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Porthcawl
Porthcawl maps
Historic maps of Porthcawl and the local area, hand-drawn by Ordnance Survey and Samuel Lewis. View all Porthcawl maps
Porthcawl area books
Displaying 1 of 2 books about Porthcawl and the local area. View all books for this area
You can read extracts and browse photos from these books.
Memories of Porthcawl
Displaying a selection of personal
memories of Porthcawl.
There are 12 shared memories to read.
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or of a photo of Porthcawl.
Great Grandfather The Postman
The gent walking towards the camera on the street is my great-grandfather and local postman William George Gronow. One of the pictures that takes prominence in all my family's homes.
Caravan Holiday Trecco Bay
Caravan Holidays at Trecco Bay in the 1960s & 1970s were wonderful, the ride around the caravans on the old three wheeler tricycles and the wonderful times you had in the arena when there were jazz band competitions and so forth, you knew where the children where and you knew they were safe, alas all gone now but great memories.
Porthcawl
My best memories of Porthcawl are when my gran (Mrs Gwen Ware) was alive, she lived at Elm Cottage, in New Road. I was very young in the early 1970s to the very early 1980s.
Grampy used to take me to the park and Coney Beach, and every Christmas there used to be a Christmas tree in the centre of the New Road roundabout.
Used to go out in their car up along the prom and to Rest Bay.
Gran's friend nearby was Thelma Kelly who lived opposite and at the end of the drive was Jim's fish and chip shop. And there was a hairdressers on the corner run by Kathleen. I also remember a pet shop and an ironmongers, and in John's Street a police station, Lees supermarket and Woolworths.
Pete Seaton@talktalk.net
Porthcawl
My husband and I used to work in the restaurant on the front at Coney Beach, it was a seasonal job. It had a self service, a silver service, and we did functions. Mr Williams and Mr Evans were managers then. We had all meals when we were at work. I think it was owned by Sir Leslie Joseph then who also owned fair rides. We had good times there and were looked after as long as we did our work. One day an American asked me for the rest room - I called the manager as I did not know he wanted the the loo. I told him we did not have one for the public, only for staff, I thought he wanted a lie down!
Club Outing
Our ciu club in Watford came here for a weekend break. It was the Toby Club, as was called, that raised money for the old folks Xmas party. As we were from South Wales, my husband suggested we come down. What agreat time we all had!
Wartime
We were bombed out in Cardiff during the blitz in Cardiff and my father got us a house in Porthcawl. We lived on Mackworth Road. I have many happy memories of those days. I went to New Road School and then to the senior school, now a comprehhensive I think. I left Porthcawl in 1953 but still try and get back to Porthcawl every year for a short break, I wonder if any of the people I schooled with or spent my teenage years with remember me and those great nights dancing at the Grand Pavilion. John Price
Family Visit
I bought a book about Porthcawl in the town, and was delighted to find a photo of myself and my brother standing by the lake, with my mother's family sitting on the bench to the top left of the photo! They had arrived from Northern Ireland for a visit, and we always had to wear Sunday best whilst out, even to the fairground! I sent for a print, and it is now in pride of place in my hallway for everyone to see. Thanks for the memory of life in my home town
Growing Up
How wonderful to find this web site. I am the second generation of my family to be born, brought up and still live in Porthcawl. I consider myself very lucky to live here and fully appreciate both the seaside and the country which is easily and quickly accessible. Porthcawl is a great place to live it retains much of the community spirit I remember from childhood. I can still walk down John Street and meet local people I grew up with.
