The Postcard
A postcard that was published by Judges Ltd. of Hastings. The card was posted in Hastings using stamps to the value of 2½p on Tuesday the 22nd. June 1971. It was sent to a recipient who lived at:
'Springfield',
Brumstead Road,
Stalham,
Norwich,
Norfolk.
The postmark exhorts the reader to 'Visit The Hastings Embroidery'.
The message on the divided back of the card was as follows:
"Dear Mum,
Having a lovely time here
at Pontin's Holiday Camp
and Camber Sands on the
South Coast.
The weather is not so bad.
We went to Eastbourne
today and took some photos.
Tonight we are going dancing
in the Ballroom here.
See you soon,
Vera & Cliff."
Pontin's Holiday Village
Pontins announced the closure of its Camber Sands and Prestatyn sites on the 30th. November 2023 via its website.
Pontins said:
“We regret to inform you that our parks
in Prestatyn and Camber Sands will be
closing with immediate effect.
Customers whose bookings will be
affected by these closures will be
contacted by our team and refunded.
We apologise for any inconvenience
caused.”
Dame Caroline Dinenage, who chairs the Culture, Media and Sport Committee in the House of Commons, and is MP for Gosport, said:
“The closure of the Pontins holiday parks
will be deeply unsettling for the communities
concerned, given the crucial contribution
such venues make to the local economy
and general health of our seaside towns.
The disquiet felt among staff and local
businesses will be exacerbated by the
apparent lack of engagement and
support from those in charge.”
The holiday park in Camber was built in 1968. The camp has a long association with Len Goodman, Strictly Come Dancing judge, who organised an annual dance festival there for 25 years starting in the mid-1980's.
In 2013 scenes for the Hollywood movie The Monuments Men were filmed on the nearby beach and the production company booked 85 rooms at the camp.
Stars George Clooney and Matt Damon, who featured in the film, were spotted at the camp on several occasions.
An Attempted Murder at Columbus Circle in NYC
So what else happened on the day that the card was posted?
Well, on the 22nd. June 1971, reputed Brooklyn Mafia chief Joseph Colombo was shot in the head during the Italian-American Civil Rights League "Unity Day" rally at Columbus Circle in New York City.
This was despite protection by police and his own bodyguards.
His assailant, Jerome A. Johnson, had gotten within close range of Colombo while wearing a press pass that he had picked up from IACRL officials.
At 11:45 am, Colombo was asked to pose for a photo with a bystander, and was shot twice by Johnson. Moments later, Johnson was shot to death, apparently by one of Colombo's bodyguards.
Colombo survived after five hours of surgery, but suffered brain damage and was paralyzed for the rest of his life.
Muhammad Ali
Also on that day, by a vote of 8 to 0, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously reversed the conviction of heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali, four years after he had been found guilty of refusing induction into the U.S. Army, and after Ali's world championships had been revoked by boxing commissions.
The Court concluded that Ali had been improperly drafted despite his claim to be a conscientious objector to military service based on his religious faith as a Muslim.
Elon Musk
The 22nd. June 1971 also marked the birth in Johannesburg of South African-Canadian-American technology entrepreneur, founder of SpaceX and CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk.
Camille Clifford
The day also marked the death at the age of 85 of the Belgian actress and model Camille Clifford.
Born Camilla Antoinette Clifford on the 29th. June 1885, Clifford was a Belgian-born stage actress, and the most famous model for the "Gibson Girl" illustrations. Her towering coiffure and hourglass figure defined the Gibson Girl style.
-- Camille Clifford - The Early Years
Clifford was born in Antwerp, Belgium to Reynold Clifford and Matilda Ottersen. Camille was raised in Sweden, Norway and Boston, Mass.
In the early 1900's she won US$2,000 in a magazine contest sponsored by the illustrator Charles Dana Gibson to find a living version of his Gibson Girl drawings: his ideal woman.
Clifford became an actress, performing in the United States from 1902, and in England from 1904. She returned from London to Boston on the 3rd. July 1906.
While only playing walk-on, non-speaking roles, Clifford became famous nonetheless - not for her talent, but for her beauty.
Her trademark style was a long, elegant gown wrapped around her tightly corseted, eighteen-inch wasp waist (as is evident in the photograph).
-- Camille Clifford - The Later Years
Camille retired from the stage and married Captain the Honourable Henry Lyndhurst Bruce in 1906. They had one child, Margaret, but the child died five days after birth. Bruce was killed during the Great War in 1914.
She made a brief return to the stage after the death of her husband. Then in 1917, she married Captain John Meredyth Jones Evans.
After the war she left the stage for good, and later owned a stable of successful racehorses. Her second husband died in 1957.
