My Fathers Connection As A Photographer In Margate

A Memory of Margate.

I came down to Margate to live in Westbrook with my family when I was about 18 months old, probably around mid 1943. My dad was a local photographer then. He had a photographic studio in New Street which used to be horse stables at one time. My dad was a one man band, he took the photos, and developed and printed them himself, then used to take them round to the local guest houses to sell so the visitors could take a souvenir photo back with them. He used to drive a 'dot' motor cycle combination and would put his benches in it, set them up in front of the guest house. The guests would come down and take their places and dad would put his camera up on a tripod in the road, complete with dark cloth, and would instruct everyone to "watch the birdie" amongst much laughter and hilarity, which always resulted in a good picture. He had a Kodak camera with glass plates. I remember him developing the photos in his dark room, he would put the negatives in the developer and then wave his hands above them, fish them out with wooden tongs and place them on an electric drying frame with a canvas cloth to cover them as they dried. The photos were always black and white and of very good quality. He was completely self taught and in those days he made a vey good living. Dad had a basement studio in Cecil Square for a while, opposite the Hippodrome theatre, where famous people such as Honor Blackman and Alfred Marks played. Dad's one claim to fame is that he took Eric Morecambe's wedding photos, and when Eric appeared at the Winter Gardens, I think it must have been in the 1970s, he remembered my dad and asked after him. Sadly by then dad had died, he passed away in 1963. I have lots of childhood photos of my own, and dad of course often tried out new photographic techniques on his family. However, I have none of the guest house photos to remember him by and if anyone out there has any in their attic I would be delighted to know.

Apart from memories of my dad, I have my own happy memories of Margate as it used to be. I remember the pier and the steam boats, one called the Golden Daffodil, and my grandad, my mum's dad had a fishing boat berthed in Margate Harbour. Dreamland of course was a wonderful place to visit with the Puffing Billy train the River Caves and the Caterpillar, dodgem cars, rifle shooting galleries, and of course the Magic Gardens with wonderful lights and statues, and a lion kept in a cage. There were firework displays held in Dreamland too. And a fantastic roller skating rink. Margate beach was packed and the wooden structured Sundeck was a great place to stroll along on a sunny day with a very nice cafe, where my mum worked for a while. I went to school locally, Garlinge Infants and Junior schools, but then I went on to attend Clarendon House school in Ramsgate. I used to get the bus to school from Westbrook and there was a very strict uniform policy then, we had to wear our hats if we were out in the street. It all sounds a bit archaic now but standards were high in those days. Hopefully Margate will recover its glory days, as it still has so much potential with lovely beaches it just needs imaginative investment now, hopefully the Turner Centre is a starting point.

---

---