More photos of the wonderful Bathing Pool holiday camp – St Leonards-on-Sea

 

All photos © Hastings Public Library

Lin Wood… I worked in that snack bar with Danni.

Kat Wood… Lin, really, when was that? I worked in the gift shop the last couple of years it was open! Loved that place. There was a guy called Ken running the cafe when I was there, but remember Carrington

Dawn Mann… My sister Tina and I worked in the cafe which was run by Dennis.

Bev Pearce Smith… What’s there now please ?

Gary Benton… Bev, all that is left now is the low wall that surrounds the Princess bar terrace that you can see in the picture. My parents had interests in the business. I was pretty much brought up there.

Linda O’leary… My mum used to take me there when I was 5

Catherine Ireland… We called it Bo-Peep ?

Judy Atkinson… Catherine, that’s a nearby pub

Kurt Helge… Been there in 1966 and 1967

Judy Atkinson… I once jumped off the high diving board

Mike Waghorne… I once climbed to the top of that high board looked down & froze ! It was a long way down for a 10 year old to look at, swimming over that deep 15ft water made my stomach felt strange !

Judy Atkinson… Mike, to be fair, that middle section was always a very uninviting murky green colour and you couldn’t see the bottom.

Paul Coleman… I can remember jumping off of that top one. Nearly s..t myself! Went up n did it again tho. Lol.

Ray Barry… I remember the bathing pool very well, not sure exactly how old I was when I used to go there 12,13 something like that, and we would jump off the the top diving board and try to touch the the bottom, 17ft deep I seem to recall.

Pete Grange… we lived in Seaside Road, so was in there a lot.

Ian Maclean… Pre 60s I think, as no chalets around the top. The Holiday camp owned by Councillor Withers appeared towards the mid 60s. The council said it didn’t make money, when it let him take it over. I suppose all those people got in for nothing !

Lawrence Finch… I went there to see a friend who worked in the café/bar many times.. a really nice, old fashioned friendly place. Shame it had to close really, must have been financial I suppose.

Shirley Tabrett… I was a cleaner there weekends and school holidays, with my friends

Liz Bourn… Ian, yes, late 50’s early 60’s. We lost a great asset when it was sold off and turned into a holiday camp. The far end  was blocked off and silly children’s things were constructed. This fabulous pool used to have fabulous international galas, the pool was 110 yards long if I remember correctly . Does anyone remember the crazy stunt diving displays? Wobbler Cooper? Roller skating round the top before chalets were built? Now it’s a patch of grass which HBC want to build on. DESECRATION.

Ian Maclean… Wobbler Cooper was a swimming club member/ water polo player, a cheerful ruddy faced man popular with everybody. I , was part of the diving competition. And display team at the galas, but the fantastic shows you refer to were by the Roy Fransen Aqua show, riding bikes off of the 10 metre board plus really daring antics culminating in Peg leg, a one legged chap diving from the top of a large pair of steps on the top board into a flaming water surface. Then of course the firework display to finish with. Days I will always remember. A cynical view is the galas took a lot of business away from some councillors town centre business’s, so it had to go.

Mark Atter… Had some great times in the school summer holidays

Theresa Lorenzo-Gray… Fantastic memories of our bathing pool…sad it went

Nick Silk… I played Squash there!

Dorothy Matthews… Nothing there now, it was a crying shame it was taken away. Whoever decided it was no longer needed, was an idiot. Didn’t want to spend any money on it, rather waste money on stupid ideas that lined there own pockets. Not good for people of Hastings and St Leonard’s they didn’t count

Rene Burgess… Remember it well. Great times there with family and friends

Liz Bourn… photo 4 The nets are down – must have been a water polo match.

Dulcie Phillips… I remember it when it was still open to the public as a superb swimming facility .Also great roller skating. Fab. So sad it couldn’t be kept.

Neil Mitchell… I remember the air locks, spent the summer of 83 and 84 down the there

Adrian Bulgaria… Nearly died there. Thankfully a friend dived in the deep end and saved me,thanks Ian. Still remember sinking down, that was 40 years ago I think.

Richard Neve… Used to play squash in my lunch breaks here

Jayne Rogers… Good grief, packed!!

Johnny Greenhalf… It was nearly always packed out in the summer, even surprisingly sheltered in spring and autumn.

Judith Bereton… I worked there as a member of the entertainments team in 1968. I remember the army swimming team using the pool to practise for the channel swimming record.

 

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