Thanks to Alan Wolsey for getting in touch and sharing his memories of the terrible fire that destroyed the Ritz theatre back in April 1954.

Alan has quite the vivid memory of the blaze, which occurred when he was just five-years-old.

Alan said: "I was 5 years and 8 months old at the time, living at 6 Hardwick Street.

"Tuesday, April 13 will always live in my memory, as the day Weymouth caught fire!

"Back in those days nobody around the area where I lived had a car.

"We did have the use of my grandfather's (Pop's) car which was always parked in Drakes Fruit Merchants in Gloucester Mews, just a few minutes away.

"Hence even at my age mum and dad had no worries about me going up onto the 'front' to play.

"It was so quiet on the roads at that time of year before Easter. There was, literally, nobody about.

"At the top of Astrid Way there is a post box which I used to run around

"It was at that time in mid-morning I notice smoke coming from down the end of the Esplanade, followed by flames. I got frightened and ran back towards home shouting “Weymouth's on fire!! over and over

"There were only a few children living in this area....Derek John Smith, Robin Carey and his sister, Babette Inkpen, Alan Chalenor, Chris and Christine White and not forgetting John (Sooty) Stockley

"They must have all been somewhere else. What I remember is, the neighbours came running out saying “What are you on about young Wolsey?”

"I will never forget getting home, mum was in her “pinnie and head scarf” scrubbing the front step, worried that her son had gone “Dolally”

"The next thing the bell goes off in our hall, dad come`s rushing down the stairs, jumps on his push bike and he's gone!

"He was a fireman and one of the drivers/operators of the turntable ladder. We didn’t see him for days!!

"One famous photo taken by Cummings local photographers shows the turntable ladder at its full height with smoke billowing around it.

"If you look carefully you can pick out the fireman at the top hosing the water.

"It's not dad. It was “Sailor” Wills...Look carefully again at the bottom and see the fireman operating it. That’s Roy Wolsey

"The story goes that “Sailor” had enough smoke for the day so he came down

and swapped over with dad

"Rules and regulations on this occasion must have 'gone up in smoke'. I was hoping that on the 50th anniversary of the fire (2004)

"Dad could have had his picture taken on a turntable ladder in remembrance of the event, but sadly he passed away the previous December.

"That's my story of the events from that sad day for Weymouth. Had the painter not left his blow lamp simmering against the timber, would the Ritz still be here?"

Thanks to Alan for sharing this

Although we don't have the picture Alan has referred to printed here, because the Ritz was such a magnificent building and such a loss for Weymouth, we bring you some extra photos of it in its full glory here.