Clacton Pier (The history)

[Chief Engineer]

Along with the photographs that Peter Kingsman has kindly shared is a collection of newspaper clippings saved over the years.

With each little snippet of Kingsman history that I read, I am in awe of the amount of support the family shared not only with local charities and groups but to the town of Clacton as well. The local Clacton hospital was one of Mrs Kingsman's charities, but certainly a surprise to me was donation of land to build the old football ground that is now the Waterglade shopping area.

CE

[DolphinBoy]

WOW that is a fantastic snippet, interesting stuff being unearthed especially the investment in Clacton the Kingsman family had, and gave back to the people, this loyality is rare nowadays!
Brilliant!

[FATBOY]

loving the health and safety with that bloke hanging of the end of the berthing arm! fantastic pictures!!

[Stagehand]

Hello sorry I havnt been on site for a long time but thought you should see this very interseting film of the pier and Barney.

http://www.eafa.org.uk/catalogue/18

[AJ]

Wow that video was a great find. Thanks for sharing that.

[Chief Engineer]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for the link Stagehand, it has been great looking at some of the other film archives that have now been made available through Lottery funding, if only there was a little more spare cash to spend on the Jolly Roger theatre.

The Pier was recently donated a couple of theatre programs from 1937, one for the Ocean Revue and my first glimpse of an early Jolly Roger program, although I have to say the front cover is a little strange. I doubt a lot of these survived especially if you read the suggestion at the top of the program about using the program as a serviette whilst enjoying your Delicious Cream Ices.

Season’s Greetings
CE

[Art Deco]

No matter how many times I trawl through the 15 pages of this thread I never tire of it.
Great stuff.

[Chief Engineer]

Hi Art Deco,

Happy New Year to all, glad your enjoying the history, I thought a quick trip through the years of the Ocean Theatre program covers and their changes over the decades.

I don't think anyone would disagree that the earlier 'art deco' style covers are more pleasing and interesting compared to the later more formal plain layout.

Unfortunately I don't have a full complement of all the programs produced, especially the earlier years, but it would appear that the Pier ran with some of the designs for a number of years, just changing the colour tint year to year.

CE

1938

1946

1954

1964

1969

1971

????

[FATBOY]

happy new year peeps! mr engineer i have a question. there is a debate going on the facebook page about clacton. regarding the rollercoaster that chris had his accident on. some people saying it was the whirlwind that the incident happened. but im sure it was on another smaller coaster that appeared a few years after the whirlwind went? can you shed any light?

[Chief Engineer]

Hi FB,

Yes that was an unfortunate day, but not on the Whirlwind coaster. The accident happened after the Whirlwind had gone. I don't think the ride that the accident happened on could really be classed as a coaster, it was just a figure of 8 up and over track ride. 'Sprinter' is what it was called and it was more of a speed ride. Peter Pan's Adventure Island at Southend had the sister ride, as I believe only two were ever made. Ours was the first and never very reliable, it used fixed hydraulic driven drive wheels located in the track that never worked very well in the wet. The later version at Southend used DC drive motors.

CE

[puremotion]

Hi everyone,

I've spent hours tonight reading through this forum and I have to say, the history of Clacton Pier and how it's changed through the years has gripped me with fascination. I can't believe it's survived fire, bombing and storms, and stood to tell the tale!

In short, I co-own a small video production business in Colchester, and I would absolutely love to produce a video showcasing what the Pier's gone though over the decades; how it's been arguably one of the biggest British holiday destinations in the post-war era, how it's survived all sorts of turmoil, and how the owners are restoring it piece-by-piece to bring it back to its former glory. There are plenty of pictures of the pier throughout history, and various clips scattered about YouTube. But I've yet to see a proper video putting all these things together - I really think it would make for fascinating viewing, not to mention the fact that it would be great advertising for the pier! It would not be a chargeable thing - I would love to make this purely for my own and others' enjoyment.

With this in mind, I would also be able to offer some great marketing videos for the pier's owners. YouTube is growing by the minute and it's a great place to showcase what the pier has to offer to the new generation of internet-based youngsters. New rides and attractions can be released with an accompanying video to really give a flavour of what they're like to prospective visitors. Video is the most powerful marketing tool right now.

I understand that the user on this forum "Chief Engineer" has connections with the pier, so Chief, perhaps you wouldn't mind mentioning the proposed video to the owners, and see if they would be interested? It could be a montage of clips gathered from various sources, old pictures, and new filming including tours around the pier from the owners explaining how it used to look and what they plan to do with it in the future.

You're welcome to have a look at my website to get an idea of what it is we do - www.puremotionproductions.co.uk.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to hearing from someone in the future! My email address is josh@puremotionproductions.co.uk.

All the best,

Josh,
PureMotion Productions.

[Chief Engineer]

Hi Josh,

Glad you had an enjoyable read of what is only a fraction of the Piers fantastic history and apologies to all the forum readers for not having posted any new material for a while, I still have loads of fascinating and interesting facts to share of the Pier’s past, so please keep checking for new posts.

The new owners of the Pier are very keen to introduce and update both new and existing attractions on the Pier. The Seaquarium will be undergoing some extensive alterations and changes this winter, part of which will be the introduction of a themed area charting the history of Clacton Pier from beginning to present and will feature a snap shot of all the forms of entertainment that Clacton Pier offered throughout the years to the holiday makers of Clacton. From Theatres to Rides, Dolphins to Penny Arcades, Sea cruises to all the fun of The Circus, hopefully we can cram it all in.

CE

PS Thanks for your e-mail Josh, I will be in touch shortly

[Chief Engineer]

There is a old favourite attraction, new for the 2012 summer season that will be making its return, speed boat rides are going to be an extra added attraction for those who enjoy going fast on the water.

It has always proved to be a popular attraction over the years, but due to storm damage over the years to the landing stages either side of the Pier the attraction had to be suspended. Work on the West landing stage will begin shortly to enable trips to start soon. Here is a shot of some holidaymakers from 1967 enjoying a trip out on ‘Girl Susan’

CE



PS Somewhat unfortunately was a mistimed dive by Professor Webb who would provide diving shows at the end of the Pier, it certainly must have been a shock to all involved. August 1911

[Stagehand]

Oh how I remember those days helping the daytripers on and off the speed boat during my school holidays and at week-ends. There were originaly 2 boats in the early 60's lady Spray being sold to an american in 62. Both were ownd and run by Ernie Cobb and Billy Neal, both of them being Life-boat mechanics. The one in the picture is Lady Susan being driven by Ernie Cobb.

[Chief Engineer]

Hi Stagehand,

I never knew that Ernie was involved with the speed boats, I am sure most will remember Ernie cycling around Clacton on his bicycle. Ernie would also carry out engineering work for the Pier, one of his last jobs for the Pier before retiring was the fabrication of a new set of 14 gates that fitted between the hub and outer drive ring of the Big Wheel, quite a task in his cramped workshops, now the site where Lidl supermarket occupies.

Here is Ernie pictured top left, taken 1970 from his days with the RNLI.

CE