A FORMER Weymouth resident who is postcard-mad has published his second book exploring the history of sending Wish You Were Here missives from the resort.

Author Eddie Prowse has written Weymouth The Postcard Collection, which gives readers a tour around the town and the surrounding area, including the harbour and heritage sites.

Postcards have been carefully selected from Eddie's expansive collection and offer a fascinating record of the town and its people.

This is Eddie's second book. He said: "It's an extension of a hobby. I've been collecting postcards for 25 to 30 years and get them from auctions and antiques fairs and from wherever I can on the internet."

Weymouth-born Eddie left the town in 1966 and now lives in West Moors, but Weymouth holds a special place in his heart, he says.

"I grew up in the Park District. I worked in WH Smith and eventually ended up working for myself and had my own business in east Dorset.

"I have a real attachment to Weymouth and still have many family living in the area."

Eddie's book shows familiar and well loved Weymouth sights through the years such as the pier bandstand, the King's Statue, Abbotsbury Road, Park Street and surrounding areas such as Bowleaze and Preston.

"Weymouth has got a lot of history," Eddie says.

"I think the time I would like to go back to in Weymouth History was the Edwardian era.

"It's interesting to see how the town has changed from a time before the motor car."

Some of the older images in the book cast the town in a completely different light.

Greenhill Gardens before the First World War are a very different sight, full of hedges and later replaced by tennis courts which remain today.

The gardens were a gift to the town from Sir Frederic Johnstone in 1902 and the public have been allowed access since 1872.

Weymouth's connection with King George III is another fascinating aspect of the town which can be enjoyed through the history of postcards, Eddie said.

The book shows what the statue of the monarch, who popularised the town as a resort, looked like before it was painted for the first time in 1949.

The erection of the plinth and statue caused political division when it was suggested in the early 1800s. At the time the statue dominated what was effectively the entrance to the town.

Eddie said: "I would love to have been around when George III emerged from Gloucester Lodge and waded into the sea.

"I would have loved to have seen the town back in those days when the world seemed to be more carefree."

One area which has seen some interesting changes is the Park District, Eddie says.

Back in 1835 the low-lying area suffered from flooding but reclamation of the land began in 1834.

It was called the Park District because there were plans for an elaborate and fashionable park, but these plans were never realised.

Housing was built when the railway was opened after being built along the line of the embankment wall. The flooding didn't go away completely and the junction of Walpole Street with Ranelagh Road was always prone to flooding.

Eddie said: "I find the Park District particularly interesting. It used to be a backwater and an unpleasant marshland but as the seaside developed they wanted to have a Victorian pleasure park there.

"There were plans to have a promenade along Radipole Park Drive for when the sun moved from the seafront side."

Although Eddie buys fewer postcards these days, he says his fascination remains undimmed and he regularly updates his website weymouthinoldpostcards.co.uk which explores Weymouth through old postcards and photographs.

*Weymouth The Postcard Collection costs £14.99 and is available to buy locally. Visit Eddie's website to order a book.

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