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Foreword
During the week, Terry Phillips very kindly
forwarded a collection of family photos taken by his mother and
father during the 1950s. As many of our readers will know,
Terry's dad, Gordon Phillips, ran the well known pharmacy in
Tankerton Road for many years.
The photos will bring back many fond memories
- in terms of both the people involved and the scenes that they
captured However, the shots are also tinged with sadness.
Terry's mum and dad sadly passed away at the age 85 and 81
respectively. Tragically, sister Viv died in 2005 at the age of
just 62.
Many of our readers will know the Phillips
family and I am sure that they would join me in passing
condolences to Terry and family and thanking them for these
lovely contributions
to Simply Whitstable.
Westmeads Gymkhana
Terry's first photo shows Viv riding her horse at a local
gymkhana....
The houses in the background will be familiar because they
line Westmeads Road and overlook the gymkhana venue....
Westmeads recreation ground!
The gymkhana was an annual event and it caused much
excitement amongst local kids. The ground was prepared a day or
so beforehand.... and that included a large marquee for
refreshment and smaller tents for officials. These were very
quickly commandeered as camps! They also became ski slopes as I
do remember boys sliding down the roof. (It wasn't me guv... 'onest).
The east and west ends of the rec' were fenced off but an
area of land bordering Westmeads Road was left open to
accommodate horse vans and boxes. You will spot this from
Terry's photo.... along with some vintage vehicles!
The north and south sides of ground had lines of bushes but
there were a number of holes used by children. These were
temporarily sealed by short strips of fence to ensure that all
spectators paid at the gates.
The actual arena was a circular, 'roped off' area in the
centre and seats were stout wooden boxes. The boxes were also
used for a very popular competition. This was an equestrian
version of musical chairs for young riders. The boxes were
placed around the arena and riders circled around it all to the
sound of music. When the music stopped they made a dash for the
nearest box whereupon they had to dismount and stand on the
crate whilst maintaining full control of their steed. Each time,
a competitor was eliminated and a box removed. It was an amusing
interlude inserted between the wide range of jumping events....
but it was taken very seriously.
I am afraid I have forgotten which organisation ran the
event... but I do recall one of the people in charge. She took
the form of a substantial and fomidable horsewoman... complete
with tweed jacket, riding breeches and whip. From time to time,
she would check the gaps in the hedge... and eject us for not
having a ticket.
I didn't actually know her name until the whole business
cropped up in the Simply Whitstable visitors book
back in march of this year. John Fincher wrote as
follows...
| I think the person you mention riding around to stop
you sneaking in to the gymkhana could have been Mrs.
McKeever from out at Waterham - very scary.
John Fincher
Whitstable
16 March 2008 |
Mind you, my childhood assessment of Mrs. McKeever was
somewhat inaccurate as Barbara Bruce and Paul Ryan recall....
| She might have seemed scary but I knew her very well
via horses and dogs and she was a lovely lady. Pity a
few more like her are not about today to sort a few
people out.
Serves you right for trying to get in free!!!!!!!!!!
Barbara Bruce
Sheppey
17/3/08 |
| I remember her. I think her name was Betty. She was
one of our customers when I worked at Fitt's garage at
Faversham. in the late '50s. She had an old Land Rover
with little labels stuck everywhere telling any drivers
how to drive the thing.
She was formidable but I think it was mostly show
because, when I got to know her a bit better, she was
O.K. She ran a successful farm for many years.
Paul Ryan
Charing
17/3/08 |
I am sure all this is going to get the memory cells buzzing
amongst older Natives.
The Tankerton Rafts....
Terry's next shot will also bring back some memories... and
it is one that has finally put my mind at rest! It was taken by
Mrs Phillips and it shows the family afloat on one of the
Tankerton rafts....
I have mentioned these craft on Simply Whitstable many times
without much reaction... and without any photographic evidence.
Until now!
They were available for hire at Tankerton beach (just below
the toilet block at the St Annes Road junction). Built like
catamarans, they comprised two floats joined by three cross
planks. My brother (John) actually worked on them during the
summer along with (I believe) Chris Daughton. They collected the
money, launched customers into the estuary and called them in
when their time was up.
On a couple of occasions, I entered the marketing business
and got a free ride. During slack periods all the rafts were
beached and beach users were unaware of their existence. So, I
had the task of paddling on along the shoreline to attract
attention.
The rafts also served as rain shelters. When not in use they
were stacked on top of each other and covered by a sheet of
canvas. It was therefore possible to slip into the well created
between the cross planks, pull the canvas over the top and sit
out the bad weather in relative comfort.
Other features of Tankerton Beach included the stacks of deck
chairs on the promenade - all with canvas marked with the
initials 'WUDC' and Mr Evans 'toffee apple, roasted
peanuts' bicycle (which we have discussed recently in
the Visitors Book).
We are now heading to the point where we can produce a Tankerton
Beach of the 1950s article! It will be an interesting
piece of work to attempt because it will show quite a change in
emphasis when compared to modern Whitstable. Fifty years ago,
Tankerton Beach was very much the place for visitors because it
was wholly a tourist area.
By contrast, Whitstable beach was still very much a working
area with active (or disused) boatyards and small maritime
workshops. It did have small leisure areas interspersed amongst
the workmen (such as Reeves and West Beach) but, during the
1950s, these were primarily frequented by locals.
Living in Railway Avenue (close to the station), our family
were often asked the way to the beach by day trippers. (In fact
we acted as an unpaid Visitor Information Centre - one that
Canterbury City Council couldn't close down). We would never
think of pointing them in the direction of Whitstable. We always
shunted them up Teynham Hill towards Tankerton! If they were
foreign with iffy English, we called upon our European
Office.... mum. She simply repeated the directions to Tankerton...
but louder.
It's interesting that people often talk of keeping Whitstable
as it was. That may be easy when it comes to buildings. However,
usage and a way of life are far more delicate things to
preserve. Whitstable has changed massively if you take the time
to scratch below the gloss and hype.
If anyone can tell us more about the rafts, please let us
know!
The Motor Boats...
You'll also love this next photo as, yet again, Terry has
provided another 'first' for Simply Whitstable....
Terry tells me that it was taken at the boating lake in the
early to mid 1950s and it shows Viv (left) with family
friends.
The photo has given me my first glimpse of one of those old
motorboats.... for almost half a century! They didn't go very
fast but.... oh, what memories!
The scene also highlights how life styles have changed in 50
years. Back in the 1950s, it was a case of dressing up for
visits to places like the boating lake. 'Smart but casual'
was the order of the day... particularly, if the day was one of
those lazy, hazy Sundays of mid summer.
I very much recall getting washed and scrubbed up for a trip
on my favourite rowing boat... No 6. It had to be clean shorts,
socks and ladybird tee shirt.... and then mum would moan when a
fast melting Mivvy cascaded onto it all! I even recall going to
the Oxford Cinema on a Saturday night in my school uniform.
Nowadays, parents would probably take their kids to a boating
lake or cinema in a bin bag!
Fond Memories...
Memories are funny things. They always entwine places with
people in a myriad of recollections. They are not just an indelible
part of our past. They are also an important chunk of our
present and an inextricable component of our future.
While fond memories remain, our loved ones will always be
with us.
Reaction on Terry's Photos...
Comments on Terry's photos are as follows....
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Lake
Motorboats
Thanks for sharing your family photos,
Terry, and condolences on your losses, especially Viv.
How photos such as these roll back the years. I
recall driving motorboats (under supervision) on the
boating lakes at Hampton c.1960 and used to frequent the
West Beach boating lake too, but don't recall there
being motorboats. Perhaps they'd moved them to Hampton
by 1960 (me being a couple of years younger than you,
Terry & Dave)?
I do recall the humility of hiring a paddleboat or a
rowing boat (the oars of which had a greater span than
the channel around the island!) and being unable to make
the return journey (due to the wind and current) and
nearly always having to be pulled back to the finish by
the man holding the rope on the front of the boat and
walking along the adjacent putting green.
Ah! Such simple pleasures we all had as kids.
Barry Freeman
Shaftesbury
Dorset |
| Our
Reply: Simple pleasures
indeed, Barry. However, the simplest was encouraging a
passenger to climb on to one of the islands..... and
then rowing away and leaving him there! |
Tankerton
Rafts The Tankerton Rafts brought back such
fond memories! I've told my three kids about the fun
we'd have on them and how special it was for our mum to
give us a shilling (or maybe even a tanner, can't
remember exactly) just so we could go on the raft. The
photo was evidence for me too of their existence. I
remember they were hired out for an hour, or half an
hour. We would plead for an hour but mum would
remind us that she could only afford the half hour. My
brother, Mike, would always be in charge. He'd take the
paddle for 28 minutes and I'd get only two! But I didn't
whine. It was so exciting. We'd pretend we
would paddle to Sheppey, or maybe find an island to
explore. And, then, we would hear our number being
called and we'd have to row in to shore! How sad
I'd feel that the adventure had to end and I'd never
want to get off. But the walk back to my Aunty's
beach hut (just a short way west of the White
House) would cheer me up and last much longer than 30
minutes. We would look for shells, crabs, stones with
holes in them, seaweed or whatever we could find. Walking
home, we'd pass by Jacques arcade and, if we were lucky
enough to get a few pennies, we were in heaven. In the
50's, many summer days were spent on the beach. it was
free, healthy, and we learned so much and, whatever the
weather, we had fun. But, the excitement for sure was
going on the rafts!
I too can remember the thrill of the Boating Lake,
although we never got a motor boat! We were lucky
to get a rowing boat and I remember rowing like crazy
and only going in circles until I got the hang of it.
And, if we got an ice-cream cornet we were in heaven
again.
Thank you Terry and Dave for these photos - it's so good
to look back on your childhood. Memories of the good old
days come flooding back. Best wishes, Julie
Bonner
Lynchburg
Virginia
USA |
| Our
Reply: Hi, Julie. I wish I had bought one of
those rafts when the business closed! I would imagine
that they were broken up. |
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