LOOKING Back regular Geoffrey Pritchard has once again come up with some fascinating pictures of the Weymouth area from days gone by.

A selection of his photos add another dimension to the sights and streets of the town we are so familiar with today.

First here's a timely look at the site of the Colwell Centre in the town centre before the current structure was erected in 1983.

*The building, which is shortly to be demolished, was the former Weymouth Royal Hospital.

From 1921 it was owned by the Salvation Army, originally as a hostel for ex-servicemen and later for the homeless. It was renamed Colwell House in 1959 and was closed in 1981.

*Rail buffs will enjoy the sight of this down train hauled by Great Western Railway 4-4-0 Bulldog class loco no 3337 passing what was to become in 1905 the site of Radipole Halt.

The picture was taken between 1900 when the loco was built and May 1905 when the halt was built to tap in to potential passenger trade from the developing areas to the north of Weymouth.

It was closed in 1983. In the background is the Spa Hotel which was built in 1899. From 1906 the increasing numbers of pupils of secondary school age led to a demand for a new secondary school.

There was considerable debate over this. The ratepayers were alarmed at the cost, which they would have to provide if the borough council was to control it; otherwise the county council would assume control.

Not surprisingly, a great deal of argument took place about a suitable site. A site adjoining the Spa Hotel was recommended by the borough council but the county council objected on the grounds that 'it was too far from the town, too close to licenced premises, and fronting a main road, along which a motor bus ran, making noise and raising dust.'

*Another photo shows high tide in Commercial Road in Weymouth in the early 1960s. The recent flooding and consequent disruption to traffic in Commercial Road is reminiscent of the scenes which occasionally caused chaos in earlier days.

In this photo taken at the junction of Commercial Road and Lower St Alban Street you can see Webb Major’s timber and builders’ merchants lorry driven through the water to reach its destination.

Boats and pontoons are shown stored for winter maintenance, whilst the paddle steamer Princess Elizabeth is at her winter berth.

*Geoff also wanted us to point out the Weymouth connection to the St Nazaire Raid.

An annual dinner was held by the St Nazaire Society to commemorate the Commando raid on March 28 1942 and remember those who were killed in the action.

Geoff, who spent 40 years as a local government officer, said: "I received an interesting letter in 1986 as a result of extensive national press coverage when the seaward part of the Weymouth Pier Bandstand was blown up on the grounds that it was unsafe.

"It came from a former Sergeant in No 2 Commando, who had been awarded the B.E.M. and who lived in Liverpool.

"He had read an article in one of the national daily newspapers about the explosion and he told of an interesting connection between the two areas.

"He wrote that early in 1941 No 2 Commando marched from Paignton to Weymouth to take part in War Weapons Week. He remembered that he settled down in a billet near the main Post Office and he noticed that the town had suffered a great deal of war damage. Instruction courses on demolition took place at the Pavilion Theatre.

"On March 28 1942 No 2 Commando took part in the epic raid on the submarine base at St. Nazaire. Here the experience of the Weymouth War Weapons Week came in useful.

"The Commando password was “Weymouth” and the countersign “War Weapons Week” on the grounds that the German troops would be unable to pronounce it and would instantly identify themselves.

"One of his memories of this epic action was of his comrades charging around, faces blackened, shouting “Weymouth” and “War Weapons Week.

"This is an unusual insight into one of the most daring exploits of the Commandos."