It's not always sunshine and beach parties

From a local perspective Bognor Regis and its vicinity always has been justifiably proud of its place within the sunshine league and, if you look back through history books and read the messages on the reverse of postcards, weather is often mentioned and usually in a complimentary manner.

This has not always been the case, however, and we have periodically hit the national headlines when we have been the recipients of severe adverse weather conditions.

If we look back to the period from the 1820s to the beginning of the 1900s there are numerous reports and pictures of postmen, and others, in boats rowing along the length of York Road '“ especially in 1904 when it was necessary to deliver the post through the floods. In 1856 the West Sussex Gazette, reported on 'the late high tide', which occurred apparently due to the position of the moon at the time of the high tide.

Part of the report states, "it was now discovered that so rapid had been the rise of the water, that the tenants had not left their houses and seemed threatened with certain destruction".

They were seen waving handkerchiefs from the upper windows. The long report concluded with 'the scene of devastation is well worth a visit from those who live in the neighbourhood'.

No change there! The town centre was notorious for flooding at this time. One such report in 1914 told of floods sweeping through the Kursaal '“ the site of today's Alexandra Theatre '“ and into its auditorium necessitating people being rescued by boat.

Years later in 1987, I can well remember sitting in the Regis Centre listening to an historical play about Bognor and wondering whether the roof would remain in place throughout the performance. It did, although the roof was damaged during the night and the play was never performed again, which was a shame as it was very good!

I have found many more pictures and articles on the flooding which occurred along the seafront up to and including West Street in 1918. One report said 'the parade looked as though several bombs had been dropped, so great was the havoc wrought'.

At the seaward end of the Steyne and Lansdown Mansions the area quite literally was ripped up. This area repeatedly has been damaged, until the early 1990s when the new sea wall was built. Flooding from the sea and heavy rains continually have caused problems but during the 1960s there was another problem. Much of the country was gripped by heavy snowfalls, not least of which was West Sussex.

In 1963 here in Bognor Regis the sea actually froze and resulted in some dramatic photographs being taken. Many people have memories of this event, as residents rushed down to the seafront and just stood and looked at the expanse of ice, as it appeared to continue to freeze before their eyes.

Numbers of onlookers took photos of this quite spectacular occurrence. Some newspaper articles reported that the temperature had fallen to minus 17F. The previously reported exceptionally cold spell had been in 1947.

High seas at Bognor is another feature captured on postcards and, of course, by WP Marsh who won national competitions with his spectacular photographs.

During the 1980s there were many instances of heavy rain and flooding and during the later part of the 1980s, we saw heavier winds than we'd been used to. This culminated in the terrible hurricane of 1987, which struck across the south of England and caused such destruction in the town and Hotham Park.

Strong winds have been more frequent for a number of years and, in October 2000, we again reached the national press as a tornado ripped through part of the town. This was even recorded in The Record in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada and was sent to us by family members. If you have any memories, please send them into the Observer as it is compiling information about this immense event.

These events are chronicled in many national and local publications. We tend, however, to believe that this was a new occurrence when, in fact, gales and hurricanes were recorded around Bognor and Felpham in the 1840s.

The Hampshire Telegraph on November 6, 1820, reported that "a range of coach houses at the Hotel at Bognor were levelled; and so were the whole of the row of fishermen's shops to the eastward of that place, with every small tenement on that part of the coast". So nothing is really new.

Maybe today it appears worse as it is reported in greater detail to a wider audience. Large rocks were placed along the beach front at Felpham, Middleton and Elmer to help prevent the flooding that they had experienced in the 1980s and '90s. From 1993 the rocks started to arrive to shelter Elmer and Middleton. The 150,000 tons of rocks were syenite from Norway and quartzite from France.

In 1998 similar work commenced in the Felpham area. With global warming at the forefront of our minds, we do not always realise how much the sea has risen. Some postcards of the 1950s, which clearly show a lower promenade in front of the Esplanade Theatre and Rock buildings where today the beach is level with the top promenade, can illustrate this.

The pleasure of sitting on the lower level resting against the wall has vanished forever. However we are lucky that our most noteworthy claim to fame is without doubt our sunshine records.

In 1966, when the postal services used slogans to decorate each letter with a specific postmark, there was one design which celebrated the sunshine records. In 1981 the town topped some of the seaside resort records with an excess of 85 per cent sunshine and the highest temperature that year recorded at 76 Fahrenheit.

It is a shame that these postal slogans are not used today. One headline in March 1993 'spoke' of "Sunny Bognor '“ or make do with Benidorm." The town happily continually achieves top ranking when it comes to sunshine levels, and this obviously entices our the tourists. I am also pleased to advise that tickets are now available, from the Paperback Book Shop at 67 High Street (opposite Iceland), for the annual Slide into the Past with me and my collection of slides on the surrounding areas, including Pagham and Felpham, as well as new slides of the town.

The tickets are only 5 and include a light buffet (which is always excellent). The proceeds for the evening are in aid of Bognor Regis Seafront Lights. Entry is by ticket only on Friday, October 26, in the Recital Hall, Sudley Road. See you there.

To find out more about Bognor's history click here