Shoeburyness, the Garrison Clock Tower c1955

Happy Days

My father bought a horse and gypsy caravan in the summer of 1946.He borrowed another horse from his brother and was able to take the caravan to Shoebury Hall camp site. He painted 'Happy Days' on the caravan door.We had the caravan there for about six to eight years. 1946-195? We had a bell tent beside the caravan for adults and the caravan was for me, my brother and my sister. We let the caravan and tent for 4 per week when we were not using it ourselves. Does anybody remember seeing the caravan or even the horse 'Old Bill' which we had at the camp only in 1946? We tethered it on Shoebury Common adjacent to the boating lake 63 years ago.

The name of the pleasure boats

There were two pleasure boats operating from the west beach, 'The Prince of Wales' and another, whose name eludes me at the moment.  I think it may have been 'The Queen Mary', but will have to confirm this later.  Up until recently, when they were deemed to be a risk, the manual winches were rusting on the top of the beach near the Uncle Tom's Cabin entrance from between the beach huts.  I moved to the area, in 1953 at age 3, and have recall of many pleasant days spent on the mud, often walking as far as the Mulberry harbour, the beach, and in the caravan site, including many visits to the shop.  At the time, my part of Shoebury then called Thorpe Dene, was mostly unmade roads and lanes, then the closest developement to the sea, barring Percy Garons 'Sea View Homes' for the orphans of Southend.  I have seen the developement of Shoeburyness for the worse, and miss the places where I played as a child, now mostly Housing Association, and Council properties.  Brick production being the mainstay of Shoebury's and Wakerings' early history, and of course the Garrison.  There were Victorian rubbish dumps, that I have dug in the past, and a grey and old coastguards' complex long since gone, near the site of the current Yacht Club.

Good Old Days

I was so pleased to see this photo, as the caravan by the brick building was my grandparents'. We had another one right opposite this one. I had many a happy time on the site. I was born in 1949 & used to be down there every summer until it closed in 1972. My grandparents had them well before I was born. I can remember all the men getting the chairs all in a line, this was the people with tents who didn't know the light shone the through. Us kids used to have water fights, one used to watch for Capt. Townsend to come along. I can remember one year my friend & I were on the site & I never booked us in, the Townsends gave me a right sound off.  We never had electric on the site, or showers, no entertainment but we all enjoyed ourselves. When we used to come along on the bus it used to stop outside the gates, it wasn't supposed to as the stop was just past Church Road. This was a number & in the summer we had the open top bus going to the East Beach. These were the good old days. We used to have some good cricket games as well. Pity it had to close.      

Ring road

This photo is on the ring road on the west side looking north. The sand shingle road leading to the east side of camp was right next to the caravan on the right

Ring road

This is the ring road on the west side of the camp with the camp shop just visible in the background