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The Broads - then & now


Guest plesbit

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Hi

This is a "The & Now" that I would love to get .... only I don't think I am likely to be able to unless I arrive at Wroxham at 6am on a sunny Sunday morning!! It was a commercial image which was used for postcards etc and I think dates from the 1930s. It illustrates one of the other difficuklties in re-creating old phtographs .... what were once much quieter streets, roads and lanes, are now extremely busy and dangerous! We had the same problem at Oulton trying to recreate a shot of Bridge street looking down towards OB North station. The road there in my 40s/50s photo was a quiet suburban street with no cars to be seen .... these days it's like the M25!! And the original picture had been taken from the middle of the road .... I did try to persuade Kev to get out there but he seemed reluctant for some reason!

I think the Wroxham picture below will cause similar problems but if you think you can have a go Simon (I am NEVER likely to be up early enough to do so), then please do .... although I will be after using the results on BM too! :)

Carol

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Carol when I eventually get around to doing this you are welcome to use any of the images on BM (provided they are any good of course!).

I admit I think it might not be until the Spring that I actually get around to doing it purely because of lighting, weather and other commitments in the time period leading up to Christmas and shortly after. That said, anyone at all reading this thread who fancies having a go is obviously free to do so.

If you want to stop the traffic in Wroxham just put on a high vis vest - people always do what they're told by folks wearing high vis vests. I would not, of course, condone such action.

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Hi all, This picture was taken in 1949 in Oulton Broad for the Lowestoft Journal, the small boy (Bobbby Rudd) now in his 70s visited us last year while over fron Australia. The launches were Dads, not sure about the dingey, W63 was called 'Vivo'

Left to right were..

George Pigney, Robert(Bob) Richardson, Arthur Skitterall, Regie Bullen, Jimmy ?..?, Bobby Rudd, Bert Gooch, Arthur Wigg, Arthur Moor.

Sorry about the copy it is off a piece of paper with 3 folds in it!

cheers..

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Lovely period photo Clive, you just don't seem to see those weathered expressive faces anymore, or maybe i don't look.

I think I shall move on to Ranworth in the then and nows, everyone appears to love the place, I wonder if because from the staithe you have this wide open vista, which I don't think you get anywhere else from a mooring, at least not of this length. Please correct me if you can think of anywhere else.

These three pictures are almost the same taken over a twelve year period from the first in 1959 second the mid fifties and the third in 1947. You will notice the complete lack of moorings to the left of the pictures, I guess these started to appear in the seventies when private craft were starting to increase. Int he fifties and sixties it was quite rare to see a private boat, and generally quite exiting. What we now know as the Island did not exist as a mooring, I don't know when it was developed but I don't seem to recall it in the seventies or early eighties, but someone will put me straight I am sure.

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The aerial shot maybe a little difficult for you to replicate Simon, unless you are lucky enough like me to have had an eighty year old flying father. This was taken in 1987/88 the last boat on what was then Peter Mills' moorings was Springsong after which my forum name. We at this time had The Ship just up the road in South Walsham. I have some aerial photos of South Walsham mainly of The Ship, I must look them out and post them up if anyone is interested.Thinking about this my friend still flies a 1940s' piper cub, it saw service in the war as a spotter plane the whole cabin side clips up onto the high wing and the passenger sits in the front a la Tiger Moth, the fuel gauge is a wire on a cork floating in the tank in front of the screen. This plane is beloved of photographers because of its very slow speed flat out at about eighty, so with a good headwind it just about hovvers I remember some odd looks from hire boats we used to hovver over. Sorry went off course a little there. Anyway he did offer to take me up again, that would be something to aim for, if Douglas Bader did why not me.

These three pictures were all taken from more or less the same spot in 1959 / 1962 and 1976 little appears to have changed apart from the moorings starting to appear in the 1976 photo.

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Great photos again Barry,

There used to be a 'Windboat' similar to the one in your previous Picture of Ranworth, she was moored near Wroxham bridge years ago in the cut between the Hotel Wroxham and the car park opposite the Chineese which you cant park in now! I wonder what happened to her....

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Hi Clive

That would be Nocturn used to be in Ralph Englishs' fleet , she belonged to a friend of mine Guy, he died I believe about five years ago, I lost touch with him whilst away from Norfolk. I have been told he sold her to somewhere in Wales after he stopped living on her, I really must try and find out what happened to him and her. There used to be a few around but there only seems to be Cassandra left now.

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Barry,

How do you mean there is only Cassandra left now, do you mean of that particular class?

we have had Brookwind in our wet shed for the last 17 years, Bubblegap was in amazing when she left the shed but that was a few years ago now, I think she is in Loddon now, we also have one called 'Muddy Waters' I am not sure what she was but is about 32ft? bright varnished and mid restoration looking fantastic.

there is Merrywind with riverside boat sales and Lady Berol in Southampton (that is off the top of my head) I also remember one at Native yacht Co in Brundall a few years ago, she was in good nick but needed finishing.

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Clive

Springsong Nocturn Cassandra were all 1930s Graham Bunn designs the ones Merry wind Pour toi Bubble etc were all later I think Rip Martin designs from the late forties and fifties.I am fairly sure by the time these were built Hagenbach owned Windboats. Brookwind of course is one of the early ones she was the larger version of Springsong and I think since Broadwind was broken up in the eighties she is the last one, at least that I know of.

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A bulkhead from broadwind lives on in Brookwind from when she was broken! the owner of Broadwind abandoned her owing monies but returned to remove the engine through the side of the hull while she was on hard standing!

I understand now regarding the originals.

cheers.

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  • 1 month later...

Going back to an earlier discussion about the wartime bombing raid which destroyed Horning Ferry Inn .... I have found the information source that I referred to. In Robert Maltsters "Norfolk & Suffolk Broads" book he mentions that it seems likely that the bombs were aimed at Percivals boatyard which was building craft for the Royal Navy at that time. However, he also mentions that he had spoken to an aeronautical historian, Huby Fairhead, who pointed out that Horning was the site of one of three "Starfish" decoy sites which were designed to draw the enemy aircraft away from Norwich. When activated the lights and fires resembled the Midland & Great Northern Station yard at Norwich, and the Horning site was in operation on the night of that bombing raid.

Apparently 15 bombs were dropped during that raid ... only four caused damage, the rest landing in the surrounding fields and marshes. Amongst the fatalities at the pub were several pilots and servicemen who were based at RAF Coltishall and five people who had fled Yarmouth in an attempt to escape the bombing there.

The fire which destroyed the replacement Ferry Inn in 1965 was caused by a chimney fire which set the thatch alight.

Carol

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I suspect that, a lot of the time, the German pilots ditched their bombs anywhere they could. The quicker they could get rid of them, the sooner they could go home. If something looked anything like a worthy target from the air, they would probably go for it.

Regards

Steve

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I agree Steve, as I did post on another thread, HT 'Percy' Percival did tell me that he reckoned that they were ditching their bombs and had a go at the searchlight battery on Horning recreation ground rather than the Ferry or the Sheds he built the MTB's in as they would have been in darkness

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Hi

I don't suppose that we will ever know the real reason how and why the bombs were dropped over Horning on that night. The possible reasons I mentioned above are not my theories by the way ... as I said, they were quoted from Robert Malsters book and were based on his own research and discussions with local historians.

Carol

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  • 3 weeks later...

Here we are nearly at the end of January, the winter is slipping away, soooo I thought maybe some more "Then and Now" pictures for you to ponder over.

I have chosen Potter Heigham today.

I love this picture it shows so much change both social and architectual.

You do not often see (like me here) kids on reins although swmbo may disagree.

The sheds to the right are what is now Pheonix fleet and the pilots office, then it was Applegates yard with either St. Winnold or St. Felix one of their motor cruisers in the cut where the day boats now live in the season; notice also the petrol pump I think just aft of the cruiser.

The large building behind as many will remember is the Bridge Hotel, burnt down in the 70s or 80s I cannot remember which.

Behind and just in picture to the left is the old railway bridge, which after the railway was closed was demolished to make way for the by-pass as we know it today.

The next I am almost sure is taken from where the benchs are beside the bridge looking at a boat moored in what is now the dayboat dyke.I am by no means certain of this one.

This one is taken from what is now the grassed area between the Broadshaven pub and the river. These sheds have a name which for the love of me I forget, but I dare say someone will know.I have just noticed what looks like Never can tell from Martham being rowed through the bridge. Am I right anyone ?

This one should be easy to replicate because the bridge has not changed since the invention of the camera, although some people say it has sunk/shrunk.

Finally another favourite of mine. 1928 and my aunt with her back to the bridge in the cloche hat, the others I don't know. This must have been taken somewhere on the gravelled area adjacent to the bridge where the benches now are sited.

Enjoy cheers

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  • 1 month later...

Apologies if this has been mentioned before....

I believe if a good job is done of this, it could easily be made into a book. I'm sure lots of visitors to the Broads would be interested in "then" and "now" photos of their favourite places.

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