Canvey Island, Shell Beach c.1950

Photo ref: C237005

We were on holiday. I remember 5 of us in a chalet. I was the eldest child about 9 years old. There was an entertainment area where we attended the Woody Woodpecker Show. Can vaguely remember a small beach. We had to get water once from a standpipe as something went wrong in the chalet?

It would have been mid August 1970 when I had my first holiday here, together with my parents, aunt, and our two dogs. I was 8 years old. It was 50 years ago this month. We rented a chalet for two weeks. There was a duck pond in front of it. Canvey and Kings memories: The sweet shop near the camp run by a lady who owned a lot of dogs! Those 4 wheeled bikes with bench seats you could hire on camp. They were ...see more

It must have been in the 60`s. We stayed in a caravan and loved it all. Flying a kite or playing football then walking along the sea wall and having a swim. We always walked to the funfair in the evenings where I absolutely loved the helter skelter with that huge bowl at the bottom. Just wonderful fun. We also took trips to Southend, Rayleigh Castle and Shoeburyness. We came by train from Fenchurch ...see more

I have never seen Canvey Island when it got hit by the flood in 1959. I know what it did to Canvey but I was looking at the black and white pictures that my grandad showed me and it was different to what it looks like now and I'm only 15 - what a change.