Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside!

After my great uncle Jack died in 2021, a whole stash of photographs, negatives and slides were found in various places around his house - even suitcases stashed full of them under a bed.

As the "family archivist", as my dad called me, I was tasked with scanning them all. It was a task that took a couple of months but, 3,200 files, 8.5GB, later, we were able to save and share them with the family.

"What's that got to do with the seaside?!" I hear you ask. Well, going through them revealed an abundance of seaside snaps.

It seems that heading off to the seaside was the preferred choice for some summer leisure time for Jack, Mary and their families. Hayling Island was a favourite in particular due to some family link there which I'm yet to fully establish; if/when I do I'll write about it!

Let me share some of these photographs with you, starting with what I believe is the earliest seaside photo in the collection. This is Mrs Bailey, one of my great-grandparents' neighbours, sitting on a beach with a hotel behind her.

Going by the clothes she's wearing and the phrase "en pension" on the hotel sign, I'm going to date it to around 1915. "En pension" translates to "boarding", meaning the hotel offered three meals a day as well as the accommodation.

The rooftop sign appears to show the name "Hotel Victoria" but, sadly, I'm yet to locate it. I've been through exhaustive lists of seaside hotels and image reverse searched various parts of the photo but, alas, its location remains elusive.

I love how Mrs Bailey has been left to watch over the boots and hats of those who have obviously gone for a paddle.

This one shows my great-grandmother, Evelyn, with middle child Jack stood at the back and eldest Bob (my grandfather) and youngest Christine in front. Whilst I don't have an exact date, nor do I know where it was taken, it must be from the early 1930s based on the ages of the children.

Brighton, May 1947

For the Whitsun holiday in 1947, Jack, Mary, and Mary's sisters took a trip down to Brighton. In this series of photos, the Palace Pier can be seen in the background, as can the Royal Albion Hotel and the County Cafe with its large, probably illuminated, advertisement for Schweppes Table Waters.

• 
  Family visit to Brighton

  26 May 1947
• 
  Mary in Brighton

  26 May 1947
• 
  Jack in Brighton

  26 May 1947
• 
  Jack & Mary, Brighton

  26 May 1947

Hayling Island

I mentioned earlier that Hayling Island was a family favourite haunt, so much so it was where Jack and Mary went on their honeymoon in September 1948. Here's a few photos from the honeymoon, along with some others taken on the Island.

• 
  Mary

  2 October 1948
• 
  Jack

  2 October 1948
• 
  Jack carrying ice creams

  20 September 1948
• 
  The Hayling Island Ferry Special

  25 September 1948
• 
  Jack sleeping on Hayling Island beach

  28 September 1948
• 
  Fella the dog

  2 June 1952
• 
  Evelyn and Agnes watching the family on the beach
• 
  Jack, Mary & Agnes

  10 June 1950
• 
  Jack on the sea wall

  20 September 1948
• 
  Mary on the sea wall

  20 September 1948

Eastbourne, August 1949

Taken at the beginning of August, Jack, Mary, Jack's sister Christine, Mary's mother Agnes and sister Muriel, and Muriel's fiancé Cyril head to Eastbourne. The promenade photo looks like it might've been taken by a professional photographer who would take photos of holidaymakers in the hope they'd then buy the prints.

Whitley Bay, August 1950

These few photos are from a series taken in August 1950 around the Newcastle and Sunderland area. As well as exploring places like the Penshaw Monument, Durham Cathedral, and a day trip over the Pennines to the Lake District, there were a few beach visits too.

These shots were taken at Whitley Bay, Redcar, and the Marsden Grotto.

• 
  St Mary's Lighthouse

  Whitley Bay, 21 August 1950
• 
  Whitley Bay

  21 August 1950
• 
  Jack and Eric

  Whitley Sands, 21 August 1950
• 
  Eric Henderson

  Redcar, 23 August 1950
• 
  Marsden Grotto

  19 August 1950

A few more

Now, this photo - I may not know exactly where it was taken, but I've got a very good idea of when. Here, Jack's enjoying a newspaper and we can clearly see the headline "Why I called wedding off".

It didn't take much searching in the British Newspaper Archive to find it's the Daily Mirror from Monday 23rd July 1956. 

The main article visible is the story of Virginia Cohen, who called off her marriage to "the son of a millionaire", sending "500 telegrams" to guests just two days before the event.

The groom was to be Jonathan Sieff, whose "father, grandfather and great-uncle are directors of Marks & Spencer", and who went on to be a big name in the motor racing scene.

Folkestone pier

I don't have an exact date for this photo, but we can narrow it down a bit by knowing that the pier was opened in 1888, and deliberately blown up in the middle as part of war defences in 1940. Sadly, the sea end of the pier was destroyed by fire in 1943 and subsequently demolished in 1954.

Sometimes, they even took to the water

• 
  Mary on a dinghy, Ryde

  June 1971
• 
  Jack on a boat, Loch Garry

  1972
• 
  Jack rowing on Inchlaggan

  Tomdoun, July 1973
• 
  Mary preparing for fishing on Inchlaggan

  Tomdoun, July 1973
• 
  Mary going fishing on Inchlaggen

  Invergarry, 11 September 1991

A few more

• 
  Relaxing on the beach in a suit

  Jack, 2 September 1952.
• 
  Mary on Pendine Sands

  July 1963.
• 
  Penzance

  September 2005.
• 
  Exploring Spanish beaches

  Santander, 8 May 1995.

And finally...

One final seaside photo: a calm beach at Ayr. The sky is blue, tinged with orange and a few white, wispy clouds. Golden sunlight reflects off the rippling sea, meeting the sandy beach of this beautiful Scottish town.

Then you notice the datestamp: 11 September 2001. Such a peaceful photo taken at the end of a traumatic, world-changing day.