Changes in Saltburn Pier, Ha'penny Bridge, Bakeries & Shops

It's all change... Spa, Jewel Streets, Businesses

Memories Trains, Congregational Church, Baths, Fairground, Diamond Street, Bombers, Back Alex

More on changes in Saltburn Ha'penny Bridge, Life when dad was a boy, Brine Baths

Saltburn at War Bombing, Evacuees, Censorship, Women's Work, End of the War

School in Saltburn in 1950 Saltburn High School & Red House

Second World War & Other Info (Rex Chester) Silver Jubilee, Evacuees, Sport

Second World War Bombs Describes an air raid on 16th May 1942.

There used to be... Ice cream, Jewel Streets, Sea Water, Mortuary

Zetland Hotel Building, Railways, Stables, War, Neon Sign

Zetland Hotel Again Railway, Social Life

In about 1975 the pier was twice as long. Rented flats were cheap. The town was run down. The council was arguing about whether to spend money repairing the pier but it was blown down before they had decided.

People were also upset when the Ha'penny Bridge was demolished. John Bulmer, a family friend & manager of Skelton Estates, went everywhere for grants / money to repair it but no one was interested. Jen's grandma was the last person to walk over the Ha'penny Bridge before it was demolished.

On the plus side there was a bakery at the top of Garnet Street. They used to buy warm bread from it.

There was a cut through from Dundas Street to Milton Street. The Milton Street shops really got cut off when it was closed. There were lots more shops then. Medd's Bakery was good & Mr. Muir's corner shop was good for late night sales of beer.

Where Somerfield is now there used to be 4 platforms for trains, right back to the Zetland Hotel. Queen Victoria would have been able to travel from London to Saltburn without stepping off her train. She occasionally stayed at the Zetland Hotel and it is said that she used to go paddling near to Penny Hole just to the right of the Ship Inn.

In Pearl Street there used to be the Congregational Church where my Nana & Grandad were married in 1948, also my dad was christened here in 1968. It is no longer there as it was knocked down, and flats for old people built on the site in the 1980s.

Bath Street is so named, because there used to be public swimming baths at the bottom of the street. It cost my great grand parents a shilling (5 pence nowadays) to swim - bathe there. The baths were knocked down in the late Seventies to make way for developments some years later.

Across the road from Cat Nab, where the tractors and boats are parked today there used to be a small 'penny arcade' and 'waltzers' and 'merry go rounds'. Many summer days people would spend 'down the waltzers' enjoying the thrills and spills of Saltburn's own Alton Towers (as if!). This area was the local courting area of locals and outsiders alike with many romances starting and many hearts broken.

My grandma used to live in Diamond Street as a girl, in a house with seven bedrooms and a massive attic, where many a hour was spent, looking at the sea and at Huntcliff. She recalls watching a few fox hunts gathering and starting off at the Ship Inn, then up by the Coast Guard Cottages and on its way across the fields towards Warsett Hill and Huntcliff.

She also recalls watching German bombers flying overhead, caught in searchlights, being fired upon by local gunnery batteries. From the attic skylights she got into bother more than once from her mum & dad, for not being in the cellar of the house with the rest of the family and boarders.

At the turn of the century (1900) Grandma's mother, my great, great grandmother, came from the country - Yorkshire Dales (near to Leyburn) to work as a 'chamber maid' in the Alexandra Vaults known as 'The Back Alex' nowadays. It was a much larger building in those days. Most of the trade 'The Back Alex' took was from people taking well deserved breaks, even before national holidays were introduced in the late fifties. The work was hard, the pay was a pittance, but with a dry roof overhead and the North Sea on the doorstep with bracing - breath taking views from the top promenade, what more could a hard-working lass ask for? or so her employer - landlord used to tell her when times were hard.

'The Ha'penny Bridge was opened for use in 1869 and was demolished in December 1974. It was open for 105 years. It was used for horses and carts and for people to cross. The building at the end was called 'Keeper's Cottage' as this is where you were charged to cross. It is now a private house. The official reason the Ha'penny Bridge was closed was because it was unsafe. The unofficial reason was because people used it to commit suicide. All the people that commited suicide jumped off facing the sea.

The house which I now live in was a field when my dad was a boy. The Junior School and Library, which my dad went to, were on the same site as where the infant base stands today. The library was much smaller than it is today.

The Brine Baths was built in 1890. The sea water was pumped up and heated for swimming and the bath could be boarded over and used for bazaars and other Winter functions. Brine, much stronger than sea water, was brought in by rail, and stored in the tower for treatment baths. Demolished in 1977, the building stood opposite the Railway Station on Bath Street and cost £6,000 to build.

I was 34 years old when the war started. I was still in this area then.

There were air-raids. A bomb dropped at North Skelton and Saltburn Lane and Middlesbrough got it bad. [We had an Air Raid Shelter] at the bottom of the garden and also in the house. The Council made us an iron table and you got under that. We were all issued with them for in the house.

And the siren used to go to say there was an air-raid coming. And then there was an All-Clear. It was just a bit different you know. It was a long wailing whereas the [air-raid warning] was different. I don't know where the siren was done. Perhaps in a church somewhere?

Sometimes we'd be in the shelter over an hour. It just depended how long the raid was going on. Well it was cold. You had to take blankets and you would take a hot drink in a flask.

All the windows had to be blackened with blackout. We had black cloth. Black curtains. And then any glass... they used to put tape on. You know, sticky tape. So that if... a bomb dropped and they cracked it would just crack them and not break them. It was a bit hard [to get new glass]. There was the Home Guard and Wardens... They were all over really... You got fined heavily if there was a light showing. Even if you hadn't pulled your curtains and you had a fire (because you had coal fires back then) you got fined. Everything had to be blacked out. [The blackout in the street] ...was terrible! I never went out in the street at night. You couldn't carry a torch or anything.

[Grandma used to say that when she was going up the Bank a wheel fell off that bus because they didn't repair them. Because you couldn't repair them. She used to say when you got off the bus in the black out you couldn't see where you were going because there was no street lamps. Because Grandma never forgot Mrs Beale who told her to get off the bus and when grandma jumped down she landed in the gutter...].

It wasn't just this area. Evacuees were sent all over where they thought it was safe. [There was a ship carrying children abroad that was torpedoed]. I don't know how many... they lost. There were a lot killed. They [the evacuees] had a ration book. [If I'd lived in West Hartlepool I'd have sent my children] ...wherever they thought wouldn't get hit. I'd have sent them. [The evacuee] ...had nothing with him but I think I did get some clothes for him. I don't think we got any money though. With me not having any boys they clothed him. Whereas with J____ [his sister] she had our Nancy's. But they were the poorest of the poor. He'd never slept on a bed. And he put that he was lousy. And he screamed when we put him in the bath because he'd never, never had a bath. We got him on alright in the end. But some [evacuees], but not that I had, some they even used to wet the bed. But mine never did.

A neighbour had an evacuee and she used to take my evacuee and I used to give him money and they would go to the pictures on a Saturday afternoon.

He and our Nancy used to go [to school] together. He was a bit older than our Nancy. I should think he'd be 7 to 8. I should think 7. His sister was the youngest. She was very bright was J____. The mother and his sister, an older one she'd be, used to come on a Sunday by bus to see them.

We got attached to him. We got to get very, very fond of S_______. Why they went - the mother who lived in Hartlepool - she got her money stopped. So that's why she took them. They didn't want to go back.

Of course we used to get the news on the radio from Churchill... he gave it out. On the 4th of September it all started. Churchill was a good man. If it hadn't of been for him we wouldn't have won [the war].

All the railings, iron railings, were all taken off. If you had any land you had to cultivate it. Grow potatoes and that.

They even had women... if there was a fire, they even had women [firefighters]... They did things they wouldn't have done ordinarily. Women would make bombs in the factories. And then they had women like for bus conductors you know. They used to do all the men's jobs. Your mam was on the buses. But you see I didn't do anything because I was at home and expecting Margaret. Uncle Charlie was working at North Skelton pit. See them that was in the mines didn't get called up. They needed coal. Coal was all rationed. And he was never called up. He was exempt with working in the pit. He was in the territorials. And then his brother was in the Home Guard.

...You see your grandad and your mam were married during the war you know. [My mam wore a two piece. Because you wouldn't be able to go out and buy a wedding dress then]. Well that was when your dad knew he was posted abroad you see... So he never got any leave. He never really saw my brother till the war finished. And all letters were censored you know so you didn't know where they were. Every letter that you sent was censored. They used to put a black mark through it. I know we had a code. Now he knew he was going to be posted abroad. Because you see they were issued with different clothing when they were going abroad and he was issued and that's why they only had a couple of days. But... he got the train and he went to your mam's brothers (and your dad hadn't even seen your mam's brother). And it was in church. It was special (license) and then he went.

They used to have ENSA concerts. Like music and entertainment. Vera Lynn was called 'The Soldier's Sweetheart'... We'll Meet Again... I used to like Vera Lynn. I don't know what age she'll be. She must be getting on... She went all over. She was the forces sweetheart...

We all thought it [the war] wouldn't last that long and it lasted all that time. We thought the war would never end. And there was great rejoicing when the war finished... Hitler shot himself. There's a birthday card someone sent him going to be sold for thousands this week. After the war it took a time [for rationing to end] but it did end eventually. [Thanks Auntie Dolly]

'I passed the 11+ in Normanby Junior School. Prior to 1950 the girls who passed the 11+ went to Middlesbrough High School, the boys to Middlesbrough or Coatham School in Redcar.

In 1950 the girls who passed were much surprised to find themselves bussed to Saltburn High School. The 1st year was somewhat devious in that all lessons were conducted in the quite remote Red House down on the sea front [now made into apartments]. The day involved much walking between Red House and the main building - now the Primary School. In all that walking we did come across quite a few Private Schools. I cannot remember them all but there was Glenhow (Boys - they wore grey and red) & the Towers (Girls - they wore brown and yellow).

Having graduated to the main building for two years there was then a new build for us at Redcar - Cleveland Grammar School - but I shall always remember Saltburn as quite an educational metropolis.

Did you go to the school with your friends or by yourself on the bus?

There were 4 of us girls from Normanby who passed the 11+. We all went together for the 62 bus together with Miss Humphreys (PE) who got on at the Trunk Road & Miss Rudd (RE) who also lived in Normanby. There were other girls who got on at Eston & Lazenby - Wilton. One of the older girls was in charge of the behaviour on the bus. Most people got on at Marske.

Did you make any friends and did you get to their house after school?

Yes I did make friends who were local to Saltburn, Redcar & Loftus but visiting them was a major problem. That sort of thing was much easier when we moved to Redcar. There were many more buses out of Redcar than out of Saltburn.

Did you ever get to go to the beach?

Going to the beach was not possible in the normal day. Playtime at Red House (1st years) was confined to the promenade & HALF WAY down the cliff. Take one step further & the WHISTLE BLEW!

However, I can count the times on one hand, when the tide was out & it was the hockey season, we had to go to the beach, mark out a hockey pitch in the sand - with sticks - & it had to be wet sand - having done all that we had about 15-20 minutes to begin to learn hockey.

Did you ever get the cane or beaten?

No, the cane was not used. LINES by the hundred - for spelling mistakes & bad behaviour. Also we had detentions at playtimes

Dear Huntcliff School,

Congratulations on your wonderful website which has not only given me a lot of interest and pleasure but has also brought to a conclusion a long and painstaking personal quest.

To explain further; I was a pupil at Saltburn Council School, as it was then called, from 1940 to 1946 and, as such, I remember vividly the war years in Saltburn that are covered by the wonderful School Log Book included in your Local History section.

I was born in Saltburn on 6th May 1935, a special day in the history of the nation as it was the Silver Jubilee of King George V, the Queen's grandfather. Being the only baby born in Saltburn on that special day I was presented with a small inscribed silver cup by the Silver Jubilee Committee (actually, there were two babies born on Jubilee Day within the Saltburn and Marske Urban District Council, the other one being Mary Fletcher of Marske who also received a silver cup).

Returning to my quest, I will explain how this was resolved by the surviving school log. Although I can remember in sharp detail so much of my school days in the war and our everyday lives in Saltburn, over the years I have racked my brains to recall such details as exactly when the school was bombed and how many raids we endured.

Notwithstanding the vast amount of information on the Web, I have hitherto found it impossible to find any useful reference to Saltburn in World War II as most of the history websites concentrate on the larger towns in the north-east, such as Middlesbrough, Newcastle, etc. When I was about to give up my search in despair I chanced upon your website and 'Eureka!' all was revealed in the School Logs. Quite apart from my own delight in finding this wonderful school history, my cousin and several other old pupils who reminisce and argue about those far off days will also have their curiosity satisfied once and for all.

Incidentally, I was most interested to see the mention of Philip Hobsbaum in the School Log for 9 June 1943 which announced he had been awarded a County Minor Scholarship along with several other pupils. Philip was Jewish and an evacuee from London and I knew and played with him for those brief few years during the war, although I regarded him as one of the 'bigger boys', being three years older than me. I knew or heard nothing more about him until a few years ago when my cousin told me that Philip went on to Belle Vue Grammar School, Bradford then graduated at Cambridge University. He became Emeritus Professor of English Literature at Glasgow University and a distinguished author, critic and poet. Sadly, he died last year and his obituary appeared in most of the leading newspapers. I find it quite bizarre to realise that Saltburn School had that forlorn, lost evacuee at the very beginning of his education and that he would go on to reach the very pinnacle of academic success.

For my part, I went on to Sir William Turner's Grammar School and technical / professional training and eventually qualified as a chartered quantity surveyor.

Quite apart from the happy memories of school days, together with my friends I had a rich social life in the 1950's and 1960's in Saltburn which included a lot of sport in the form of cricket, tennis and badminton. As television and other diversions were in their infancy, playing various sports was a way of life and Saltburn was a stronghold for sport in those days as it had a thriving cricket, tennis and bowls club, as well as three league badminton clubs with a lot of very good players, several of county standard.

I left Saltburn in 1961 and with family ties gone by 1975 I have only a nodding acquaintance with the town nowadays.

I am now retired and living in Guisborough.

Best wishes to all at Huntcliff School and keep up the good work!

More information kindly sent by Rex Chester (photos and information about Jimmy Stark, his mother's cousin)

The ethics of war (information from Rex Chester to help a Year 8 student consider if war can be justified)

... My parents moved next to the Johnson family in 1939 at the outbreak of war when I was 4 years old and the two families were neighbours for 37 years until my parents died in 1976

... I can say without hesitation that they were a lovely family to live next to, every one of them. When I was a very small boy there was Mr and Mrs Johnson (Betty's grandparents) and son, Joe (Betty's father) with Joe being an early teenager some 7 or 8 years older than me. Joe was always a very keen reader so they very kindly gave me a number of wonderful books that Joe had 'grown out of', together with albums full of interesting cigarette cards. I well remember that the books included lots of 'National Geographic Magazines' as well as popular children's authors of the time such as W E Johns (Biggles) and Richmal Crompton (Just William), both writers produced a huge series so that you were always looking for one that you hadn't read.

As neighbours we could not have been closer than on one fateful night early in the war. The air raid siren went, which we had become accustomed to, although the apprehension and sometimes stark fear was never far away. My mother and I were alone as father was in the ARP and keeping a look out for enemy aircraft, etc. Next door, Mrs Johnson was also alone as I think she was a widow by that time and her son Joe was out, probably also on ARP or fire duty.

When the siren went we usually ended up cowering fearfully under the stairs or in the indoor Morrison shelter but on this particular night we joined Mrs Johnson next door in her Morrison shelter. We shared the usual cups of tea and tried to exchange cheerful banter when we heard the familiar sinister drone of an enemy aircraft quite low over the town. Suddenly, there began a fearful whistling noise which we knew instantly was bombs raining down on us and we were all clinging to each other in cold terror. The whistling seemed to go on for an eternity, then there was the most fearful explosion and the floor seemed to erupt and our innermost being was shaken to the core.

Then, eerily all was quiet and we collapsed in tears of relief that we were still in one piece, then it was more cups of tea and talking the night away until the dawn revealed the devastation that the bombing had wrought.

The bombs, although small in number had hit several widely scattered buildings in the town. Sadly, the one that was closest to us had hit a house in Exeter Street and killed an elderly lady, Mrs Henrietta Bloor, who was the only civilian casualty of the bombing in Saltburn throughout the war. [The Commonwealth War Graves Commission Website includes civilian causalties and records that Mrs Henrietta Bloor, aged 66, was killed when a bomb fell on her home at 7 Exeter Street on 16th May 1942].

The most extensive damage was in the SW corner of Station Square where a huge block of shops next to the Swimming Baths were completely destroyed and have never been replaced. Again, the school in Upleatham Road was extensively damaged and most of the pupils relocated in other parts of the town. The only other casualty was a soldier killed by falling masonry when a bomb destroyed the lodge at Overdene, a large private house overlooking Riftswood that had been commandeered by the army as a billet for the troops.

Your comments brought back memories of the wonderful neighbourliness of Betty's Grandma during those dark days of war.

There used to be a man who came from Guisborough to sell ice cream on a 3-wheeled bike.

In Ruby Street there used to be a fish shop. There used to be a theatre in Diamond Street and a cinema in Garnet Street.

Posh / rich people used to pay youngsters 1 penny to go down to the beach to get a bucket of sea water to wash / soak their feet in.

They used to put dead washed up fishermen in the mortuary.

Saltburn was built by the Pease family. Pease was inspired by a vision which he had whilst walking from Marske to Saltburn...

He had a dream to build a big hotel for wealthy people. His dream became a reality.

The railway used to go right up to the Zetland Hotel and you could get off under cover. You would go from the platform through a revolving door into the lounge of the Hotel.

The houses on Milton Street used to be stables. People would get off the train with horses and take them to the stables. The grooms would sleep above the horses.

During the war the army took over the Zetland Hotel. When you walked past you could smell the food and hear the clatter of cutlery.

There used to be big neon lights on the front of the Zetland saying 'Zetland'. You could see the sign from Brotton!

The Zetland Hotel was a railway Hotel until the rails were shortened to only reach the main Saltburn station. After the Zetland was closed as a Hotel it lay empty for a few years. Then it was made into flats.

The Zetland had been a central part in the social life of Saltburn and was greatly missed. Many important people had a flat in the Hotel. It had a lavish interior: chandaliers, drapes etc. The first Friday of December was the evening of the Red Cross Dance (a main event in Saltburn's social calendar).