Blackpool bathers ignore social distancing...

[bfcpete]

...but it in was 1914. Just been sorting some photos for the family history and found this one taken in July 1914 of staff from the Claremont hotel enjoying themselves on their day off. The young lady bottom left is my grandmother, who was 16 and a chambermaid at the hotel. Just 2 weeks later the WW1 broke out and no doubt some of the young men went off to war!

 

[bfcpete]

Trying to compress the photo
Success at last!

 

[BobHatton]

Timeless photo Pete. Your Grandma is a good looking belle. People worked hard in hotels, especially in towns like Blackpool and I'll bet they cherished their downtime.

 

[bfcpete]

She was of the 2nd of 5 sisters and they were all very good lookers, especially in their portrait photos. At least 4 of them were chambermaids. Two years after the above photo was taken their father was killed by a Blackpool tram. They lived in Freckleton St and when younger they went to Revoe school. I have a photo of my grandmother in a classroom in the school in about 1905, about 3 years after it opened.

 

[BobHatton]

I wonder how many of those young men were lost in the war?....

 

[UAE Seasider]

Two years after the above photo was taken their father was killed by a Blackpool tram.

That's quite an achievement and I believe Corry stole for one of their episodes!


Alan Bradley

Alan met his end in Blackpool when he was hit by a tram while chasing Rita, in one of the programme's most famous moments.

 

[bfcpete]

One of my grandfather's uncles also met an unusual fate. He fell off some scaffolding when helping to build Blackpool Tower!