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Ryde

Ryde photos (79 available)

Old photo of Ryde

Ryde maps (2 available)

Old map of Ryde

Ryde books (1 available)

Ryde memories

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You can also read memories of nearby places in Isle Of Wight below.

Isle Of Wight memories

MY FIRST JOB

Seaview, Pier Hotel 1918

I worked at the Pier Hotel in the summer of 1960. It was my first job. I was a commis waiter ..didn't really like it at all...but I was billeted out at a nearby village.
I had my first drunk drinking scrumpy mixed with cheap red wine with Italian waiters from the hotel in the pub in Seaview..an experience which brought me great suffering and required my taking the next day off work in order that I would not die !

I also was fortunate to meet a lovely Dutch young woman,Riet Berendsen, 4 years my senior, who was an au pair girl at the hotel. We kissed and held hands on the sea wall. We saw each other ...read more here
A memory of Seaview contributed by DYLAN RIVIS

Bembridge my home

Bembridge, High Street c1955

I was born in Seaview but my mother and grandparents lived at "erndene' Steyne rd.
I went to the Bembridge villiage school and attended the villiage church. I was free to roam the villiage aand beaches at will as the villiage was very safe for children.
I and my family would swim at Lane end and at Forelands and Howegate, We would look for winkles and crabs and also would go mushrooming on the downs. My father was a pilot so we spent time at the Bembridge airport. We lived part of the time on Toad Hall houseboat on the harbour. My mother taught me to love Bembridge and she knew it very well(as did I) She knew the names of ...read more here
A memory of Bembridge contributed by lesley phillips

Grandad's war days and our family hols

My grandfather was stationed on the island "During the War"and was very friendly with a family from Arreton called Hendy. The mother's name was Lil and the father was affectionally called"Tit" (because he was quite small). After the war, my gramps and all the family visited Aunt Lil and Uncle Tit quite frequently. Tit grew his own veg in a back garden, I remember picking pea swads for him when I visited. They had a daughter called Ena (can't remember her husband's name) and a grandson called Ralph. Ralph, my mum said, worked for a garage somewhere in Sandown when he got older. The last address I have for Ena is at Arreton, near Newport, I.O.W. They were always very friendly ...read more here
A memory of Arreton contributed by joanne fisk

An Arreton childhood

I lived in Arreton from birth until my marriage.  My family consisted of Dad and Mum, my sister Gill, my paternal grandparents and a retired infant teacher Miss Muskett. She taught me at home before I began school at the village CE school where I remained from 1936-1942.  Headmaster was Mr White known to us all as Skipper White. At school in wartime meant carrying our gas masks everywhere, getting to the air raid shelter if a raid occurred while we were at school. During the Battle of Britain we had no time to get to the shelter and had to get under our desks for cover as the planes fought in  the sky above us. Sometimes we were machine-gunned as ...read more here
A memory of Arreton contributed by Pat Phillips

Extracts From Ryde & Isle Of Wight books

Ryde, the Pier c1883

Ryde is one of the Isle of Wight’s important access ports, with ferries crossing the Solent each day. In Victorian times steamers would take passengers on long cruises from here around the entire island - a very popular excursion.

An extract from from"Isle of Wight Photographic Memories Pocket Album".

Ryde, Union Street 1904

Ryde is the Isle of Wight’s largest holiday resort. Much of its architecture dates from the 19th century, a reminder that the Victorians made this island their own as a holiday and residential location. Union Street slopes steeply down to the sea front and its shops are a delight for browsing.

An extract from from"Isle of Wight Photographic Memories Pocket Album".

Ryde, Esplanade 1913

Ryde’s Esplanade conceals a tragic story. In 1782 the man-o-war ‘Royal George’ heeled over just offshore on a calm day. Seven hundred British sailors were drowned, probably because the officer of the watch would not believe that the ship was taking water. Many of those lost are buried under the present Esplanade.

An extract from from"Isle of Wight Photographic Memories Pocket Album".

Ryde, the Esplanade 1918

In 1870 the Victorian yachtsman Sir John Burgoyne brought the Empress Eugenie of France to the town after a perilous channel crossing. Germany had defeated France at the Battle of Sedan and the Empress was forced to flee her homeland for ever. In later years she took up residence at a number of similar south coast resorts.

An extract from from"Isle of Wight Photographic Memories Pocket Album".

Ryde, Esplanade 1927

Victorian guide book writers were not impressed by the bathing at Ryde. ‘The shallowness of the shore’, one commented, ‘may seem a merciful provision of nature to keep enterprising swimmers from venturing out too far, as there is a strong current to be reckoned with’.

An extract from from"Isle of Wight Photographic Memories Pocket Album".