Diana's Death is Still Felt

Posted by Jamie on August 31, 2007 10:21 AM

Look Back pauses this week to reflect on the tenth anniversary of the death of Princess Diana on August 31, 1997.

The Princess of Wales visited Southport a number of times during her 16 years in the royal spotlight.
One of the most memorable dates was June 11, 1992, when she officially opened Queenscourt Hospice. It was her first engagement following revelations about her personal life, and just five days before the publication of Andrew Morton’s controversial book ‘Diana: A True Story’.

Images of her breaking down during chairman Bill Davidson’s moving speech were beamed across the globe.

Queenscourt volunteer Barbara Wall is a keen photographer and shared some of her precious pictures with the Visiter.

Barbara, from High Park Road, said: “She was lovely, absolutely gorgeous, she stopped to talk to everybody. She was a lady who was easy to like, even though she wasn’t able to stay with us on the day for long.”

Diana also came to the resort in September 1990 to visit Paduan House, the school for young people with special needs, when she also took a trolley for a spin around Tesco in Kew.
A year earlier the Princess visited Birkdale School for Hearing Impaired Children, and was shown around by principal Eileen Tomkinson, as well as receiving flowers from pupil Katie Foden, then aged eight.

Eve Calvert was an invited guest at the school on the day.
She remembered: “I was asked to come by Mrs Rothwell, one of the teachers, and we waited in the gym for the princess to arrive.
“She was late, as there were patients from the home next door who were on seats inside the school gates waiting to see her. She stopped the car and went to say hello to them all.
“The princess spent a lot of time with the children at the school as well, kneeling to speak to them. I thought she was a lovely woman and I have very fond memories of her.”

When the Princess was killed, along with friend Dodi Fayed and driver Henri Paul, in a road tunnel in Paris, the groundswell of grief was overwhelming - and took many forms.
Iris Whitaker of Ainsdale was doing her regular charity work at the time of the Princess’ death.
She remembers: “We were fundraising for the charity and with so many words of remembrance being said about Diana, we decided to put them all together in a booklet.
“We compiled poetry that had been submitted to the Southport Visiter, the Liverpool Echo and Radio Merseyside into one volume.
“One of the radio presenters said they had so many poems they didn’t know what to do with them, so I said I’d have them. Five hundred copies were printed free of charge and they were sold for about £2 each.”

Just five days after the crash, the Southport Visiter printed plans for proposed gardens in front of the Town Hall and called for them to be dedicated to the Princess’ memory.
Then editor John Dempsey recalls: “Southport mourned Diana like the rest of the country, but her visit to Queenscourt Hospice was still fresh in many people's minds, and her death was felt keenly.
“As editor of the Visiter at the time, I remember our newsroom being inundated with tributes, not just from leading figures in the town, but from hundreds of readers feeling the loss of their ‘people's princess’.
“As Diana had visited the resort on several occasions, we had a large archive of pictures taken by Visiter photographers to draw on to create a unique tribute to her in print.
“But the Visiter wanted to do more than just report the town's grief, so we approached Sefton Council with a proposal to name the centrepiece of the newly renovated Lord Street Gardens as The Princess Diana Fountain.
“The council readily agreed, and of course, the feature is still there today.”

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Memories of a Tesco visit

Posted by Jamie on August 30, 2007 11:58 PM

Southport man David Wright still remembers the Princess’ visit to Kew Tesco as if it was yesterday.
David was working on the fish counter at Tesco at the time of the visit, which was in aid of Birthright, the charity Tesco was sponsoring that year.

David, now 38, said: “It was a Tuesday morning, I can still remember it clearly to this day. I was probably about 22 at the time. What a day.”
The former Stanley High School pupil was one of the few members of staff to actually speak to the Princess, when he presented her with a tray of fish.
He can be seen on the left of the photograph, behind the counter.

David revealed: “She was chatting to everybody, asking us if we enjoyed working at Tesco. She was fantastic because she was just such a normal, genuine person.”
Diana was also given two mini supermarket trollies for Princes William and Harry, who were small children at the time.

The Princess’ arrival in Southport caused quite a stir, with crowds of people turning up at the supermarket in the hope of catching a glimpse of her.
Joyce Wright, David’s mum, was one of them.
She told Look Back: “I was at work that day but I raced up there on my bike. I just got there in time to see her going in. I was thrilled.”
The Wright family, of Botanic Road, Churchtown, have their own ways of remembering the Princess.
David, who still works for Tesco, said: “You look at the boys, William and Harry and you can see how well they are doing for her. They are carrying on her memory.”
Joyce added: “We have been to Althorp many times, and we always take flowers.
“I don’t think she will ever be forgotten.”

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Poem touched the heart of Al Fayed

Posted by Jamie on August 30, 2007 11:59 AM

Christine Livesey will always have a reminder of the time Princess Diana died.
The landlady of The Volunteer pub on Eastbank Street was moved to write a poem called Our Beautiful Princess which featured in Iris Whitaker’s anthology (see main article).
Christine said: “I sent the poem to Mohammed Al Fayed and I received this beautiful letter from him afterwards, thanking me.”
To read Christine’s poem, and other tributes to the Princess, visit our Poet’s Corner blog.

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Poster piece of Palace's past

Posted by Digital Editor on August 24, 2007 9:00 AM

IN August 1927, audiences at the Birkdale Picture Palace were treated to ‘a picture of magnificence and splendour’ starring matinee idol Norman Kerry.
Now, 80 years on, a poster advertising the silent movie with that immodest tag-line, ‘The Love Thief’, has been added to a growing collection of local memorabilia.
The poster, listing the weekly showings at Birkdale’s first – and long-since gone – cinema has been framed and mounted on the wall of June Marshall’s Cherry Road home for the last 20 years.
It was printed on the Southport Visiter’s old presses in the resort, and is among pieces loaned to Birkdale Civic Society in their Visiter- publicised drive to curate exhibits for their anniversary display.
The exhibition will be held at the Botanic Gardens Museum in the last week in September and the first fortnight in October, following this summer’s 25th anniversary of Birkdale Civic Society’s creation.
June, 66, used to live in Upper Aughton Road in the village, only doors away from where Birkdale Picture Palace showed silent films between 1913 and its closure in 1929.
But it was a relative of June’s, the late Brian Church, who discovered the poster in the 1980s in what had been the Palace’s projection room. Mr Church had opened a car repair business in the old Palace premises opposite the Air Training Corps HQ.
“He gave it to me as he thought it was something I would be interested in,” said June, a retired caretaker at Woodvale Primary school, now Kings Meadow Primary. “I just thought it was something different.”
Ralph Gregson, chairman of Birkdale Civic Society, explained the Palace had “quite a chequered history”.

Its move to Bedford Road in 1929 – where it was renamed the Bedford – followed intense pressure from nearby residents angered by “the constant noise coming out of the premises”.
“It certainly wasn’t like the cinema we have now in Ocean Plaza,” said Mr Gregson.
After the Palace’s desertion, its premises were used by the sweet manufacturers White Hudson.
Mr Gregson said: “The recent article on our anniversary in Look Back has created tremendous new interest and offers of memorabilia.
“The poster is a piece of Birkdale history, unknown to many people, and we are pleased to have it in front of us.”
l If you have any items which you think may be of interest to Birkdale Civic Society, call Ralph Gregson on 01704-566254.
l To find out more about Birkdale Civic Society visit their homepage on our new website: www.southportcommunities.co.uk

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Scouts in the dark

Posted by Digital Editor on August 24, 2007 9:00 AM

MEMORIES of sitting indoors around a gas fire with the lights off are still vivid for one ex- Southport Scout.
Dave James, 73, of Beacham Road, Southport, remembers sitting in the dark around a small gas fire singing with the 36th Southport Scout group.
It was originally the 47th but Scout master Billy Buck changed it when he returned from war.
Father-of-three and ex-Manweb worker Mr James said: “The group was the 36th Compton Road YMCA group but during the war the YMCA building was taken over.
“It became a clothing factory and the name changed to 36th Southport Scouts.”
Mr James remembers travelling to Wigan for the North West Scout rally.
He said: “It was a weekend camp with Scouts from all over the North West area and I think they held it at Haigh Hall.”
Mr James’ youngest son, fireman Michael James, 41, of the Meols Cop area, Southport, is now leader of the 62nd St Cuthbert’s Scout group.

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German bombers could not stop brave factory workers

Posted by Digital Editor on August 17, 2007 9:00 AM

By PHILIP WALSH

I FEEL I should place on record for local historians, some of the events during the war in the area.
I did not keep a diary but the memories paint a vivid picture in my mind.
I am now aged 86 but the traumatic times we experienced are still crystal clear in my memory.
Prior to joining the RAF in February 1941 with my work pal Ken Leeming, I was employed at the Brockhouse Factory in Crossens as a metric driller, making steel washers for war employment. It was very hard and dirty work, doing 84 hours a week, with no days off for £3 a week.
This was at the height of the German blitz bombardment of the Liverpool and Bootle Docks costing the lives of 5,000 citizens in Liverpool and 1,800 in Bootle.
Britain stood against the Nazi might alone in those days.
Liverpool was our only remaining port in England handling all our supplies from America.
The Scouse dockers and their families were “the bravest of the brave”, keeping this vital link for our survival open in the Battle of the Atlantic.
I love the Scouse for preserving this lovely town of Southport. That is why I enjoy our union with Sefton. I should also like to pay tribute to the brave workers in the Brockhouse Factory at Crossens during the time of the blitz.
There were three lights in all departments of the factory to warn the workers to take shelter in the bunkers at the rear of the factory. But even when the light went red and with bombers overhead the workers never quit their jobs. Men and women carried on regardless of the danger with red lights flashing and sirens wailing.
Our luck held out until the middle of December, 1940. I think it was the eighth of the month. The red warning light went on, but on this occasion eight high explosive bombs landed, destroying the Hartwood Hosiery Factory adjoining Brockhouse.
This small building was utterly demolished and I do not know what happened to the fire watcher on those premises.
Two bombs exploded in the Brockhouse Factory causing the death of one young apprentice in the tool room. The other missile dropped on the paint shop, causing injury to a number of painters. It was a tragedy for the young lad and his parents but thank God there were no other casualties. In fact I consider it a miracle that hundreds of other workers survived without injury. Fire bombs exploded on the, then, open grassland at the rear of the factory. Fifty incendiary bombs dropped on Rufford Road, Crossens.
A delayed action bomb dropped on a newsagent’s shop, exploding two days later at the corner of The Crescent and Rufford Road.
I was lucky that night. I was saying goodnight to a girlfriend on Shakespeare Street.
When the bombs exploded the noise was terrific and the night sky turned red. We just clung to each other as the bombs fell with a screaming note of high pitch.
We were more than two miles away but it was a cold night and the sound appeared to be yards, rather than miles, away.
We were informed after the war in a casual report that 43 deaths were accounted for in Southport, with 197 injured.
No mention was even given of the brave Brockhouse workers who never quit their duties.

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Were you in the 'Chorus' of successful production?

Posted by Digital Editor on August 17, 2007 9:00 AM

THIS merry band of performers caused a singular sensation when they appeared in A Chorus Line in September 1995.
Visiter photographer Gareth Jones caught this image of the Southport Arts Centre Youth Theatre as they prepared for the production, directed by Suzy Walker, now Sefton community arts officer.
Smiling broadly in the centre of the back row is Jonny Sheldon, who played Mike, the tap dancer hoping for a part in a new production.
Jonny went on to appear in West End shows and is currently co-organising a summer school in Southport to pass on his skills to upcoming talents.
He told LookBack: “I remember this really well, and a lot of the cast have gone on to work in theatre. Andrew Martin (second left) has appeared on TV shows, and John Coates (third right) is still in the shows as far as I know.
“Colette Bibby (second right) worked in the arts as well, and I’m sure a lot of the others did too.”
l Do you recognise yourself, or one of your family or friends, in this photo? Did you or they go on to success in the arts, or are they happily leading an altogether different life 12 years on?
Let us know by leavng a comment below ...

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Author's tribute to the resort's great survivor

Posted by Digital Editor on August 10, 2007 9:00 AM

IT ALL began almost 150 years ago when Victorian engineer Sir James Brunlees masterminded its construction to complement the elegance of the resort.
One of Southport’s most striking landmarks, the Grade II building achieved listed status in 1976, survived storm damage and fires and has been at the centre of a major campaign.
Southport Pier was opened to the public in 1860 and is one of the oldest surviving examples in Britain, featuring regularly in the top five most visited attractions on Merseyside.
Southport journalist Harold Brough, who has compiled the pier’s history in his publication, What the Butler Saw and All That, said: “Southport’s Pier has a special place in Britain’s seaside history.
“It was the product of the great pier boom of the mid 19th Century, there was a great rivalry between coastal towns and the prosperity and confidence of a town was measured on its pier, fuelled by the railways which would bring people in from industrial towns.”

The former Liverpool Daily Post chief features writer, who has three children and three grandchildren, Charlotte, 10 months, Benjamin, two and Rebecca, five, said: “The superstructure for the country’s first iron pier at Southport was to be supported on cast-iron columns, which were secured in the sand. A hose, connected to the town’s water mains, was connected to gas tubing passing down the columns and the workmen twisted the columns forcing the sand away and the column sank under its own weight.”

After years of hard work, the “greatest and most exciting event ever celebrated in Southport’s history” took place on August 2, 1860.
The 72-year-old said: “Civic pride boomed, of ceremony and celebration. Every shop came to a halt, bands were playing and people gathered to wave flags and sing the national anthem.”
And then came the days of the great stars. The Pier Pavilion opened on New Year’s Day, 1902, – the music hall attracted names such as George Formby and Gracie Fields.
Harold said: “The real star for me was pier diver Professor Bert Powsey, he came top of any outdoor show.”
Beyond the Pier Pavilion, the pier provided a world of kiss-me-quick hats, Punch and Judy shows and slot machines.
Harold’s book covers almost every other aspect of pier history, from the divers to the pleasure steamers and fishing fleets that would tie up at the landmark.
The book also charts the demise of the pier and subsequent resurrection, its current incarnation just scraping through a council debate by one vote.

Harold added: “I think it’s to Southport’s great credit, in an age when budgets are tight with pressing matters, that it found the will and determination to save the pier.”
What the Butler Saw and All That by Harold Brough is priced £9.99 and will be available atWaterstones in Southport, Broadhursts, Christian Book Centre, Wesley Street, Pritchards in Formby, Botanic Gardens Museum and Lord Street’s Tourist Information Centre.

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Do you recognise rugby stars of 1995?

Posted by Digital Editor on August 10, 2007 9:00 AM

TODAY we feature two photos from Southport Rugby Union Football Club, taken during September, 1995.
The seniors pic features one of the players bursting past his opponent as a team-mate looks on. The jerseys were sponsored by Fletcher’s Solicitors at the time.
The picture of the juniors looks like a training session is taking place. Are any of them still involved with the club?
The club has since going from strength to strength – the first team were promoted after winning their league last year while the junior section is also thriving.

The new season starts later this month, with any eager players invited to get in touch, while supporters are also more than welcome to attend games at the Waterloo Road ground. More details are on the club’s website at: www.southportrufc.com
If you recognise anyone in either photo, and knows what they are doing now, contact LookBack on: 01704-536655 or e- mail us at: visiternews@southportvisiter.co.uk
If you have any nostalgic photos you would like to share with readers, email them to us at the same address, or bring them into our office at 26-32 Tulketh Street. We can scan pics in while you wait.

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A Night on the Newcastle Brown

Posted by Visiter Newsdesk on August 10, 2007 8:59 AM

IT looks like these lads from the Visiter's archive of Night Life photographs like their Newcastle Brown, but do you recognise them? Perhaps you were there.

Share your memories here by leaving a comment.

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Pleasurable times at attraction

Posted by Visiter Newsdesk on August 3, 2007 9:00 AM

WITH New Pleasureland packing in thrill-seekers by Southport’s seafront, what better time to cast a nostalgic gaze at the resort’s bygone attractions?

One former worker at the old Pleasureland went on to rub shoulders with sporting greats and stars of the entertainment world.

He was Albert Fyles, who died at his Tulketh Street home on July 7 aged 70.
Albert was a lifelong Sandgrounder who spent decades working as a golf caddy. His 26 year association with Tom Weiskopf included the American’s 1973 British Open victory at Royal Troon.

Albert caddied at Royal Birkdale from boyhood, but his working life included a range of jobs around the resort, including window cleaning and as staff supervisor at Southport Flower Show.
One of his first jobs after leaving Birkdale central school (now Birkdale High) was as a ride operator at Pleasureland, where he was based on the speedway.
The photos reproduced here were provided by his widow Pamela, and show Albert – probably still in his teens – enjoying his time at the fair with friends and co-workers in the 1950s.
Two decades later the Fairhursts were regular visitors to Southport’s attractions, including Pleasureland and the now-gone outdoor swimming pool by the Marine Lake.

The St Helens family enjoyed day trips and short holidays in the resort and would stay at caravan sites in Banks and Formby.

Dad Cliff and mum Barbara are now 64 and 63 respectively and have recently moved to the town they used to so enjoy visiting. “We just like the atmosphere, it’s really nice,” said Barbara.

Sons Clifford, Anthony and Martin are now 39, 38 and 36 respectively, but memories of hazy summer days in Southport remain on super-8 film and the family photographs album – from which the four shots shown here have kindly been taken.

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