Postcards paint picture of seaside life in the 1910s in Morecambe

The perspective of history suggests an idyllic time before the Great War as if it were one long Edwardian summer.
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Our postcard writers with their simple pleasures and novelties do seem largely untroubled, even at the height of the conflict, with darker shadows only occasionally breaking through.

June 1910 ' ... we have splendid lodgings opposite the West End Pier'

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September 1911 ' ... Been for motor drive ...' An early reference to motor travel – perhaps a charabanc outing.

WINTER GARDENS: A postcard showing inside the Winter Gardens Ballroom.WINTER GARDENS: A postcard showing inside the Winter Gardens Ballroom.
WINTER GARDENS: A postcard showing inside the Winter Gardens Ballroom.

May 1912 ' ... and have you fed Dick. I left the seed tin on the dresser ...' Holidaymakers would occasionally worry about pets left at home.

August 1912 ' ... Going for a sail if it will keep fine ...'

July 1913 ' ... We have had to change our holidays to this week instead of bowling...'

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August 1913 '... having beautiful weather, have been out sailing for about 4 hours. I think I shall have a very good time ...' ... Our lodgings are lovely. I have got a nice bit of mutton for the dinner just under 2 lbs price 1/111⁄2'

A postcard of the West End Promenade, Morecambe. (unknown date).A postcard of the West End Promenade, Morecambe. (unknown date).
A postcard of the West End Promenade, Morecambe. (unknown date).

This is possibly an example of where a guest provides their own food which would then be cooked by the landlady.

It was once a common practice in seaside boarding houses.

April 1914 ' ... very high tides working up to the door. Very crowded here ...'

August 1914 'We have come here out of the way of the terriers as there are so many in Bury ...'

Morecambe nostalgia postcards by Trevor Jordan. Morecambe nostalgia postcards by Trevor Jordan.
Morecambe nostalgia postcards by Trevor Jordan.
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The terriers were the Territorial Force which formed in 1908.

They were a home defence unit (perhaps a cross between today's Territorial Army and the Home Guard from World War II) and would have been becoming more noticeable

following the declaration of war on August 4.

June 1915 'In the letter you sent me he asked me to send him a box of cigarettes ... Will you get one ... I can't get them here.

Reader David Pearson supplies this postcard scene of holiday crowds on the sea front at Morecambe. We're not quite sure about the date it was taken, but the weather certainly looks familiar!Reader David Pearson supplies this postcard scene of holiday crowds on the sea front at Morecambe. We're not quite sure about the date it was taken, but the weather certainly looks familiar!
Reader David Pearson supplies this postcard scene of holiday crowds on the sea front at Morecambe. We're not quite sure about the date it was taken, but the weather certainly looks familiar!

Although it's not stated explicitly here, the box of cigarettes is probably destined for somewhere on the Western Front, possibly to be traded for other treats in the

trenches.

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1915 ' ... We went to a service on the rocks yesterday ... there was a Wesleyan Minister speaking along with the Bishop. He was only a young man but, my word,

he could talk ...'

September 1916 ' ... the water has come in the middle of the road on the front ...the place of music (Central Bandstand) but we have not heard any yet ...'

August 1918 ' ... Been bathing all this afternoon ...'

The Central bandstand, Morecambe. (unknown date).The Central bandstand, Morecambe. (unknown date).
The Central bandstand, Morecambe. (unknown date).

August 1919 'The Winter Gardens is where we spent an evening. Such a lovely building ... very wet so we went to The Tower where there is acting going on. The other day we went for a trip right out to sea ...'

The Tower was just round the corner from where the postcard writer was staying –Mrs Threadgould's on Lord Street.

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It was one of Morecambe's more recent attractions, having opened in 1909.

However, the Tower structure never reached the planned 232 feet (71 metres) in height.

Various reasons were given – one being that the iron was needed for armaments in the Great War.