The underground bar that carried a ‘dive’ reputation

Posted by Robert Alcock on January 25, 2008 9:02 AM

EXPLORATIONS in to the past of Southport’s submerged seafront street – featured recently in the pages of the Visiter – brought back memories for Iris Whitaker.
Unfortunately they aren’t ones she cherishes.
The reader from Burnley Road in Ainsdale let us know her recollections of the old Victoria Hotel, which stood on the corner of Nevill Street and The Promenade. Nevill Street Bridge – the subway which formed the street’s lower level until it was covered up in 1903 – provided access to the vaults of the hotel.
Iris recalled that The Victoria – now replaced by flats – “had a very grand wrought iron veranda at the entrance”.

The long-gone Victoria Hotel is on the right of this postcard image of Nevill Street, circa 1910. Reader Iris Whitaker has far from glowing memories of its underground bar

She told LookBack: “Part of this hotel was a bar known locally as the ‘Vic Dive’ as it was underneath the hotel with the entrance in West Street.
“I can remember visiting this bar one night in the late 1950s with a group of friends.
“We had arranged a coach trip to the Blackpool Tower Ballroom and all agreed to meet up at the Vic Dive. We had booked a Gores Coach, as their garage was just across the road on the corner of Nevill Street and Bath Street this seemed an ideal meeting spot.
“From memory it was a very gloomy place – small, crowded, underground and airless; accessed by a narrow staircase which I think was on the outside of the building.
“This is my only memory of the place, as we all agreed at the time it was a place to be avoided, – a dive by name and a dive by nature.”

How the scene looks today, with the Victoria Hotel since replaced by a large block of flats

Send in any photos of your nights out in Southport past to LookBack, Southport Visiter, 26-32 Tulketh Street, Southport, Merseyside PR8 1BT, or email them to visiternews@soutportvisiter.co.uk
What are your memories of Southport venues of yesteryear which have now gone for good? Let us know below.

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Witness to 1964 arson reveals truth

Posted by Robert Alcock on January 25, 2008 9:00 AM

THE inside story of an act of destruction that provoked disgust and panic in Southport can now be told – more than four decades after it took place.
In the early hours of Sunday, December 20, 1964, Christmas greetings went up in smoke when vandals set fire to a card-laden pillar box at the corner of Shakespeare Street and Portland Street.
The incident made the front page of the Southport Visiter, with the town’s head postmaster, Mr C. J. Moore, expressing outrage at the “rotten” act.

How the Southport Visiter reported the pillar box blaze in December 1964

An anonymous witness to the ignition of the blaze has now called LookBack, following our reprise of the story in our Christmas special.
The caller, who lives in Churchtown, was at the time a 19-year-old on leave from the Army. The culprits, he revealed, were two former schoolmates from Birkdale whom he had met for festive drinks in the nearby Shakespeare pub.
Afterwards, high spirits got the better of the two lads who had attended Christ Church school in the town centre, where JJB Sports now stands.
“I was a way away but could see what was happening,” said the witness.
“They lit a cigarette packet and pushed it through the slot. I felt so embarrassed – I knew about it but didn’t do it.”

The postbox at the corner of Portland Street and Shakespeare Street today

Both of the wayward young men still live locally in either Southport or Formby, said our source – with one now a wayward adult.
Police investigated the arson after an officer spotted smoke pouring from the pillar box at about 1.30am.
Only four cards were actually destroyed in the fire, but for some the worry was overwhelming.
Shakespeare Street housewife Mrs E. S. Jarvis had to telephone 16 of her friends to see if their cards arrived safely – followed by her sending some more, “just in case”.
Mr Moore said: “This happens quite often around November 5 but I have never known it to happen before at Christmas.”
Despite the passage of time, the witness was apologetic, saying: “I feel so sorry, I know it was such a ridiculous thing. I couldn’t believe events like that would crop up out of the blue 43 years later.”

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School memories stay alive via Old Boys’ Association

Posted by Robert Alcock on January 18, 2008 9:03 AM

HUGE numbers of Southport people owe their start in life to a tapestry of local schools that are now largely gone.
Those were the town’s independent schools, which numbered more than 20 at their height during the last century, but have been reduced to only a few today.
With impressive academic records often matching their strong individual identities and high social status, these fee-paying establishments flourished as wealth accumulated in Southport from the Victorian era onwards.

The oldest surviving photograph of Southport University School, probably dating from 1890. The school buildings were known as Brooklands. The sandhills at the forefront of the picture are where Allerton Road and Rawlinson Road now stand

But a raft of changes through the post-war era – from the social make-up of the town to Government policy – ensured that most exist now only in memory and historical record.
Priding itself on keeping memories of one such place of learning alive is the Old Boys’ Association (OBA) of Southport University School.
Eighty years on from its founding, the group boasts membership of more than a hundred, scattered across the United Kingdom and overseas.
Peter Dyer, OBA archives secretary, told LookBack the group enjoys “a regular trickle of new members” – despite the school in Cambridge Road closing its doors for the final time in July, 1972.

Southport University School in Cambridge Road, just months before it closed in 1972

The highlight of the association’s year is its annual dinner in November, which in 2007 was held for the first time at Duke Street Masonic Hall.
At its height, the University School had rolls of around 140 boys, comprising both day-students and boarders.
With an emblem bearing a phoenix and the motto ‘virtute ac labore’ (virtue through hard work), the school turned out two alumni notable for sporting success.

Infant boys’ sports day in 1952 or 1953. Headmaster Major MacNicol's Bentley is in the background

Neil Jackson was an Olympic backstroke swimmer for Great Britain in the 1940s, while Geoff Roberts was twice crowned British amateur golf champion in the same decade.
The late Nigerian boxer Hogan ‘Kid’ Bassey, a world featherweight champion, also sent both his sons to Southport University School in the 1970s.
Mr Dyer said his memories were of a place of learning where “people got on quite well”, and had retained its reputation “as a reasonable place to send kids to” well into the 1960s.
The University School was founded in 1884 by Thomas Isherwood, who was then aged 40 and new to the town.

Dr Thomas Isherwood, University School founder and headmaster for its first two decades

By the time of his death 20 years later, Dr Isherwood had been councillor for Hesketh ward, the first Mayor of Southport of the 20th century and had built the school up from its initial intake of 12.
“There were only about four heads altogether in its entire history,” explained Mr Dyer, whose years at the school coincided with the headship of Major Duncan MacNicol from 1947 to 1969.
Other independent schools now lost to Southport include Brentwood Girls’ School in Morley Road and Bickerton House in Ainsdale.

Boys gather for University School sports day in the late 1940

“The trouble with independent schools is they were often run by one person, and so was very much in their hands.
“Also they were on very expensive land, of high value to developers,” said Mr Dyer, a former teacher who is writing a book on his experiences of life in Southport.
Any former students of Southport University School who are not already members of its Old Boys’ Association can call Mr Dyer on 01704-231685.
Leave memories of your schooldays in Southport below.

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Airman’s details are found in old Visiters

Posted by Robert Alcock on January 18, 2008 9:01 AM

WARTIME editions of the Southport Visiter have shed some light on the background of an airman killed by tragic error.
In November, LookBack publicised the quest of Surrey’s Wings Museum to track down the relatives or next of kin of Ernest Fleetwood Street Till, who served under the name of Pilot Officer EFS Travis.
PO Travis died aged 34 in June 1944 at Surrey’s Redhill Aerodrome, when the guns of a Spitfire fighter aircraft were accidentally fired.
Now reader John Rowlands of Formby has managed to uncover some details of PO Travis’s life in Southport.
The airman, who signed up to the Royal Air Force in October 1942, is listed as one of the fallen on Formby’s War Memorial.
PO Travis named Formby as his home and was married to a Formby woman named Elizabeth Everard Travis, whose address is recorded as Altcar Lodge.
But Mr Rowlands’s trawl through copied of the Visiter from 1944, plus the archives of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, has uncovered evidence of a link to Southport. Reports suggest that PO Travis’s mother lived in Manchester Road and that he was “a well-known local sportsman”.
Prior to the RAF, he worked in Southport evacuation office, and he was a member of Churchtown Conservative Club and North Meols Tennis Club.
Mr Rowlands has also discovered that EFS Travis, who is buried in Birkdale Cemetery, achieved the more senior rank of flying control officer.
LookBack has passed on the findings to the Wings Museum, which now plans to post a memorial plaque at the site where the airman died.

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From parade to life in New Zealand

Posted by Robert Alcock on January 18, 2008 9:00 AM

HALF the world now separates one of the participants in this 1961 parade down Norwood Road from her old hometown.
Valerie Appleby was a newly-wed 20-year-old from Ainsdale when she was photographed at the fore of this Sunday School procession of All Souls Church.
A member of the local Royal Air Forces Association, Mrs Appleby (née Marston) had married Ray, an RAF serviceman, the previous year.
The couple – who had two daughters – emigrated to New Zealand in 1972, with Ray taking a job with the local water board there.
Mrs Appleby, who has since been widowed, keeps in touch with Southport through her sister, Nora Moran of Park Road West, who spotted her in LookBack last month.

Valerie Appleby, now living in New Zealand, is third from left holding the RAFA flag at a 1961 All Souls Church Sunday School procession. Maureen Fearn, who led the keep fit exhibition at the Summer Fair, is the tallest of the women on the lorry

Mrs Moran, who was not there at the 1961 procession, said: “It was quite surprising to see the photograph – I’ll send her a copy, she’ll be pleased to see it.”
Also taking part in the procession was Maureen Fearn, who then led the RAFA club’s female exercise groups and is now a Kew ward councillor and former Mayor of Sefton.
The RAFA at the time used to meet in the basement of Talbot Hall, on the corner of Sussex Road and Windsor Road. That historic building – which now houses Waddington Conservative Club – was also the venue for Southport’s first synagogue, consecrated in 1893.

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Journeying deeper into the history of Southport's submerged street

Posted by Robert Alcock on January 11, 2008 9:15 AM

CRACKING the enigma of Southport’s submerged seafront street has come one step closer, thanks to Southport Visiter readers.
A specialist exploration group’s appeal for help in charting the remains of the hidden subway beneath Nevill Street, reported in last week’s Visiter, has provoked a wave of response.
Your accounts have shed light on the mystery of one of the town’s forgotten landmarks, and will help industrial archeology team Subterranea Britannica in their research.
Those tales include the exploits of readers who say they set foot on the underground street, decades after it was buried by Southport Corporation in 1903.
Neville Williams described how he was a teenage apprentice with the Corporation when he walked down the remains of what was known as Nevill Street Bridge.
Now 72, the Kensington Road resident told how he ventured “a good 150 to 200 yards” underneath the road that is his near-namesake – accompanied only by colleague Freddie Hearndon and a dim gas-lamp.
Through the darkness it could be made out that glass remained in the windows of deserted shops, including seafood-merchants and confectioners.
He said: “We were council workers and just doing what council workers do. There were water pipes and other things we needed to check out.
“We had heard about it [the underground street] and went as far as we could go.”

Neville Williams on Nevill Street today

Norman revealed he had entered Nevill Street Bridge’s remains via a steel gate at the rear of Southport Pier.
Mesh barriers and a metal door now seal off that entrance, accessed from steps by Silcock’s Funland.
Norman’s account of witnessing inside the subway was corroborated by Michael Mullan corr, a former council worker who lives in Bath Street.
Michael was working at Southport’s outdoor swimming pool when he was led underground by municipal bathing engineer John Turner.
He told of accompanying John through a door in the basement of the Promenade’s Victoria Baths – which now houses Victoria Leisure.
“All I remember were cobbled stones and glass-fronted shops,” said the 52-year-old.
“At the time it was impressive – I had never even been aware it existed.”
A mysterious table and chairs marked the account of James Mullinder corr, who entered a large cavity beneath Nevill Street and the Promenade while working for North West Water in the 1980s.
A digger operated by James’s crew shattered one of the glass coverings that were then a feature of the pavement where the streets met.
Using a ladder to climb under the street, the Heathfield Road resident said: “I remember one of the rungs breaking and thinking ‘I shouldn’t do this.’”
James said he found himself in a vestibule-like space – “about the size of a living room” – featuring white bricking and the unexplained furniture set.
“The table and chairs might still be there,” he added.

The Albion Restaurant can be seen clearly on the approach to the subway, which also gave access to the vaults of the Victoria Hotel

SOUTHPORT people from publicans to retired former shopworkers have spoken of their desire to see the riddle of the town’s hidden road solved once and for all.
Trevor Ford said the mystery had been “brought to life” for him when he took on the licence of Leo’s Bar on Nevill Street a year ago.
“I was quite excited to think about this tunnel existing,” said Mr Ford, who has been researching the possibility his cellar had once been occupied by a newsagents.

A blocked-up former shop window in the cellar of Leo’s Bar in Nevill Street

Experiences of coming close to the remains of Nevill Street Bridge were shared by those who had carried out work in the area.
Ray Jones said in the 1960s he was an apprentice on a painting job at the then Victoria Baths. On breaks, the Park Road West resident joined colleagues in the Promenade venue’s basement – which housed a large, empty sandstone bath.
“That would have been on the same level as the underground street, and only a few yards away from it,” said Ray.
Martin Lowe now runs his own company, Peach Developments of Birkdale, but 15 years ago he was working on some of Nevill Street’s retail and leisure properties.
Proprietors told Martin of the tunnels they believed led beyond their basements – which had themselves been the shops of Nevill Street Bridge.
The entry route to the hidden subway, believed to lie behind Southport Pier, was referred to by both former council employee John Settle from Ainsdale and Donald Fitton, 85, of Churchtown.
Mr Fitton said his father-in-law told him the space behind the iron gate was where deckchairs were stored at the height of Southport’s bucket-and-spade days.
Further insights into the history of the Nevill Street Bridge businesses were provided by Jenny Hazard (corr) of Gordon Avenue and Alice Eaton of Lord Street.
Mrs Hazard, 78, said she had worked in the Nevill Street rock shop of Jack Holland as a teenager, who told her of a tunnel running all the way underground from the beach to Chapel Street.
Horses that worked the cockling trade were led from the beach, through the tunnels and to stables in Chapel Street, she was told.
Alice Eaton said her grand mother, Melinda Eaton, had owned a Nevill Street store selling meat and other groceries until the 1940s, and had talked to her about the legacy of the underground street.
And, truly remarkable, was the account of 88-year-old Roland Ive of Norwood Road, who said that as a four-year-old in 1923 he had visited the submerged street.
At least four children’s rides then occupied the space, said Mr Ive, with the attractions later transferred to Pleasureland.

Nevill Street Bridge, believed to have been built between 1824 and 1834, led directly onto Southport beach

TWO prominent Southport figures believe the resurrection of Nevill Street’s hidden level would be a huge boon for the resort.
But both Phil King and Bryan Naylor told the Visiter they doubted whether such a dream could be brought to reality.
Mr King said he had received “frequent enquiries” about the possibility of excavating Nevill Street Bridge when he was employed as chief tourism and attractions officer for Sefton Council.
The Churchtown resident turned to Sefton’s then-director of engineering, Doug Turner, who had “endeavoured to go and have a look down there”.
“He told me then that the whole area was collapsed and that there were so many utilities pipes down there that it would be an extremely hard job to resurrect,” said Mr King.
Despite those doubts, he added: “It would be great to see something like that resurrected – Southport is full of little delights like that.”
Bryan Naylor, spokesman for the Southport Party, said: “To re-open it would be a nice feature.
“Two-thirds of all tourism in Britain is looking at our history and people from overseas are fascinated by it.
“But I wonder whether [re-opening Nevill Street Bridge] would have any practicality, due to the modern services that have gone in.”
A spokesman for Sefton Council said: “The council does not have access to any underground section and there are no plans to re-open it.”

Nevill Street Bridge oyster merchants, now covered, underneath Victoria Leisure

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Bert’s emotional return to focal point of the Troubles

Posted by Robert Alcock on January 11, 2008 9:05 AM

A RETIRED clergyman from Southport made an emotional return to Northern Ireland’s infamous Maze Prison, two decades after he walked its corridors at the height of the Troubles.
Robert (Bert) Menary, a Lieutenant-Colonel in the Salvation Army, spent an hour visiting the remaining buildings of the former jail in Lisburn, County Down, that had housed paramilitaries from both sides of the conflict.
The Southbank Road resident was there at the invitation of University of Ulster academics, recording for posterity his experiences as a senior figure in the monitoring of Northern Ireland’s prison system.

Bert Menary today

Among Bert’s memories was the 1981 Hunger Strike in which 10 Republican inmates starved themselves to death over their demands the British Government recognise them as political prisoners.
“I spoke to hunger strikers – one asked me to explain the story of The Prodigal Son to him,” Bert recalled.
He also recalled visiting Republican prisoners during their ‘dirty protests’ over alleged ill-treatment. The inmates refused to wear prison uniforms or leave their cells, which degenerated into filthy conditions.

Bobby Sands, Republican Hunger-Striker

For his return visit, the 78- year-old was clad in his Salvation Army uniform – the significance of which the prison authorities had recognised.
“We were encouraged to wear our uniform as the Salvation Army was unique in its acceptance across the divide,” said Bert.
Born in the Ulster village of Curr, Bert was ordained a Salvation Army minister after a spell as a manager at Sainsbury’s.
He rose through the church’s ranks through posts on both sides of the Irish Sea, before being promoted to divisional commander in 1980 – overseeing the Salvation Army across all Ireland, north and south of the border.
“The whole of Northern Ireland was a divided country – bigotry and intolerance were rampant,” said Bert.
“I felt that rather then being sat in church with comfortable pews we should be involved in a very, very confused society.”
Northern Ireland’s five prisons provided fertile ground for Bert’s conception of faith in action. He appointed Salvation Army ministers to the Boards of Visitors (now called Independent Monitoring Boards) that oversee conditions in each jail – himself becoming vice- chairman of the Board of Visitors of HMP Belfast, which had a majority of its 700 inmates on remand for terrorism-related offences.
Bert, who is married to Bronwen, a fellow Salvation Army lieutenant-colonel, hailed the “tremendous changes” to the land of his birth over the last decade.

Bert receiving his Rab Butler Trust award from Princess Anne

Those have seen Republican colleagues of Hunger Strike figurehead Bobby Sands assume leading roles in Northern Ireland’s executive.
“There’s hardly a family in Northern Ireland that hasn’t been touched in some way by the Troubles,” said Bert, a member of the Rotary Club of Southport.
“Our message was that the day will have to come whereby we forgive, give equal rights and move on.”

Bert and Bron Menary at Lambeth Palace

A CROWNING achievement of Bert Menary’s work in Northern Ireland’s prisons was recognition of his campaigning on behalf of prison officers.
A concerned Bert used his position at HMP Belfast, plus as secretary for the association of the Boards of Visitors for all Northern Ireland, to raise awareness of welfare issues facing prison staff.
Among these was the impact of intimidation meted out by imprisoned paramilitaries, which helped create a situation where 14 officers had committed suicide over a five- year period.
“They (imprisoned paramilitaries) would say seemingly innocent things like, ‘Your little girl started school the other day, didn’t she?’,” Bert, a father-of-three remembered.
For his efforts, Bert was nominated by Prison Service figures for the Rab Butler Trust Award, which he received from Princess Anne at Lambeth Palace in 1988.
The award, established in the memory of a former Conservative Home Secretary, recognises exceptional achievements in working with imprisoned offenders.
The accolade coincided with Bert’s move from his post in Ireland to Birmingham, and upon his retirement 13 years ago he moved to Southport.
Do you have past experiences or achievements you would like to share with LookBack readers? Leave your messages below, call Robert Alcock on 01704-398287 or email robert.alcock@southportvisiter.co.uk

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When TV soap stars hit Southport shops

Posted by Robert Alcock on January 11, 2008 9:02 AM

BACK on May 23, 1995, Southport played host to scenes in Coronation Street.
The scenes were of the soap’s dynamic duo Audrey (Sue Nicholls) and Alma (Amanda Barrie) spending a day trip shopping in Southport. After speaking to sources, it seems the exercise was to show the rest of the country that Southport is a great shopping resort.
Former tourism chief, Phil King, told the Southport Visiter: “TV coverage really hits home.
“This action certainly showed the north west and even the rest of the country that Southport is a terrific place to shop.”
The picture shows the characters walking out of Wayfarers Arcade on to Lord Street carrying different bags promoting various shops in Southport. Later in the same episode, they visit a pub.
It is believed the pub used was the Club House bar in the Prince of Wales Hotel.
Karen McGuire, who was working on reception at the time, recalls: “I remember them passing me and going through to the Club House bar.”
In the pub, the formidable double act string along two businessmen, one of them comments on Audrey's collection of shopping bags, and she tells him it's because she is a fashion buyer for a large store, and tells them that Alma is a catering consultant.
Were you there the day Audrey and Alma were shooting in Southport? Share your memories below.

Corrie stars Amanda Barrie and Sue Nicholls shooting a scene at Wayfarers Arcade in 1995

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Pals' glittering night out

Posted by Robert Alcock on January 11, 2008 9:00 AM

THIS sparkling line-up certainly looked like they were having a good time, back on a no-doubt chilly February night.
And what was the year of the group’s night out in Southport? If the male company’s hair-do and a certain brand of alcopops didn’t give it away – it was 1996.
Did you know one of these bright young things? What are they doing now? Let us know below.

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Royal approval recalled

Posted by Robert Alcock on January 4, 2008 9:01 AM

NEWS of the birth of a son to the Countess and Earl of Wessex – Sophie and Prince Edward – will have brought back memories of their visit to Southport.
In July 2004, thousands turned out to see the couple spend a day in the resort, climaxing with their opening of the Marine Way Bridge.
Prince Edward began with a tour of the newly opened Eco Centre before moving on to Southport Pier, while Sophie, now 42, started her visit at Parenting 2000’s centre in Mornington Road.
After a lunch hosted by then Mayor and Mayoress of Sefton Cllr David Pearson and his wife Barbara, the Earl and Countess finished their trip at the Botanic Gardens.
Their son has been named James, although he will also take the title Viscount Severn; he joins his one sister, four-year-old Lady Louise Windsor.

Sophie, Countess of Wessex, at the opening of the Marine Way Bridge in July 2004. She was joined by then Churchtown Primary pupil Rebecca Petrie, who named the Bridge

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Capital of clowning around!

Posted by Robert Alcock on January 4, 2008 9:00 AM

FOR five heady days in the mid-1990s, Southport became laughter central as it welcomed a truly extraordinary gathering.
It was spring 1995 and the resort was chosen by the World Clown Association for its five-day convention – with japery and jokes aplenty as around 400 performers from more than 10 countries packed into the Floral Hall.

Onlookers flocked to see the performers, such as this one on Chapel Street

The coup, which attracted national and even international media attention, was due in no small measure to the “northern grit” of a partnership between a leading clown and a tourism chief from Southport.
Sandgrounder Arthur Pedlar corr has performed as a clown for almost 60 years, treading stages from Scandinavia to Japan and Israel to Australia.
As British President of the World Clown Association in 1995, Mr Pedlar teamed up with Phil King, then Sefton Council’s chief tourism and attractions officer, to bring its convention to Southport.
“There were clown classes and demonstrations, and 30 to 40 traders in the Floral Hall,” remembered Mr Pedlar, now 75.

Orville the Duck came along for a laugh

Mr King said: “We went across to Orlando in the USA where the (previous) World Clown Convention was being held, and with the help of the British Tourist Authority, sold Southport to them.
“Southport was the ideal place, because of Lord Street, Southport Theatre and the Floral Hall complex. And despite the jet-lag we convinced them to bring it here. It took a bit of northern grit and humour, but thankfully I didn't have to put on a red nose.”
Large parts of Southport town centre were transformed into a circus for the week, with the unforgettable sight of shoppers mingling with delegates.

Clowning around on the dodgems at Pleasureland

“It was a classic Southport event,” said Mr King. “Clowns were walking along Chapel Street, Eastbank Street and Lord Street. There were tall clowns, large clowns, clowns with spinning hoops. It was an extremely colourful event.”
Mr Pedlar added: “The big thing was the gala show on the Saturday, with clowns from Russia, Denmark, Sweden, the States and the UK. There were eleven hundred people in the Floral Hall for it!”
Mr Pedlar’s status in the clown world is huge. In 1953 his clown creation Vercoe joined a troupe at Cirque Medrano in Paris for a nine- month season, which saw him work with legendary US comic actor Buster Keaton.
He is president of the Circus School of Israel, which joins Jewish and Arab children together in learning performance skills. Mr Pedlar has also been instrumental in raising thousands of pounds to renovate a derelict arts centre for use as the school’s headquarters.
Such was the 1995 convention’s success that Southport hosted a second clown event later in the decade, with treasured comedian Norman Wisdom as guest of honour.
Mr King said: “Norman Wisdom is one of the world’s most famous clowns and he sang ‘Don’t Laugh at Me Because I’m a Fool’ at the opening ceremony.”

The opening ceremony of Southport’s second clowns convention of the 1990s. On the left is Phil King. From the centre, going left, are the then Mayoress of Sefton Valerie Francis, Norman Wisdom and Mayor of Sefton 1996-7, the late Cllr Terry Francis

Do you remember when Southport became a circus for a week? Leave your memories of the 1995 World Clown Convention below.

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Still very much dame for a laugh

Posted by Robert Alcock on January 4, 2008 9:00 AM

THE sheer timelessness of Southport Dramatic Club’s pantomime productions was highlighted in our LookBack Christmas special.
Captured on an archive photo – reproduced again here – was a host of SDC regulars in mid-performance of Jack and the Beanstalk, at the Little Theatre in the 1998/9 panto season.
The same day as our Christmas LookBack was published, SDC started its latest panto run at the Little Theatre – performing none other than Jack and the Beanstalk.
Then as now, Arnold Gorse played the dame, Titania Trump, with Les Gomersall as her son, Silly Billy. The current panto run sees Arnold and Les re-united onstage for the first time in five years, with Les doubling as director.

Pointing in a stern manner on the photo is Norman Hope, who played King Satupon. Now 72, Norman’s last panto performance was two years ago in Dick Whittington, but he has since trod the boards for SDC in a number of straight roles.
The target of the King’s finger-wagging was Sir Dropalot, played by John Ellis-Fox, while the town crier was Jonathan Grimshaw and Florence (on the right) was Pippa Dunnett (now Pippa Morris).
Norman, a veteran of seven SDC pantos since joining in 1995, said he recalled this as his second, with Babes in the Wood prior to it.
“I remember my entrance after the chorus finished opening up,” he said. “I was carried in on what was like a sedan chair by four strong men from the chorus. I also remember having a custard pie in my face from Les Gomersall.”
The panto runs until Sunday, January 6.Box office is on 01704 530521 or 01704 530460.

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