ONE reader, Esmee Nicholls, from Littlemoor, Weymouth, has kindly shared with us a selection of photographs from her childhood.
Esmee's grandfather, Bernard Reeves, lived on Portland and would often help with odd jobs around the island. He is pictured here assisting a diver at Chesil Beach.
Esmee's father, Frank Reeves, worked on the railway quay during the Second World War. He would mark up the goods, mainly potatoes and tomatoes, which were brought in from the Channel Islands and unloaded at the quay. The ship pictured is St Patrick, a well-known vessel that would deposit fruit and vegetables in the town. The items would then be transported along the railway on Commercial Road to Weymouth Station, before being sent to various places in England.
In the mornings, dockers would line up to see if there would be any work available for them. Esmee recalls her father working odd hours and taking flasks of soup down to him at the quay, making sure he had something hot to eat.
Broken containers of potatoes were often shared amongst the workers, and after several years Esmee remembers growing fed up of Jersey Royals!
In 1953, a Coronation street party was held at Pye Hill in Weymouth; dozens of local children can be seen celebrating the crowning of Queen Elizabeth II.
Thank you Esmee for sharing these wonderful pictures.
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