It was my 4th birthday and we were staying in Caister at the Sycamore Camp in a caravan that my Parents had hired for a 2 week holiday. So the date 13th June 1958 and we took a trip in Dad's old car up to Lowestoft. After the usual cup of tea or bottle of Fanta and a Ham roll in the Fisherman's Cafe on Whaplode Road we continued to get on with the business in hand. Primarily to order some Bloaters to be sent home for my Granddad. Whilst there we went and sat on the beach close to the old Punch and Judy booth and waited for the show to begin. Suddenly the show began and all the kids and might I say some of the parents were totally transfixed by the antics in the brightly coloured booth. It was at this time that I had the shock of my short life when Mr.Punch announced that a kid from Sheffield called Brian had a birthday that day and that he was all of 4 years old. Being a very shy kid I ran the full length of the beach and when my Dad caught up with me I had filled my new pair of khaki shorts!! 

A memory of Lowestoft by Brian Green
(Photograph is "Punch and Judy, Children's Corner 1952 Ref: L105079")

 I lived in a cottage by the pond some 20 odd years ago. My neighbour, well into her 90's was Mac May (a version of her true name garbled by other neighbours' kids) who, every day, was out in her wellies digging in the garden. We had this photo &, knowing Mac May had lived in the cottage all her life, asked if she knew the children. She did & remembered the photo being taken. The boy & the girl in the middle are Mac May's elder brother & sister; the little girl is Mac May & her brother has just thrown the milk jug at her (small white object in middle foreground)! 

A memory of Ashtead by James Moodie
(Photograph is "The Fish Pond 1904 Ref: 52587")

 This cottage is in Bedford Lane. I lived in the house called Connemara which is still in Bedford Lane. My father Samuel Frederick Richardson and his brother George were both bricklayers. Both were demolishing the cottage and they were burning the thatch. My brother John was playing dare. He walked through the outer edge of the white ash and dared me to walk through the middle. Unfortunately I did and was very badly burned. Mother rushed round all the houses, collecting tea leaves to put on my legs. In those days people didn't empty their pots every brew. They just topped them up with a little more tea and hot water. To this day, I do not know where Mother got the idea of the tea leaves. It certainly worked. Just a few little scars and they are hard to find. After demolishing the cottage, they built a red brick pair of houses. A Mr Fairminer lived in the first of the pair. I went to school in Frimley Green with his son. 

A memory of Frimley Green by Mr D F Richardson
(Photograph is "Old Cottage 1906 Ref: 54907")

 I am the little girl standing by the boat in the photograph on the left Pauline Real (now Morgan), and my brother Cliff is wading through the water. The cabin cruiser on the opposite side of the river is the 'Silver Swan', owned by Gilbert Hazel of Castle Cary and looked after by my father, Rock Real. Our family spent many happy hours on and in our beloved River Axe. Now in my mid 60s I still love to row or outboard up the river and enjoy the solitude still on offer there with just the birds for company and the river gently slapping the hull of my boat. This wonderful photograph reminds me of a time when the pace of life was much slower and carefree. Most of the children of Axmouth learned to swim in the Axe at the harbour and later took their firs dives from the wall. 

A memory of Axmouth by Pauline Morgan
(Photograph is "The Bridge c1955 Ref: A83024")