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Hayling Island
Hayling Island photos
Displaying the first of 11 old photos of Hayling Island. View all Hayling Island photos
Hayling Island maps
Historic maps of Hayling Island and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Hayling Island maps
Hayling Island area books
Displaying 1 of 22 books about Hayling Island and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Hayling Island
Displaying a selection of personal
memories of Hayling Island.
There are 11 shared memories to read.
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MY YEARS AT ST PATRICKS OPEN AIR SCHOOL.
St Patricks Open Air School Hayling Island. I went there to get strong enough to have an op' to remove my lung. Didn't like it at all ! The girls were great and had good friends, but it was quite harsh and I found it very strict, almost to the point of unbearable, but it certainly toughened me up ! I can remember Sisters, Bertha, Dorethy, Raymond, John Joseph, & Paul, not forgetting Rev Mother ! A lovely Monk visited, he used to paint the most wonderful water colours, and keep sweets in his habit hood, which he allowed us to have, one each. I hated having to go to bed so early, especially with the Fun Fair just across the road playing rock n roll music, especially Elvis.Tuesdays were stay-up nights to 7-30pm, with games organised by Sister Bertha, or to watch tv, as long as there was no kissing ! What about the awful syrup of figs we had to take every Thursday, and other days it was... Read more
Where is St. Patricks Open Air School?
Did you go to St. Patricks Open Air School? I was sent in 1957 as I had very bad asthma and I left in 1965. The school was open to about a hundred girls who suffered from a range of chest conditions. The school was run by nuns of the order of The Sacred Hearts Of Jesus and Mary. I went to visit in 2011 but to my great distress found that the site had completely vanished and is now occupied by a housing estate. The school was sited on the corner of Beach Road and opposite the funfair. I have some old photos of the school to share and would love to hear from anyone who attended including nuns. Ann Barker, nee Harvey
Bag Carry
I remember waiting at the bus stop at the bottom of Creek Road with an old pram so I could take people and their bags to their bungalow for a very small fee, I was still at school.
At School in Hayling
I went to Suntrap School from 1957 to 1965. I have lots of happy memories of Hayling Island. I recently went back for a holiday with my brother - it was like stepping back in time! The seafront had hardly changed, the same shops and cafes were, it was a great time.
Not to Young to Work
I was about 11 or 12 when my stepfather built the shop on the right with the dormer window in the roof. I had to help him, I tiled the roof because I wasn't strong enough to carry the tiles up the ladder so my stepfather laboured for me.t= The shop was a fish & chip shop and greengrocers shop, we lived behind the shop and let the flat above. I left home in 1950 and went to sea on the 'Queen Mary'.
Memory Lapse2
I remember when I was transferred from the children's hospital in Birmingham to Bryn Bras Castle at the age of about 9 yrs - I was in the hospital for about a week before being driven by a Health Visitor dressed in a navy blue uniform and hat (I think the car was a Morris Minor). I had a soft-top small navy case which I kept for years afterwards. We arrived at this German-looking castle with turrets and a round tower - very grey looking - it looked very formidable at the age of 9 years old. There was already a little girl named Shirley Mason so I had to be called by my middle name of May (May Mason). Does anyone remember me? I was a little redhead, very quiet and shy, suffering with asthma. At one time we had our photos taken and I had to wear three-quarter beige socks to cover my scabies spots which were painted with purple liquid by the Catholic nuns. It was an... Read more
Memory Lapse
I was 10 yrs old and suffered badly with asthma when I was transferred from Bryn Bras Castle Open Air School, Llanberis, N. Wales to an Open Air School or Home on Hayling Island - I have very little memory of the 6 months I stayed there after 12 months in Bryn Bras Castle.
We were looked after and taught by Catholic nuns in Wales - but I have no memory of where I stayed or how I got to Hayling Island. Very curious. My name was Shirley Mason then but there was another Shirley Mason at Bryn Bras Castle so I had to be called by my second name, May. This was a very lonely and traumatic time when I only saw my mother and father about twice as they didn't have a car and had to come from Dudley, Worcestershire by public transport. I was sent there by the Childrens Hospital in Birmingham and a District Nurse in a navy blue outfit drove me there by... Read more
Just Like Yesterday !
Wow.. seeing this awesome photograph transports me back in time because in this year I would have been taking this very ferry over from the Southsea side after taking the trolley bus and regular bus from the North End in Portsmouth to make the long trip to Hayling.
Some of our group would drive with Aunty Linda in her old Austin (with the canvas, fold down roof) around to Hayling by road , carrying all the sandwiches, blankets and other beach paraphernalia.
I always opted for the ferry (did I have a choice ?.. fortunately, no) as I loved stepping off the dock down into the ferry which had bench seats alongside the gunwales. Sometimes I would stand with my legs apart, riding the swell as we swung out into the heavy running tide. I was in my element with the wind streaming through my hair and the smell of the marshes in my nostrils. Arrr..matey, avast ye swabs !!
Upon reaching the other shore we had... Read more
