southsea holiday 1946

[@sphinxtheeminx]

When I was about 10 back in the very early 1960s I 'worked' on the miniature railway collecting tickets. This was during the summer holidays when the place was full of holidaymakers. The driver was too busy to do it. For about 3 hours work the 'pay' was one free train ride. I also was one of several kids who 'worked' on the pony rides next to the railway, walking the tourist kids and ponies round a short track. Our reward was one pony ride at the end of an afternoon's effort, minus someone to lead us. These were both highly prized little jobs and I had to leave home near Fratton station to walk there in good time to be at the front of the queue to do them - it was a bitter blow if I was too late to be first. We were quite poor back then and I never had money for such treats, so the thrill of being able to enjoy these expensive - 6d! - experiences was immense. My two brothers and I were very enterprising and did lots of jobs - collecting newspapers for the glass factory in Greetham St paid actual cash which we used to maintain the go cart we hauled round town collecting papers on. Lemonade bottles had a penny return if you took them to any shop that sold the pop, so we were always after those. Running to the shops for neighbours was a massive activity, but paid zero - my mother was too proud for us to get tipped for it. Consequently, I was run off my feet some days lugging bags of spuds back from the Co-op on my trusty cart. Of course, back then we were out all day without supervision and we trusted adults to be kind to us.

[@peterwhite7193]

This brought back wonderful memories of my visit to Portsmouth in 1955, age 8. I remember travelling on the paddle steamers to the Isle of Wight and going on the Southsea miniature railway but I had forgotten about the small motorboats. They were great fun to go on. This was a time when the Rock Gardens were magnificent and lines of different coaches were parked near to South Parade pier giving trips to places like Minehead and Bridgewater.

[@JillVic]

I think that was the old car ferry from Old Portsmouth to Gosport that existed in my childhood - I was born in Portsmouth in 1954, and grew up in Gosport. It saved a long, long car journey all around the back of the harbour.

[@stephaniestj5237]

My mum would've only been 5 years old when this was filmed. All my family are Pompey born and bred. It would be amazing if she was one of the kids in this footage! I seem to recall riding the train 🚂 as a little toddler.

[@jamesavenell]

My family holidayed in Southsea every year when I was a youngster. Late 1940s into the 50s. We resided in Reading & travelled by Smiths coaches. The children's area I remember so well, the mini train, the footbridge over the line, the seating area my Mum & Dad nestled into. Relatives from Woking & Basingstoke would come down & we would gather together for a day during that fortnight. Great memories. In future years my wife & I would bring our own children down. Always great fun.

[@judebrown2672]

Fantastic video. Amazing how not much has changed if you really look hard. Thanks 😊

[@TCHorwood-xq7mw]

Great film, also I love the projector sound, it reminds me of when my Dad would show us movies at home.

[@ross.venner]

So many memories. The Canoe Lake and the trains. I'm only about five years younger than the little girl in the footage.

[@NickRatnieks]

3:00 onward was filmed at South Parade Pier- at 3:;48 you see an easterly view and in the distance, the clock tower of Eastney Royal Marine barracks can be seen- the barracks is now housing. South Parade Pier was burned down during the filming of "Tommy" in 1974 and some of the fire was incorporated into the film- a scaled down new version was built.

[@lizanne631]

Thank you for this information as I am the two year old in the film and have often wondered which part of Southsea this actually is. Thanks

[@NickRatnieks]

@@lizanne631 That's so great to know because you, and I assume your brother are central to the film. We can see South Parade- where the pier is and eastward from there over the canoe lake and the gardens there which are around Lumps Fort which became a rose garden- and Eastern Parade and further east to Eastney- dominated by the clock tower. I lived as a child in a road off Eastern Parade which had huge admiral's houses-so knew that area very well. There was a pitch and put course over the road but I doubt it was there in 1946. The miniature railway was beyond Southsea Castle which is west of South Parade Pier next to the promenade and I think the putting greens were on Southsea Common- there was a roller-skating rink there as well. The film of the ferry which may have been to Gosport is probably down by The Hard- next to where Portsmouth Harbour station is- although it could be inside the harbour where we see the paddle steamers for the Isle of Wight in the film- I went on one shortly before they were replaced- the PS Ryde. Some of the film may have been taken at Clarence Pier which was further east of the railway but had been rebuilt by the time we moved to Southsea in the 1960s. We visited the pier in 1963 on a day trip- Navy Days was on, so we went on the ships and at the pier there was an animal freak show- a horse with five legs etc!

[@tmhood]

Grey skies and blustery winds: it must be summer!

[@rubytroy7756]

Fantastic place ❤

[@rubytroy7756]

I miss Southsea ❤

[@PhilbyFavourites]

At least the old chain ferry works better than the one in Cowes (£3.5 million in 2019 - its now 2020 and its been out of action for three months to date).

[@ollielowe7534]

recollections of my childhood in late, forties, early fifties. Remember the bomb sites around Elm Grove etc.

[@WesCaseyProductions]

The train used to still run in the 80s

[@thunderc45]

I had a flashback of the motor boats just the other day but couldn't place them. Jogged the full length of Southsea today by coincidence. All is lost from those innocent, happy times.

[@cheralgeen3214]

To Peter White. We are Same age. I lived in Pompey also. School Albert Road, Southsea.

[@Northenstar13]

A Wonderful film. I enjoyed it very much. Thanks.

[@andreamartin3536]

Dear Lizanne. Thanks for loading up this video. I think you're video is fantastic and brings back the most wonderful memories of going on this train and lake with my brothers. I hope you don't mind but I have shared this video on my Facebook page 'Portsmouth and Southsea Memories'. If you wish me to remove it please let me know. Thankyou.

[@dcoul1]

Some great nostalgia there! Thanks very much for posting this.

[@MousePotato]

Love this video. I remember that train as a kid then they got rid of it sometime in the 80s.

[@morriganravenchild6613]

Mant thanks for this.

[@billross6013]

My Father was born there. Probably was a great place before Globalization. what a shame.

[@bobdawkins7473]

A little political / cultural rant (Please feel free not to read my opinion, but if you're interested, then here it is) I'm very young to these times, but it's the first thing I thought too when I saw the clip. How nice and happy everything looked, when everything was "English". I don't care how racist that sounds, because it's still 100% fact. 99% of my friends are foreign here in UK, but there are still always problems culturally, with languages, with religions... Evidently when times were more at rest (Obviously the 40s had different types of troubles) at least there were not multiple different groups in every direction you looked, telling each other that this island needs to be more like them, or more like the other. It was never even a consideration once upon a time. This was England, and people loved it for that reason. The tea, bacon and eggs, Sunday morning boot-sales, steam trains, yes these things existed elsewhere too, but there was once an English culture which was predominantly English. Whatever that was, it changed over 60 years, and very strong cultures and other religions which were once a minority, started making demands and who knows, one day even change laws. Well that has already started happening right down to little courts which pander to certain groups of different faiths. :) The world and life is a crazy thing. If I am just old enough to say so, the biggest change in not just UK, but globally, is how much people have become suppressed in their free speech. How political correctness has changed everything from what is offensive, comedy, rules, movies, news and media. There is so much in Monty Python which was always intended to be funny, and now days we have a new breed of generation who were trained to call everything offensive. At the end of it all... Everything changes, always has, always will, it's no good becoming upset in how these changes roll out if your own little voice is drowned among a sea of others. It's great to see such a time existed though, which was so very English there, and people were proud, hard-working and nationalist for all the right reasons. It was not a handful of racists which changed the definition of what it is to be a nationalist. :) ...... It was funded propaganda, media and news for a couple of generations directly from globalists, to make nationalism a thing of history, as we all move together like it or not into the Globalist era.

[@sirrichardpumpaloaf8154]

It still is a great place to live, in fact it’s improved greatly since this was filmed.

[@karwan33]

@@bobdawkins7473 You're 100% racist and proud.

[@chris103050]

@@karwan33 Perhaps you neeto read his comment again, as it is I'm mo way racist.

[@chris103050]

@@bobdawkins7473 Great Post, 👍

[@chris103050]

Mum & Dad were born there. I'd like to think they're walking around Canoe Lake, 10 years before I was born. Such happy times.. Grandma lived in Chich Road. We lived in Allen's Road.

[@angusscott-potter4120]

god how it all comes back to me as I was born in pompey and went on the train every week

[@nickjanes7310]

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