. There was still some areas cordoned off with rusty barbed wire with notices proclaiming "unexploded bombs - do not enter" although these were cleared many years ago by the army. There would be regular cliff falls and the cliff pathway along to Lowestoft past the links golf course would often be re-routed to avoid recent falls onto the beach below. Many bungalows had to be abandoned as well on the cliff park estate. Mabel had several friends who lost their homes to the eroding cliff face.
We would often explore the Gorleston-super-holiday camp, sometimes out of season when it was closed and see what little nik-naks we could find to "take home". Remembering what those small flimsy wooden huts were like, it was no shock that it closed down in the early 1970's. I understand its now a housing estate. No surprises there then.
One further thing I will add in this section are the milk churn races that were held along Gorleston prom around 1962/64ish. I have searched and searched the internet and other sources but can find no reference to these events. They were usually hosted by the stars of the Yarmouth Shows such as Ken Dodd and Charlie Drake. The rules were quite simple really. You had to roll an empty 10 gallon milk churn at an angle over a distance of about 100 yards. I expect the winners got tickets to see the shows in Yarmouth. They attracted quite alot of crowds and were popular events. Does anyone else recall these races, or am I the only one? One other event that was popular in the 60's was the treasure hunt. An area of the beach was roped off and "treasure" was buried in the sand. Kids had to dig the sand to try and find this treasure which was usually a voucher or token for a free drink or something.
The last time I was on the seafront, I can recall that the beach was nowhere near a big as it was 45 years ago. I was told it was due to the new extended pier which has caused the beach to change shape. Also, there are now brick built huts on the old prom pavement instead of on the beach. I think that really spoils what once was a really nice open prom. Still, I suppose that's progress for you. At least the boating pond was still there but the old swimming pool had vanished and had been transformed into a pleasant grassed open area. Opposite what was the Floral Hall (where by the way, the BBC occasionally held the popular TV programme "Come Dancing") was a rather grand old large theatre style building that presented an Olde Tyme Music Hall show every year. I can remember going once or twice. Not really my idea of a good time, but it wasn't too bad. I seem to vaguely recall that it was a very similar show to the old BBC TV show of the same name with a compere at the side and a degree of audience participation. I don't think anybody famous was ever on the bill. Most performers were locals who put on the show virtually for free just to keep the building "alive" and used. The last time I visited Gorleston, it was still there - AND in use - so I guess their stalwart efforts way back in the 1950's and 1960's were not altogether in vain.

4. ALONG THE RIVER YARE

I never felt very easy walking along the first mile or so of the Gorleston side of the Yare. Its such a long way down to the water, even at high tide and the amount of turbulence you get in the water at the mouth is enough to make anyone wary. Not being a strong swimmer probably didn't help. I can recall the flood wall being built all along the Gorleston side of the Yare following the terrible flooding in early 1953. Correct if I am wrong, but as I recall this wall being built, I would guess that it was built around 1957/8 maybe. So what would have happened in those intervening years if it had happened again? Not a nice thought. Right by the mouth there is (was?) the Pier Hotel next to the Floral Hall and the open air swimming pool. There was also a kiddies playground where for 6d you could have a ride through "Neptune's Cavern" or have a go on mini-golf. Neptune's Cavern was basically just a ghost train ride but with a seaside theme. You were brave if you went through there on your own! Just along from there were some cafes and some more souvenir shops and an old lighthouse. I believe it was sometimes open to the public, but I never went in there. Just along a bit more on the other side of the road was the RNLI lifeboat station. Every year I would visit the lifeboat and pay to look around. All seems a bit silly now, but I enjoyed it at the time. Walking on a bit further and the river bank would slowly fall until eventually you could paddle into the Yare if it wasn't so dirty and muddy. That's apart from all the broken and abandoned boats by the rivers edge. Carry on some more and there was small rows of terraced houses directly facing the river. Aunt Mabel had a friend who lived in one of these houses (near the Maltings). My 3 main recollections of this old ladies home was firstly how small it was. The front door opened directly into a tiny front room and the back room was no more than what we would call today a rather basic kitchen/diner. My second memory was the colour scheme. Normally young boys don't take any notice of things like colour schemes or curtains and the like. But everything in her house was BROWN. Everything. It was such a gloomy home that I hated going there. Even with the curtains fully drawn open it was dark. It was just so miserable and dull. The last thing that has stayed with me is a rather strange recollection really. It wasn't anything to do with either the location or the appearance of the house. It was the smell. Now don't get me wrong. It wasn't really nasty or horrible or anything like that. It was just "funny". After about ten minutes or so you couldn't smell it any more as your nose had got used to it. But as soon as you opened her front door to go home, the smell come flooding back. I used to make all kinds of excuses not to visit her. Almost directly opposite where she lived there was a small ferry with an outboard motor which, for 6d would take you across the river. It was a small wooden boat which could carry about 20 people maximum at a time. It was OK if there was only 5 or 6 onboard, but if you ever got in when he had the maximum, the water would lap VERY high up the side, almost coming in the boat. Coupled with that, if you were really unlucky and managed to catch the wake of a passing drifter or tug, then I would panic. I really thought I would end my days at the bottom of the Yare courtesy of that damned ferry. There were no life jackets or things like that. Health and safety had not yet been invented! Getting in and out was no mean task either. What with the motion of the small boat, and the slippy landing stages meant for an eventful entry or exit.
Once the other side, you could then walk in either direction. Either left towards Yarmouth town centre and the shops and market, or right down the quayside past all the unloading drifters. We would always take a few bags with us and pick up the dropped herrings off the cobbles to take home for tea. We would often get dozens of fish free that way. Now that's what I call fresh! One of the enduring images that has stuck in my memory since those days was seeing drifter after drifter entering and leaving the mouth of the Yare totally surrounded by swarms of Herring and Common gulls. Sometimes you could hardly see the boats for the number of gulls. And the noise of those gulls was so loud and piercing. Whenever I visit the coast nowadays with my son, and the shrieks of seagulls rises above the din of the traffic, then all those vivid childhood memories come flooding back in an instant!
Gorleston-on-sea is TRULY a gem in the crown of holiday resorts.
 

MEMORIES OF A GORLESTON CHILDHOOD

FROM JANET ALLEN NEE CHAPMAN EX  146 BELLS ROAD

I have so many happy memories of my childhood in Gorleston it is difficult to know where to begin, so I will start at the very beginning.  I was born at St Mary's Lane, Southtown, Gt. Yarmouth in 1938.   I have very few memories of that time, as the house was destroyed by German bombs in 1941, whether we were in a air-raid shelter or just out I don't know but as a family we all survived that terrible time.  As we than had no home of our own my Mother stayed with various relatives who looked after us, as my Dad was working at Vickers in Swindon where parts for the Spitfire were being made.  Eventually we moved in permanently with my Grandad Chapman and my Dad's sister Ruth at 146 Bells Road, Gorleston, where my Grandad owned a Fruit and vegetable shop.

 I soon made many friends some of the names were Jill and Derek Harlow, Ann Leak, Coleen and Elsie Thurston, Janet and Ann Fulcher, Jennifer Hurrel and especially the Holt family who lived on Springfield Road, there was June, Madeline, Pauline and Ross.   I think we all went to Stradbrook School, and I have many happy memories of the school, although I dreaded mental arithmetic and often feigned a headache or tummy ache on those days, but it didn't fool my mother and off to school I would have to go.  One of my favourite teachers was a Mr. Narborough who we were all terrified of before we went into his class, as he used to shout at the pupils, but we soon found out his bark was worse than his bite and that he was very fair and actually good fun.   I remember after passing the 11 plus exam he marched us all down to Woolworths which used to be opposite Gorleston Library and bought us all a stick of rock, which in those days was a real treat.   Other memories of Stradbrook was Empire Day when we all congregated in the front  playground the Union Jack would be flying and we would all sing Land of hope and glory and God save the King, how proud and patriotic we all were then, where has the wonderful feeling gone?   

                              Baby Janet                                                 Growing up - my first gymslip                            Myself, mum and cousin connie
 

Bells road at that time in the 1940s was a very busy road, in fact it was the main shopping street busier than the High street.  Some of the names I remember, were David Greig, Goodrich the sport shop, Browns pet shop, Dodson's furniture store, now Field's menswear, Westbrook the bakers, Artis the fishmonger, Wells the butcher, Chapman greengrocers, Spain the newsagent and many more whose names I have forgotten.   Next door but going towards Springfield road, was the bomb dump as we called it, all the shops or houses had been destroyed by a bomb, but to us children it was a playground although our parents were always telling us off for playing on it, but of course we couldn't play on the beach because it was mined at that time.   We once had a lucky escape as the beach was fenced off with barbed wire, but one day we saw a gap as the wire had broken or rusted and we in all innocence said "Oh the war must be over we can go on the beach" which we did, next think we policemen arrived ordered us off, and our photographs were taken and we appeared in the Gt. Yarmouth Mercury.Of course we all got a good telling off by the police which terrified us but we were so lucky as a dog and I believe a young boy did get blown up.

       OUR CLASS AT STRADBROOK ROAD SCHOOL IN 1947/48

Back Row left:   Wendy Adams - ? -  Tony Brody -  ? -   David Wright - Barbara Johnson

Next Row:           Sheila Kippen -  Tony Young -  ? - ? -  ? -? - Tony Bowyer - ? -  David Harris -  ?

Next Row           Kathleen Harrod -  Pat Cox -  Ann Leak -   Wendy Wright -  ? -   Jennifer Hurrell -  ? -  Janet Chapman

Front Row:         ? -  ? -  ? -  ? - ?

Please help fill in the missing names by clicking here

As children we never felt deprived  during the war years as we  had never known anything different.  Just about everything was on ration coupons, chocolate was non existent and any sweets that were available were rationed to 2oz per week.  We used to buy liquorice sticks, which looked like thick twigs and chew them until they looked like frayed string to get the sweet juice out of them.  When we had finished our tongues we brown and our fingers looked as if we were heavy smokers.  Another item we used in place of sweets were dried lucas fruit, these looked like dried shrunken bananas, these were not as sweet as the liquorice sticks but we were grateful for anything then.
 
We played outside happily but were always aware there could be a air-raid at any time, and when the sirens went we all made for the air-raid shelters.   Most of us had access to an Anderson shelter which was buried underground, these were usually shared with a next door neighbour.  I still remember so well the musty damp smell of the inside of the shelters.  We had a string hammock in the one we used, but I can't remember anyone ever using it, we all used to sit on stools with just a torch giving us a chink of light and hope and pray the all clear would sound before too long.  I remember so clearly one time sitting close to my Mother and feeling her whole body shaking I asked "why are you shaking Mummy" and she replied "It's because I'm cold" I realised later of course she wasn't cold she was terrified.
 
After the war ended we children had a freedom unfortunately the children of today (2009) don't have.  We would go off for the whole day with our picnics of bread and jam or dripping because of course everything was still rationed, but my goodness did it taste good to us then.  We had a choice of so many places to go to.  There were what we called the broken cliffs, which we just past the golf course on the way to Hopton.  There were some derelict cottages there which we used to play in.  We used to dare each other to walk tight-rope fashion across the upstairs beams as the floorboards had all gone.  If our parents had known we would all have been severely punished, as discipline was much stricter then.  Another favourite haunt was what we called Bullocks meadows, which started towards the end of what is now Victoria Road and continued through to Hopton as Cliff Park Estate and all that area was farmland then.  One of our favourite places was the cozies at the end of the pier, we used to sit in the wooden structures which were like giant armchairs to us and have our picnics and watch the fishermen.  Nowadays the health and safety brigade would soon put paid to the pleasure, but I don't think there was ever any accidents there.   Onother favourite area was what is now Harfreys estate, it was all meadow land with dykes everywhere and we would go laden with our fishing nets and jam jars to try and catch minnows and sticklebacks and if you managed to catch a redbreast which was a tiny fish with a redbreast as the name explains that was really a 'catch'.  

                  The Artistes in the Summer Show                                           GORLESTON SUPER HOLIDAY CAMP                                                              The Chalets

Later on Gorleston Super Holiday opened and we children used to go roller skating there, they had 2 indoor rinks and 1 outside which was used in the summer as I presume the indoor rinks were used as ballrooms as they had beautiful wooden floors.  Joselyn Taylor used to give skating lessons there, she later became a world champion and we all watched her in wonderment.  We used to walk to the holiday camp along the Gorleston railway line which in the summer had banks of yellow lupins growing in profusion, although I always thought they used to smell like salt and pepper.   Gorleston railway station was a lovely little station,  just like the ones you see in the old black and white films.  My Grandad Chapman worked there for a time.  By the side of the station were allotments which were rented out, my Father had one and I spent many happy hours up there with him, as he also kept chickens which I helped to feed and water.

Our summer days were never boring as the children of today say theirs are as we had much more freedom than they do today.  Many happy days were spent at Gorleston swimming pool which always seemed freezing cold as the water was never heated, but once in the water we had such fun.  The pool was surrounded with a grassed area in those days and we used to sit and sunbathe and eat our picnics there, or we would go up the steps to the Floral Hall balcony which was accessed from the swimming pool and sit there 'Oh happy days'.

One of my friends from Stradbrook school was called Judith Godfrey and she lived in the beautiful house on High Road called 'Koolunga' I think it was some sort of gentlemens club then, as her father was the steward.  The back garden seemed enormous to us with a wooded area at the back which we played in.  Sometimes we would go over to an area of land where Burgh Road and Beccles Road joined together, I think it was owned then by what was called the Water Board.  It was a marshy area and we used to catch baby frogs there, I remember once taking 2 home and putting them in our kitchen sink to let them swim.  My Mother was not amused and the poor frogs ended up in the back garden, I hope they survived as I don't think there were any ponds around where we lived.
 
Of course the beach was always a favourite place and when Della Spina the ice cream shop opened after the war, what a treat that was to have one of their delicious ice creams which had a taste all of their own absolutely wonderful.
 
On bonfire night (Nov 5th) huge bonfires would have been built on the beach as it was more of a community event then, and everyone would make their way down there to join in the fun.  I was never allowed fireworks but always had a packet of sparklers which you held in your hand and waved about.  But of course I was able to watch the fireworks of all the people lucky enough to have them, so I didn't really miss out.
 
After we children had had our teas we would all go out to play in the streets near where we lived, as of course there were not many cars about then and the streets were relatively safe, but at 6.45pm everyone would suddenly vanish as we would all run indoors to listen to the radio serial Dick Barton Special Agent.  This was our "007" as Dick and his sidekicks Snowy and Jock had the most amazing adventures and every evening Monday to Friday at 7pm you would be left with a cliff-hanger wondering how ever Dick would survive this time, but of course he always did.

Another radio serial we children listened to was 'Journey into space ' which in those days seemed an impossibility.  Another favourite radio programme of mine was 'The adventures of Paul Temple' which was a detective series.  The signature tune was 'The Coronation Scott' and I can never hear the music now without being transported back to those times.
 
Now when I walk along Gorleston cliff top and look down at our beautiful bay and think of the days gone by and the things we have lost, such as our beautiful swimming pool, the railway station, the cozies and the wonderful holiday camp and all the shops in Bells Road.   I'm so grateful for the things we still have, the Pavillion Theatre, the yacht pond, our beautiful beach and of course Della Spina's ice cream which still tastes exactly the same as all those years ago and I am so glad that Gorleston is still my home and the place I love.   

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     THE BEGINNING OF THE BROKEN CLIFFS

                                                                                                 A FEW OF MY CHILDHOOD MEMORIES

FROM JUNE  RAPER NEE ROSS EX 21 SPRINGIELD ROAD

I was born in Martham, the eldest of five children, from there I moved to Necton and lived there for the first 5 or 6 years of my life. I started school there, and I remember being very happy at school.  When the weather was warm we would sit in the meadow near the school, making daisy chains and I even learned to knit, sitting in the meadow.  I had no needles, so used 2 long nails, my first effort was reins for a child, I then progressed to a knitted dishcloth! The headmaster was a Mr. Birtwhistle.

It's a small world June, I knew Janet from when I lived on Upper Cliff Road and her parents kept the greengrocers on Bells Road.   Coincidentally we bought our bungalow from Janet and her husband.