1st February is the 66th Anniversary of the flooding of 1953. A cold night, the wall went about 2am. Many memories have been stirred again this week with our flood exhibition.
At the exhibition we met up with Chris Jennings whose father was at that time the Landlord of the Admiral Jellicoe. Chris had with him this photo of the flood waters taken from a bedroom at the Jellicoe.
Looking at a this aerial photo below it would appear the photo from the Jellicoe is looking north. Thats the back fence that runs along Winterswick (only a grass track in the aerial photo) then on to Holbeck. Not many houses there then. But if you look closely you can see several of the bungalows are in both photos.
Then you can see the road going north probably Hallet Road and the Downs on the mainland in the distance.
Aerial photo showing the area c1950
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Hello
Behind the Jellicoe in Winterswick there was a large garden with lots of glass gun turrets from bombers being used as cloches/greenhouses .Don’t know how they came about them.
Graham Stevens might remember them.
Regards Sparrow
Hello
Bottom right at the junction of Winterswick and Corsel is Valentines’ garage. It was still there in the 60s and Mr Valentine once had the idea of taking over the old boating lake by the Casino to use for kiddies hovercrafts
Regards
Sparrow
Hi, Sorry to have missed Chris Jennings the other Wednesday, I do remember him being at the Jeiiicoe at the time of the Flood and afterwards but we didn’t see much of one another as he went to Westminster College and I went to WHSB. Hi Sparrow, yes I remember those glass domes on the allotment by the path that ran alongside Valentine’s garage, have to admit that at the time I didn’t realise their original use. Always thought of Mr Valentine as an eccentric inventor. The aerial photo is very interesting, Ithink it must have been taken in the summer after the Flood. Very prominent in the middle, far left is the garage my Grandad built behind the Bakery, it was constructed with semi-circular large asbestos sheets bolted together( more war surplus I suspect). Pretty sure that was put up c1952. What is also most noticeable are the number of trees around, Seaview Rd appears as a leafy lane with trees overhanging from the two small copse down to Sheldon Rd and Mr Wainwright’s house next to the Jellicoe is also obscured by branches.
Thanks Graham! I’d forgotten those cloches. I never realised they were bomb turrets. I can also see the house my uncle, aunt and maternal grandparents lived and two of my cousins were born. It was behind the parade of shops which were next to Graham’s family’s bakers. Opposite the Jellicoe was the Commodore cafe and fish shop. (Two old pennies for a bag of chips).
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