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Birdham
Birdham maps
Historic maps of Birdham and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Birdham maps
Birdham area books
Displaying 1 of 19 books about Birdham and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Birdham
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West Sussex memories
My Childhood in IIchenor
My memories of Itchenor are as strong now as they were for all the time I lived there, which was from 1951 when I was born till 1971 when I was married. My family owned and ran Haines boatyard which is still there today but owned by the sailing club now. We lived at number 5 The Street and I spent most of my childhood along with my brother playing among the boats and along the shore. The pictures in this collection are amazing. I would love to know if there are any more.
Childhood Memories
I am wondering if the child bending down and putting his wellies on is me, as I spent every minute I could of my childhood down on the shore, especially as dad's boatyard, Haines was right there. The picture reminds me of myself as I had a bobble hat and jacket exactly the same as the boy in the picure. I would have been 9 years old at the time.
Atkins Charity Football Match at Sidlesham FC
Driving through Sidlesham , I noticed the village football club had floodlights. My son Steven was looking for a ground for a Charity Football Match, as we were staying at our chalet at Church Farm Holiday Village. I suggested that we should look at the ground, having ruled out Selsey in the meantime. Being impressed at what we saw, we asked if the chairman was at the match. It turned out that he came from Dartford, our home town! Small world isn't it! We all got well after that and Company Charity Day raise over 2000 for The Treehouse Charity . Some of the directors stayed at the Crab & Lobster and were very impressed, and wanted to know when the next charity day would be, and it must be in Sidlesham!
Church Road Corner, East Wittering
I moved to East Wittering in 1966 and worked in the area for the next 20 years. The two cottages on the left were originally the village post office but have long since been demolished although a local resident acquired the front porch for a garden feature. The large building in the centre is the Royal Oak Public House which in the 1960's had a fish and chip shop beside it and beside that was the Royal Oak Garage run by a Mr Wiggington. This chip shop and garage have now gone. East Wittering is no longer a village, having to my mind been ruined by large areas of modern housing. Still, photographs and fond memories remain.
Bracklesham Lane, Bracklesham Bay
I lived and worked in the area for 20 years from 1966 and this was a time of slow change starting for Bracklesham. The lane is now called Sea Lane, the flowing tamarisk bushes have gone and both side of the road are lined with housing or shops with a pay car park on the seafront. In the early days there was a Pontins holiday camp in Farm Road (now a large housing estate) and Gibson's holiday camp half a mile back from the sea in Bracklesham Lane. Gibsons had the old fashioned wooden family chalets until it was burned down in a massive fire in the late 60's and was rebuilt as South Downs Holiday Village.
Pontin's Holiday Camp
I had a holiday job for 8 weeks at Pontin's in the summer of 1967 before going up to Oxford University. I worked in the staff canteen with Philipe, a young Frenchman; and then also part-time as a barman. The camp deputy manager (Mr. Brown?) was reputed to have been Prince Charles' protection officer until the cherry brandy incident led to his resignation. Some of the chalet maids came over each summer from Dublin, including the enchanting and high-spirited Helen Maher, whom I have never forgotten.
The Perfect Holiday
In the late 1950s we had a couple of holidays in Bracklesham bay, which was then a tiny, but growing village. I had never seen shops which were the equivalent of wooden shacks mounted on bricks. There were some modern bits; the post office/newsagent had recently opened, and new shops were being completed across the street. My Uncle George ran one of Henleys(?) shops; the one with the hardware and souvenirs, with racks of li-los displyed outside. I think the other was a grocer's. There was a cafe run by a man called Ruby! I was astounded, but I think his name was Ruben. Uncle lived in Garden Avenue. I came from the coaly north east and this village was the most amazing place I had ever seen. They say you should never go back, and Bracklesham is now just a housing estate for Chichester, but the memories will live with me forever.
