Those Were The Days

A Memory of Littlehampton.

I first saw Littlehampton when my primary school made an end-of-year trip in 1963, and my memories were dominated by the figure-of-eight dodgems at the amusement centre, and some intrepid soul getting stuck in the river (God knows where the teachers were), and a furious coach driver who took exception to someone letting a live crab loose on the coach.
In 1969 my parents purchased the Old Friars Kitchen restaurant opposite Lloyds bank and since then I have always returned at least twice a year until O moved to Australia.
How things have changed, whether for the better or not I don't know, but here a few points which some may remember:
In 1969 there was a W H Smiths at the High sStreet end of the arcade, opposite Gamleys toy shop, later became a Jobcentre - one of the first in England.
Littlehampton was more of a town then with individual shops like Ockendens, Cosh and Hammond, R & A Television, Floyds cycle shop (which was haunted as I know from personal experience), the Cabin newsagency, and there was not a pedestrian precinct but a one way system running from the top end of Surrey Street through to Beach Road and Caffyns Field where I played football(and occasionally cricket) for hours.
The town itself was more isolated, with a swing bridge bringing in the A259 from Bognor which as it was only one lane wide gave huge queues during the summer and, to a lesser extent, at Easter. I was always looking for a solarium as the tourist advert always claimed Littlehampton was the home of these items, but I never ever saw one and that's to this day!
Tourists were the lifeline of the town and in summer you could see families walking through the High Street down Beach Road and through to the seafront, where apart from Smarts amusement park with its tremendous big dipper (built on the roof and called the Wild Mouse) there were the old-fashioned beach shops for snacks, buckets and spades, lilos and the dreaded windbreak could be bought, all this prior to the Windmill Centre, and obviously the East Beach Cafe. Along from the shops you came to Banjo Road and the putting green with its crazy golf, together with a number of brick-built shelters ideal for watching the water and getting out of the sea breezes.
The beach hotel was the only real building on this part of the foreshore and was later converted into flats, much, I must admit, to my sorrow as I always found this hotel impressive with its private gardens and old world grandeur.
Going along the seafront you passed the site of the East Beach Cafe (and its predecessor which had an extension actually on the beach, built in the late 1990s I think) and crossing the main road you found yourself in a small complex, home to the Littlehampton miniature railway, tennis courts, a small tearooms and a pitch and putt course which in those days had 18 holes, some of which have now been swallowed by housing developements. I knew this area well and spent many an hour in winter playing on the pitch and putt combining the small holes into giant ones until one October I hooked a ball onto the main road which hit a 31 bus and was last seen breaking the speed limit on its way to Rusington, my apologies to the driver. And while I think of it, my apologies to the old guy who supervised the big dipper who waved his walking stick at me whilst I stood up at the highest point, I've forgotten the number of times I was banned.
Mewsbrook Park was the end of the tourist line and also the Littlehampton miniature railway, a nice pond with boats for hire and many ducks. Perhaps pleasures were simpler then, as, looking as a tourist now, there wasn't a great deal to offer, Bognor had Butlins, Brighton had its reputation and Worthing had tradition.
Personally I wonder how many people can remember how separated Littlehampton and Rustigton were, the only road linkages were on the old A259 from Wick or the seafront, Bunny Lane was a delightful footpath across the fiends and Southfields Road was a dead end. Littlehampton railway station was a brick building with a kiosk, which I can never remember being open, and 4 platforms and a dedicated train which went to Ford. Littlehampton, Arundel and then retraced its route day in and day out.
No memories of the town can exclude the big night of the year, the firework procession and display. Every year you thought you'd bump into old friends but you never seemed to. The fireworks were always good and it was always cold but it never rained, or so it seems, and on that point I will leave you with a discussion I had with a group of lads I had in Mewsbrook Park in October 2001, the last time I was in the town before moving to Australia. The lads were in the park trying to find an easy way to climb onto the roof of a shelter using their bikes as a base. I walked up and asked if they were practising getting on the beachfront shelters' roofs for bonfire night. They agreed, and I leave them and you with the fact that I was doing exactly the same thing almost 30 years ago! And yes, the police still try to get you down.
I hope that this brings back some memories to you and if you wish contact me please email me at:   anthonygorton@hotmail.com

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