Nostalgic memories of St Osyth's local history
Share your own memories of St Osyth and read what others have said
For many years now, we've been inviting visitors to our web site to add their own memories to share their experiences of life as it was when the photographs in our archive were taken. From brief one-liners explaining a little bit more about the image depicted, to great, in-depth accounts of a childhood when things were rather different than today (and everything inbetween!). We've had many contributors recognising themselves or loved ones in our photographs.
Why not add your memory today and become part of our Memories Community to help others in the future delve back into their past.
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Displaying Memories 1 - 10 of 11 in total
I used to come to St Osyth every year as a little girl with my family. We stayed a a chalet near the Sailor Boy club. This was from 1965 ish to about mid 70's.
The Family consisted of my nan and grandad, mum and dad, along with 3 sisters, and then my aunt and uncle had another chalet with my cousin's, around the corner. ( So a nice typical big family holiday).
My memories of holidays here are ...see more
We stayed at this caravan park several times with my mum and dad and little brother in the 1960s. The name of the caravan was called 'JanSue', I think. My dad bought me a square kite from the local shop which we tied to the door of the van overnight and it was still up in the sky by the next morning. Happy times.
We stayed here for many years in the chalet opposite thes shops, my parents became friends with Marie The owner of the newsagent and sweet shop in this row of shops.we holidayed here until the great storm destroyed the row of chalets as shown in another pictur e in this series
My Grandmother already lived in St Osyth, so from 1927 to 1939 we always had two weeks vacation at St Osyth. Coming from London this was paradise. Water by the bucket from the hydrant (you had your own key for this). No electricity, all oil lamps and cooking by the coal stove.
Mr Brett provided the oil, and th milk at different times with his horse and trap. The Red Lion, the Blacksmith and the ...see more
My family and I used to spend our holidays at Point Clear almost every year during the late 1940s, 50s and 60s, and often met the same families each time we went down there. I remember one year in the mid 1950s when a neighbour's daughter and myself walked out to 'Anchor Island' (a sand island just offshore), it was a hot night so we decided to have a late night swim, ...see more
My husband and I moved to Clacton on Sea year 2000 and soon afterwards we visited the Priory. We enjoyed the visit and recently 2011 I was doing more research on my family tree (May family) when I discovered an ancestor Edward Leverett on the 1841 census, who appears to be my 3 x Grandmother's brother (still have to be proved) who was Gamekeeper and address given as Priory Lodge. He was aged 50 and with him his wife ...see more
Back in the 1950s, as an extended family, we always went to Jaywick Sands for our summer holiday. A regular walk undertaken was along the beach to Point Clear then across the ferry to Brightlingsea. It seemed like a real adventure at the time!
Martins Gate, a quaint cottage on the old Colchester road, is where my mum was born. There was no water, electricity, no inside toilet. I spent many happy hours there with my grandparents, playing in the fields at the back of the house. I was bathed in a tin bath in front of a roaring fire, the water was from a water butt and heated up on the Aga. The toilet was a shed at the bottom of the garden. I spent many hours running ...see more
I lived with my family in Kingsbury NW9 and we used to holiday at St Osyth from 1960 -1965. Mum, Dad six children, plus Nan, Grandad and Auntie! The first year we had a caravan on the then magnificent beach, then a caravan per family on the only site at the time. Nan particularly enjoyed our evenings up at The Monks Head clubhouse - plenty of Guiness! We also enjoyed searching for cockles and winkles when the ...see more
I remember St Osyth with great fondness, holidayed there with Mum and Dad for quite a few years, always the first 2 weeks of September for some reason. We stayed in a bungalow called The Retreat in Oakmead Road. I believe it was demolished some years ago and a new 'Retreat' was built ? I remember the Elsan loo and the big spiders and daddy long legs which always seemed to be in there! I intend to go back and see if I still get a good feeling about the place. Hopefully my wife and kids will too!