Me And My Dad Seaview Holiday Camp 1954

A Memory of Swalecliffe.

I was stunned to see this photograph of my dad and me taken at Swalecliffe. We started to go to Seaview Camp in 1949 and in 1950 dad, who was a carpenter and joiner by trade, built us a chalet in our back garden and transported it in pieces to Swalecliffe and erected it on site. We were now the proud owners of one of only two chalets on the site which had an upstairs. Our chalet number was K5 - the fifth chalet from the beach. We used to spend every weekend at the camp during the season and six weeks during the summer holidays. Dad would deposit Mum and my older brother and I at the camp at the beginning of the summer school holidays and he would come down every Friday night and go home on Sunday night.

It was a magical place as a child. The sun always seemed to be shining and my mother, who at home was very protective and never let me out of her sight, seemed to throw caution to the wind and let me have as much freedom as I wanted when we were there. I was friends with the boy in the chalet next door and his name was Terry Knight. Together we would go for milkshakes at the ice cream parlour in Tankerton, walk into Whistable to the cinema or walk along the cliffs to Hampton to the crazy golf and the boating pool. All this was done in the evenings. The days were spent swimming, boating, riding bikes, shrimping and cockling or just playing around in the sun. We were also friends with the camp owner's youngest daughter, and my brother went out for a while with his oldest daughter, so we spent many happy hours playing around at the family home of Kite Farm.

I was 5 when we first went to Swalecliffe and we continued to go there regularly every year until Dad sold the chalet in about 1962 as my brother and I were involved with boy and girl friends and no longer wanted to go away at weekends.

My dear dad died in 1981 and I still miss him so much. Imagine my feelings when looking at this website to discover my wonderful dad taking me for a ride around the camp. I couldn't believe my eyes.

Wonderful memories.
Barbara Macknish nee Geeson.