We know we are getting further away but couldn’t resist this photograph of the herring boats leaving Whitby late at night; which provoked some discussion regarding a date. Derick Pearson suggested: “The Herring / Fishing fleet leaving Whitby early in the morning around the turn of the century c1900.” Russ Pigott suggested: “It must be a bit later than 1900 as the picture shows the breakwaters which were added to the existing piers about 1914. Also ,though in no expert on boats. Are they not diesel boats as there are no sails or funnels fo steam boilers?” David Richardson agreed with: “The photograph looks very 1950’s to me.” Help arrived when Jim Hebden advised: ”The photograph of the herring fleet was taken on an evening in the 1950s and the boats going out were ring netters, thay work in pairs and shoot their nets around the school of herring in a ring, so surounding the herring. When this photograph was taken I would still been of school age; when I left school I became a fisherman and in the summer months we went herring fishing.” John White supported with: “I agree with Jimmy on that 1950’s, I was a 14 year old who went off drifting for herring on the OCEAN VENTURE a few times.” John Tweddle assisted with: “This image is very similar to one I recall as a child taken in the early 1900’s by Edmund Hall then the staff photographer of the Whitby Gazette. I believe it once appeared as the front page of a Whitby Tourist guide. His photograph was taken from up by the Abbey and had the reflection of the moon on the water over the departing herring fleet, very similar to the water colour by John Freeman. I have tried in vain to find the photograph. To declare my interest, Edmund Hall was my great grandfather. It was reported in the Whitby Gazette article on the occasion of a dinner to mark his 60 years at Horne Bros in 1931 that he was responsible for the greater part of the photographs that had appeared in the Gazette over the last 30 years i.e. from 1900 onwards.”
Image from a disc compiled by Derick Pearson, thanks to Jim Hebden for such definite information; also thanks to Russ Pigott, David Richardson, John White and John Tweddle for the updates.
No need to tell where this is, of course it’s Staithes about 1900 with the days catch on the quayside. I wonder what price was paid for it. Image (from a newspaper cutting) courtesy of collections compiled by David Linton, Derick Pearson and Pem Holliday.
The High Street in Marske, looking towards the centre of the village and the roundabout of more modern times. The view hasn’t changed all that much, but once again no traffic how lovely. Image courtesy of a compilation by Derick Pearson.
How awful to see Redcar like this, must really have imprinted on the mind. Jean Opie comments: “This postcard is interesting to me because my father was posted here during WW2 and used to patrol the beach. He was not in the Home Guard but the regular army, placed on light duties due to lack of fitness for frontline work. Does anyone have any photographs of the soldiers who patrolled Redcar Beach at this time? Alternatively, does anyone have any information regarding the defence of Redcar Beach and the use of the Stray Cafe as an ammunition store at this time?” David Lambert advises: “My grandad was in the Redcar Home Guard they were North Riding of Yorkshire (NRY) 4th Battalion the Green Howards; they would have patrolled Redcar and the steel works on a night and would have done their regular jobs during the day; my grandad being a steel worker. There are many pill boxes from the war around the South Gare area near the steel works and not far from where this photograph was taken. I do know the sea front looked the same till the end of the forties, until all the barbed wire and tank traps had been removed. The Green Howards headquarters were at Kirkleatham Hall at the top of Redcar where the main road comes in.” Lin Treadgold adds: “My father was in 4th Battalion Green Howards too, 1939-45.” Richard Webster asks: “My dad was in the RAF and was billeted with a local Redcar family early in the war, sadly no longer with us so no information regarding the name of the family who took him in. His name was Albert Webster and was an armourer, first on spitfires then Lancaster’s, serving around UK, Palestine and Egypt.” .
Image courtesy of Mike Holliday, thanks to Jean Opie, David Lambert, Lin Treadgold and Richard Webster for the updates.
Yes looks rather a dull and dark day at Redcar with not many shoppers about on the High Street. I love the carriage on the left, maybe it’s waiting to take a shopper back home.
That’s what the poster tells us and it was probably right in those days when Saltburn was in Yorkshire. Russ Piggot advises: ”As it says LNER on the poster it dates it form sometime between 1923 and the end of 1947 as BR was formed on 1st Jan 1948.”
Image courtesy of Mike Holliday, thanks to Russ Piggot for the update.
A busy day on the beach and the full length pier I think. Couldn’t sit on the beach today too much seaweed, but still beautiful. As pointed out by Tony Lynn; this is Redcar beach and not Saltburn as I had initially put! Alan Etherington tells the Archive: “A ship was stranded next to the pier. I was very young and my grandmother took me to a friend of hers who lived in a small house looking directly out onto this view to see a ship that had run aground being pulled off the rocks (East Scar). I was pre-school age so probably the mid 1940s. As I recall there was no success as I watched.”
Image courtesy of Mike Holliday, thanks to Tony Lynn and Alan Etherington for the updates.
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