I've just spent a most enjoyable day fishing from Hipkin's beach at the Naze end of Walton-on-the-Naze.

A familiar place to many Walton visitors throughout the warm summer months, where a reputable kiosk run by Robert Hipkin offers the best and most reasonably priced cup of tea in the area. However, a different scene will present itself to holiday makers next year. The familiar wooden huts along the beach front are being removed to be replaced by a new set of nine individual huts.

 In the spirit of the current recycling trend the huts are being relocated on local allotments where they will be put to good use.

Hipkin's is the only privately owned beach in Walton, although it is available for free public usage at all times. The gentle sloping beach makes it very safe for children on a calm summer day and the kids really enjoy 'crabbing' from the breakwater.

It is a popular venue for fishermen throughout the winter months but today's catch of about ten eelpouts is no recommendation. Apparently, a mounted stuffed eelpout is an old traditional way of securing a sale of a house - perhaps I should have kept one!

Here are some early pictures from the
Walton Archive of Hipkins Beach and Tea Hut

I have spent a lot of time today restoring pictures of Walton that have been languishing on my PC's hard drive for some time. I managed to complete about half of the many that I had scanned previously but not had time to deal with. Hopefully you will soon see these on the Walton Archive web site.

I came upon one picture that I have had for some time but cannot determine exactly whereabouts in Walton it was taken. It is from an original Magic Lantern Slide clearly titled "Walton-on-the-Naze". The definition is not perfect but it is a charming picture showing a rural scene in the foreground with some development behind.

Can any of you readers make any sensible suggestions? I'm baffled.

Having been away this weekend I have only just picked up last Thursday's Frinton & Walton Gazette. The front cover story is headlined "Town market's new lease of life"                                      From EADT 1972     

The story goes on to tell how the weekly market has been saved for "the sake of the town, the shopkeepers and the residents". This brought back memories of the massive opposition to the market when it was first proposed in 1972. At the Annual Meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, the shopkeepers were adamant, almost to a man, that a market would "lower the tone of the town, create parking problems and cause unfair competition to shopkeepers". Only my brother and I and a couple of others voted in favour of it.

Now, when the market has dwindled in size to a handful of traders, the Frinton & Walton Town Council has stepped in to save it. Parking is no longer a problem caused by the market - yellow lines and the new High Street layout have created enough problems of their own. Trying to find a parking spot in Walton any day is a nightmare, unless you are prepared to pay for the privilege. Thus the nearby Triangle Shopping Centre is the popular place to shop - who wants to pay to park when you can park there for free?

Sorry - no soapbox - Back to the market story which led me to remember that fine sunny but windy day in June 1972 when the market was opened by Monty Modlyn from BBC radio's "Today" programme. Here are some pictures from my Walton Archive. Were you there? I was, and can be spotted standing with my good friend, the late Ken Adams, the local journalist whose many stories at that time put Walton on the map                  
A mention will be given to the first person to spot us.

      

Monty Modlyn opening the Walton Market on 26th June 1972

Yesterday I had the privilege and the pleasure to spend the evening at the fabulous new Wembley Stadium  to watch my son keeping goal for the Microsoft football team.

The event was the Microsoft Charity Cup 2007 which raised more than £50,000 for the Wooden Spoon Charity. 

"What has this got to do with Walton?", I hear you ask. Well nothing at all other than a Walton lad was on the hallowed turf and he did somewhat better between the sticks than Scott Carson had done the night before. His team only conceded one goal!

However, the charity's name "Wooden Spoon" reminded me of a picture that I recently acquired showing a group of Walton Dart Players holding an enormous wooden spoon. Clearly they had finished at the bottom of the darts league. This is the picture and I am hoping that a reader may be able to help me with some details.    

 I can only identify four of the team members:

Back row far right is Fred Grinham and Bob Fairbrother is standing next to him.

Seated second from the left is Bob Edmonds and fourth from the left is Jack Sharman. Who are the others?

I have been reliably informed by Bob Edmonds' daughter, Robina, that this is the Queens Head darts team.

 Help me if you can before I add this picture to the Old Walton Archive

This is a story which was related to me by one of Walton's most loved and respected old timers.

Eric Brett, known to many as 'Hector', (but that's another story for another day) has a wealth of stories about Walton that I never tire of hearing.

This event took place on 21st December 1945, before I was even a twinkle in father's eye! Eric was home on leave from war-time service in Italy and his mother had sent him out from their home in Churchfield Road to get some last minute shopping before Christmas. He even remembers the time as being  16:40 hours. As he left his front door, Tom (Puggy) Bloom the coxswain of the EMED (The RNLI Lifeboat) petitioned him to lend a hand with launching the lifeboat as the maroons had just been fired.

Eric accompanied Tom to the boathouse where he was told to, "grab a life-jacket and belt". Protesting that he only required an oilskin to assist with the launch, Eric was told that a gale blowing and a crew of 12 was needed. He would have to make up the required number.

So, there was Eric, who had only popped out to the shops, being rowed in the boarding boat from the pier end to become an unsuspecting member of the lifeboat crew heading to the Gunfleet Sands in a force eight gale.

 The casualties were two Mine Finding Vessels (MFVs) aground on the sands which the lifeboat reached around low tide. "The vessels were lifting and rolling quite badly as the Coxswain turned the lifeboat around to go astern onto the sands", recalled Eric. "The Bowman, Ted Oxley, shouted to the Petty Officers asking if they wanted to get off but they decided to wait to see if they could refloat when the tide rose". At this point Coxswain Bloom moved the lifeboat back into deeper water and stood by.

After a short while a flashing Aldis lamp signaled that the sailors had changed their minds and wanted to be taken off. The lifeboat moved closer and as it approached  a large waved rolled MFV611  striking the lifeboat's stern wrecking its steering gear. Coxswain Bloom continued manoeuvring the lifeboat by using only the engines. Six crew were rescued from MFV611 and then another five from MFV96.

To enable the boat to steer its way back to shore Ted Oxley, with two men holding his legs, was dangled over the stern to secure a rope to the rudder. A man pulling on each end of the rope enabled the lifeboat to steer a course back to Brightlingsea where the eleven rescued were landed.

The lifeboat then had to go immediately to Rowhedge for repairs from where Eric eventually caught a train and arrived home in Walton on 22nd December at 17:00 hours. He returned to Italy on Christmas Eve with quite a tale to tell his mates.

The RNLI awarded 65-year-old Coxswain Tom Bloom a second service clasp to his Bronze Medal for this service and Eric's mum never did get the eggs she had sent him out to buy! .

                                                
                       The EMED after her naming ceremony in 1934              Coxswain Tom Bloom (Right) with former Cox'n John Byford

See these and many more pictures in the Walton Archive at www.putmans.co.uk/oldwaltonindex.htm

The High Street with The International Stores on the left - somewhat earlier than when I was a boy!
See more pictures at www.putmans.co.uk/oldwaltonindex.htm