Skegness - Boating Lake - a photo on Flickriver

            The Postcard

An Excel Series postcard which was posted in Skegness on Wednesday the 24th. May 1939 to:

Master Anthony Hunt,
Riseholme,
Lincoln.

The message on the back of the card was as follows:

"I expect you will recognise the
boating lake. I am sorry to hear
you have the flu, but hope you will
soon recover, especially now that
the weather is getting warmer.
The Duchess of Gloucester is 
coming to town on Thursday & is
going to open a hospital.
I think we are returning this week - 
perhaps tomorrow.
We walked to Butlins Camp last 
week. I certainly should not like
to stay there.
Love, Aunt Evelyn"

Skegness

Skegness is a seaside town on the Lincolnshire coast of the North Sea. The town is 43 miles (69 km) east of Lincoln and 22 miles (35 km) north-east of Boston. 

The original Skegness was situated farther east at the mouth of The Wash. Its Norse name refers to a headland which sat near the settlement. By the 14th. century, it was a locally important port for coastal trade. The natural sea defences which protected the harbour eroded in the later Middle Ages, and it was lost to the sea after a storm in the 1520's. 

Rebuilt along the new shoreline, early modern Skegness was a small fishing and farming village, but from the late 18th. century members of the local gentry visited for holidays. The arrival of the railways in 1873 transformed it into a popular seaside resort. 

This was the intention of the 9th. Earl of Scarborough, who owned most of the land in the vicinity; he built the infrastructure of the town and laid out plots, which he leased to speculative developers. 

This new Skegness quickly became a popular destination for holiday-makers and day trippers from the East Midlands factory towns. By the interwar years the town was established as one of the most popular seaside resorts in Britain. The layout of the modern seafront dates to this time, and holiday camps were built around the town, including the first Butlin's holiday resort which opened in Ingoldmells in 1936.

The package holiday abroad became an increasingly popular and affordable option for many British holiday-makers during the 1970's. This trend, combined with declining industrial employment in the East Midlands, served to harm Skegness's visitor economy in the late 20th. century. 

Nevertheless, the resort retains a loyal visitor base, and has increasingly attracted people visiting for a short holiday alongside their trip abroad. Tourism increased following the recession of 2007–09 owing to the resort's affordability. In 2011, the town was England's fourth most popular holiday destination for UK residents, and in 2015 it received over 1.4 million visitors. 

Skegness has a reputation as a traditional English seaside resort owing to its long, sandy beach and seafront attractions which include amusement arcades, eateries, Botton's fairground, the pier, nightclubs and bars. 

Other visitor attractions include Natureland Seal Sanctuary, a museum, an aquarium, a heritage railway, an annual carnival, a yearly arts festival, and Gibraltar Point nature reserve to the south of the town.

Despite the arrival of several manufacturing firms since the 1950's and Skegness's prominence as a local commercial centre, the tourism industry remains very important for the town's economy and employment. But tourism's low wages and seasonal nature, along with the town's aging population, have contributed towards high levels of relative deprivation among the resident population. 

The town is home to a police station, a magistrates' court and a lifeboat station.

A World-Wide Radio Address

So what else happened on the day that the card was posted?

Well, on the 24th. May 1939, in Winnipeg, King George VI gave a radio address broadcast around the world extolling the century of peace between Canada and the United States.

There may have been peace in the Americas, but trouble was brewing in Europe - 102 days after King George's radio address, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain announced that Great Britain was at war with Germany.

Blue Peter

Also on the 24th. May 1939, Blue Peter won The Derby. The race was televised live in six major London theatres.

Witmer Stone

The day also marked the death at the age of 72 of the American ornithologist and botanist Witmer Stone.
   

Taken on: November 10, 2015

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Camera:	HP Scanjet djf4100
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Paint Shop Pro Photo 12.01
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