PICTURE GALLERY: Bygone images of Bognor Regis

RARE coloured views of the Bognor of just over 100 years ago have been found.
Postcard views of Bognor RegisPostcard views of Bognor Regis
Postcard views of Bognor Regis

David Dawson, of Lancaster, uncovered the old postcards when he was clearing out his late aunt’s house in North Bersted.

He said: “I cleared all documents from my aunt’s house in Van Dyck Place and have recently found these cards among her papers.”

Margaret Ede died on August 8, 2012, aged 94.

Postcard views of Bognor RegisPostcard views of Bognor Regis
Postcard views of Bognor Regis
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Her small collection of postcards reveals some aspects of Bognor have remained untouched by the passing decades.

Others are unrecognisable or have simply disappeared.

The hand-tinted quality of the postal messages from 1908 brings them to life in a way which a black and white view would fail to do.

The Steyne and The Arcade, containing the Post Office, can clearly be recognised.

Aldwick Road is little more than a rural lane – unlike today’s busy thoroughfare which connects Aldwick to central Bognor Regis.

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The sight of a goat pulling a cart would certainly stop the present-day traffic, as would a family walking in the middle of the road with a perambulator.

But the White Tower is clearly visible in the distance and the cottages at the entrance to what is now the Rock Gardens car park, and the slight narrowing of the road there, have also stayed unchanged.

Other postcards depict familiar scenes, such as the winter sight of a rough sea pounding against the foreshore.

Others show a number of scenes from around Bognor Regis.

Many of the landmarks depicted have long since vanished, such as St John’s Church and the Jubilee Stamp House, in North Bersted.

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The former was replaced by Boots in London Road decades ago and the latter was pulled down and a Tesco Express stands in its place. Mary Wheatland was also famous enough in those days to warrant a postcard.

She was a life-saving heroine. Her exploits on the seafront, where she ran bathing huts, saw her save 30 individuals and receive recognition from the Royal Humane Society.

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