Mrs B. Hearn's Memories of Holidays in Great Yarmouth

I have lovely childhood memories of Gt Yarmouth. Although I live in Norwich it has always been like a second home to me. My father always had 2 weeks holiday in August and we would always go along with grandparents aunts and uncles etc to visit one of the shows after a feast on the market. A trip wouldnt be complete without this and still,the habits remain.

I can remember the waterways when we were young it was so magical. I can always remember and wonder if anybody else remembers the tiny coach parked along the front advertising coach trips and a small man used to drive it. We always had to go and have a look at it. Special memories of the snails on the fair and the Noah's ark and the laughing policeman. We also took a ride over from Yarmouth to Gorleston on the boat when we were young and my sister was scared and felt sea sick. It was a black steamer.

Remembering lovely holidays on the North Denes site. Such happy days. Not much money but it seemed as though we had the world. Later years as a teenager going on the train for whitsun for the day was such an adventure and felt so grown up then. Days of skinheads etc. Then when married and my sons came along we enjoyed repeating it all over again telling them all about such happy memories and hopefully with grandchildren in the near future.

I will always have a liking for the place although it has changed like lots of other towns and cities. We visit very often for shopping and walks along the front and enjoying the market and nice coffee along Regent Road and just watching the world go by along with our lovely happy memories.

Hi after writing on your page 15/07/2008 we have a beautiful little granddaughter Ellie Mae born 6/9/10 who we have since taken her to Gt Yarmouth and she had her first feel of the sand on her feet and hands recently,I have a pic of myself not much older than her on Gt Yarmouth beach.

This is another photo that takes me back. The ride at the pleasure beach was called the supersonic vampire jets. This was one of my favourite rides as a kid. The ride was operated by electicity and compressed air. When it started off it went around and in each jet was a controller. Pull it back and the jet was sent upwards by compressed air. Push it forward and it went down. The best part about this ride was the music that played all the time 'those magnificent men in their flying machines'. Absolute brilliant fun!

Great Yarmouth seafront was the best in the skinhead days. Me and my mates would walk along the seafront happily and then a load of rockers/grebos would run after us as we were skinheads. Great fun. We used to run for our lives, in our two tone tonic suits, Ben Shermans, monkey boots. We used to think we looked great. Those were the days in 68/69.

Had a weekend break at the Seashore caravan camp in July this year. Last time I had holiday there I was 5 years old. Lovely to return again the old pub on the corner. The Iron Duke was my nannys fav pub. We used to sit outside with a Vimto and crisps. Loved every minute of it. It is still there but no longer open. What a shame. It would be lovely and attract the public for the racing events. That's another issue. Our family outing to Yarmouth races,the memories are all so nostalgic for me. Could go on and on about these times and Hemsby amd Caister.

From summer 1956 aged 2, along with my mum and two aunts and sister Sheila and brother Rod, we used to stay with Mrs Middleton at 14 Nelson Road North for two weeks at the beginning of August. We used to have a beach chalet on the north beach and go there every day, rain or shine. I remember all the shows, including some on Sundays when I was about 6 which included such stars as Billy Fury and Marty Wilde - I think they were on at the Aquarium. Mrs B Hearn's holiday memories are almost my own! We used to call the man who sold ice cream on the beach from the cool box "the rubber dub dub man" as this was what he used to shout. My own two grandsons and I came for a week's holiday last year and again we are coming for a week at the beginning of August - they love it as much as I did, even though it is quite different from when I was a child.

At last, someone who remembers the ice cream man who called out rubber dub dub. Mrs Wisharts memories almost mirror my own. In the fifties and early sixties when I was a young lad, I was lucky enough to spend four weeks of the year at Yarmouth. With my family, we spent a week at Easter and Whitsun and a fortnight in August. Easter was my favourite time as it seemed fairly deserted after the bank holiday and I had the whole beach to myself. We allways stayed at Mrs Nicholls or Mr. Roberts guest house in Euston Road. My everlasting memory is of getting up very early for a pre-breakfast walk with my dad to get the newspaper at Mr. Spurgeons shop followed by a steaming mug of tea from the kiosk next to Brittania pier on the promenade. The owner allways wore a trilby hat and dad nicknamed him "The Italian". At the other end of the prom was another kiosk called "Dennys" opposite the public toilets. At Easter the sand was piled high allmost level with the prom by bulldozers on the beach. Whitsun was allways a little more crowded, but in August the whole place really came alive . We allways hired a beach hut for the fortnight and sometimes stayed in it till very late at night eating fish and chips. The whole town holds such wonderfull memories for me and I am very sad to hear of its demise from friends who live in the area. I hope it will attract investment and rise again.

I remember the Rub-a-Dub-a-Dub ice-cream man. His complete call was, 'rub-a-dub-a-dub, ice-cream-in-a-tub.' He lugged about the beach a huge, heavy box of ice cream at his waist on a strap across his back. In the 1950's there was a once a year coach trip to Yarmouth from East Harling near Thetford, I would have been around the age of ten. There was a 'What The Butler Saw' machine in an arcade under Britannia Pier with a sign on it that said, 'Out Of Order.' I put some coins in it anyway to have a look, and it didn't work, so I banged it. An irate man appeared and pointed to the sign. In a rare moment of quick thinking, I pretended that I couldn't read! He sent me on my way. I will never know what it was the butler saw.