Postcard of the Month: March 2024

/

Sailing Vessel off Littlehampton

Frank Spry was one of the few postcard publishers who regularly produced work showing vessels under sail, arriving or departing. Sometimes the vessels were heavily laden and low in the water, or on other occasions empty and in ballast riding high out of the water, as shown here. Possibly Frank Spry was aboard ‘Jumna’’ when she provided towage and a pilot in or out of the harbour.

This vessel is not identified by name, although ‘OERNEN’ is written on the back in pencil. The Plimsoll Line can be seen on the ship's side, suggesting she was empty after delivering her cargo to Littlehampton, perhaps with just enough added ballast to maintain stability under sail. The flag shows her to be Danish, possibly from Marstal, where many similar craft were built and operated.

Three crew are visible on deck; one at the helm, the other two preparing the mizzen sail for hoisting. She would have needed every bit of her canvas to keep her under way in the light wind from the west.

The photograph was probably taken in the early 1900s, but more research will be needed to confirm the date and the vessel’s identity. Any further information would be very welcome.

Postcard of the Month: February 2024

/

So many Words!

This relatively unremarkable postcard of Toddington, north of Littlehampton, was sent to Miss Bertha Symes, of Collier's Wood. It contains more than two hundred words, mostly legible, not counting the address!

The card reveals a carefully crafted message on the back, some of it written in a simple code. Maybe the sender, George, sought to discourage anyone other than the recipient from reading the content, or perhaps this was a private game that they played.

Toddington was clearly rural at that time, probably best known for its tea rooms which featured on a number of postcards of the period.

This card, published by White & Son, was posted in Littlehampton on October 15th 1907.

Postcard of the Month: January 2024

/

Worthing Belle leaving Littlehampton

This is a White & Son card, posted in August 1909, and probably photographed a few years earlier. The excellent picture features some good details of the vessel, including the bridge and steering position behind the funnel. She is positioned by the Nelson steps, with the pub of that name showing behind the mast, and is possibly in the process of loading passengers. The signs on the wall of the building show ‘Lambert and Norris, noted Arundel Ales’ as the brewer. The entrance to the building to the left is labelled the ‘Commercial Hotel’.

The Nelson was originally named the Victory Inn in 1840, the name being changed later to the ‘Nelson and Victory’. When the building was rebuilt around the original structure in 1897, it became ‘The Nelson’.

For more pictures and details of the Worthing Belle, see the entry in the Vessels section under Steam Vessels. Her skipper, Capt. James Trenance, can been found in the Characters section.

Postcard of the Month: December 2023

/

Christmas greetings from Pulborough

This view from the Arun shows one of the lime kilns on the left of the photograph. Several of these were situated on the north bank between the river and the backs of properties on Lower Street. A few, in ruins, are still extant but are much overgrown and largely inaccessible. Lime was one of the major cargoes transported by Arun barges and was an important commodity both for farming and industry.

The back of the card back shows Christmas greetings from Hamilton Law to Mr. & Mrs. D.H.J. Hartley. It was posted in Pulborough December 22nd 1907, and redirected from London to Birmingham. Hopefully it arrived in time!

Research reveals that Law and Hartley were contemporaries from 1898 at Clare College Cambridge which may be how they were acquainted.

Hamilton Law (1879 - 1960) declared himself on the census to be a musician, composer, teacher and critic.

David Harvey Johann Hartley (1879 -1955) was a Barrister at Law who had married Kathleen Laura Vyvyan Negus earlier in 1907.

Postcard of the Month: November 2023

/

The paddle steamer visiting the harbour most frequently during this period was the Worthing Belle (featured in the Steam Vessels section of this website), and she seems to have had a similar square black wheelhouse in the same position as in this photograph. However, it was removed at some point and was not as prominent as here. Additionally, the Worthing Belle’s bridge was behind the funnel rather than in front of it, and her funnel was thicker and more upright.

The Worthing Belle

P.S. Princess May?

In this framed photograph, the vessel is departing Littlehampton Harbour sometime before WW1. The printing style suggests it is an early White photograph, probably taken from the top of the lighthouse on the short pier at the entrance. The vessel’s name is not shown and a comparison with many other pictures from my collection has failed to prove her identity.

A picture (not shown here) of P.S. Princess May, visiting Bognor Pier c1901 (found on page 143 of Sussex Beach Trades by Michael Langley [Middleton Press 2010]) shows features corresponding closely to this photograph. Press advertisements of the period record Princess May, operated by the Brighton, Worthing & South Coast Steamboat Co. Ltd., making trips to Worthing and Littlehampton in October 1900 (1/-), and also in July and September 1901. The visit to Bognor Pier would have awaited the installation of suitable piling at the pier head, so would have been after June 1901. This is the basis for my suggested identification.

P.S. Princess May appeared in press reports of an incident at the Naval Review of 1902. On 9th February she was involved in a collision with H.M.Torpedo Boat, Danny, causing damage to the latter vessel which was apparently responsible for the occurrence. The paddle steamer's skipper at the time, Captain James Trenance, was praised by passengers for his skill in minimising the seriousness of the collision by his actions. He was well known to trippers locally for his tenure as skipper of the Worthing Belle between 1901 and 1913. Capt Trenance is featured in the Characters section of this website.

Postcard of the Month : October 2023

/

Edgar Parsons (b.1891) joined HMS Agincourt on 30th May 1916, just a day before the vessel was involved in the battle of Jutland between the British Grand Fleet and the German High Seas Fleet. Although not conclusive, the German fleet never subsequently challenged the British Fleet, so it could be said to be a turning point in the war at sea. It must have been something of a baptism of fire for the wireman!

Built by Armstrongs of Newcastle, HMS Agincourt was an unusual ship. She was originally ordered by Brasil but was sold to Turkey while still under construction. When the First World War broke out in 1914, and it looked as though Turkey would ally with Germany, the British decided to requisition the ship. HMS Agincourt would add to its own fleet, helping to retain the superiority in numbers of Dreadnoughts over the enemy. As the Turkish crew had already arrived to take over the near completed vessel, an understandable diplomatic furore resulted and it has long remained a source of contention.

The story of the ship was told in the book The Big Battleship by Richard Hough, published in 1966. HMS Agincourt was the largest of the breed and had the most big guns, with seven twin turrets of 12 inch bore, each named after the days of the week.

At Jutland she fired these in broadsides and the result was said to be awe-inspiring, if not entirely accurate. In all she fired 144 rounds of 12 inch, and 11 rounds of 6 inch from her secondary battery. It is believed that some hits were spotted, although the visibility was very poor. This was caused by the multitude of funnels gushing black smoke from their massive coal and oil burners, plus deliberate smoke screens compounded by the declining light of late afternoon. Following heavy losses on both sides, the German High Seas Fleet beat a retreat through the night and there were no more such clashes. After the War. HMS Agincourt was relegated to the Reserve fleet in 1919, and scrapped in 1922.

Edgar Parsons survived WW1 and left the Navy, returning to his role as a telephone Inspector.

The River Adur, near Bramber

This is not an Arun Valley postcard but, instead, features the River Adur just to the east. It provides a fascinating story, so I couldn't resist including it on this website. The publisher was Harold H. Camburn of Tunbridge Wells in his Wells Series.

The card was posted in 1917 to Wireman Edgar Parsons, serving on the battleship HMS Agincourt. “Wireman” was a naval rank associated with radio telegraphy which was then a relatively novel addition to the service but already playing an important role in communication between ships. The text refers to Mother and all spending the afternoon on the river, so perhaps they were aboard one of the craft shown in the picture.

Postcard of the Month: September 2023

/

Littlehampton Sunday School

I couldn't resist including this card, if only for the hats alone! Dated 10th July 1912, it shows a Sunday School group in Arundel Park.

A handwritten message on the back, from S.C. Barrett, identifies the date and place, and that this is Littlehampton Sunday School at a congregational gathering in Arundel Park which seems to have been a popular venue for group gatherings. Perhaps they travelled by river but it’s more likely that they went by train, as the group would have been quite large and the railway was a cheaper option.

The photograph is by F.W. Spry, who is perhaps better remembered for his ship photographs. However, this one is a reminder that he was much more versatile.. Large group pictures would have generated a useful income, with sales guaranteed, although it would have involved travel from his base in Surrey Street. The number 3 on the card shows that this is part of a series taken on that day.

Postcard of the Month: August 2023

/

Steam Ship entering Littlehampton

The identity of this vessel is unknown, but the text on the back of the card gives the date as 1st June 2015. On this date, a press report tells us that a wartime ferry service to France was inaugurated. It seems likely that the picture shows the first vessel on this service entering the harbour and, given the date, it’s possible that the name has been obscured for operational reasons. It’s perhaps surprising that, one year into WW1, boats are still available to hire, but this was the reality recorded on many postcards of the period.

The card was published by William Wareham as printed on the back; a well known local photographer and publisher whose activities are described in detail on this website’s Littlehampton section.

Postcard of the Month: July 2023

/

‘Concerned’ at Bury

This was previously in the collection of the late Rendell Williams, author of the Sussex Postcards website. He attributed it to David Dinnage of Amberley, who published a selection of postcards in the early 1900s with scenes from Bury and other adjacent villages.

This card shows two Bury residents who are not named but their ages are given as 95 and 50. The subject of their discussion is unknown; it could be the weather, cost of living, or even politics.

Although the card was unposted (so no definite date is recorded) some genealogical research has suggested possible names as Mrs. Eliza Andrews and Henry Henly. The latter may be identified from other Bury cards. See this website’s Bury section , where a possible link between Eliza Andrews and Henry Henly is established. If this is so, then the ages shown would place the picture in 1906. This would be consistent with David Dinnage as the photographer and publisher.

Postcard of the Month: June 2023

/

The Arun from above Southwoods, looking towards Arundel

This card was posted in Littlehampton on September 1st 1908 and headlined Lansdowne (publisher unknown). Lansdowne was a well known guest house, often identified by senders and shown on postcards.

The card was sent to Miss Margretson, Aldgate, London. The text mentions that "the weather is rather rough and the lifeboat was called out during the night just off Selsea Bill."

Research into press reports revealed that the incident in question was the Paddle Steamer Queen, returning from Brighton to Southampton, which spent the night disabled off the Bill. The Selsey lifeboat was launched to rescue the women and children, and landing them on the beach or at Littlehampton. The remainder of the passengers remained aboard as the vessel was towed back to safety. For the full story of the incident, click here.

One of the Arun trip boats known to carry Lansdowne guests was the May Queen. She is shown here moored to the bank of the Arun with Amberley chalk pits in the distance. At the tiller is Harry Healey her owner, brother of Arthur Healey who operated trip boats in Littlehampton including “Norfolk” (see Vessel Incidents section).

Postcard of the Month: May 2023

/

Burrell Traction Engine Rig at Houghton

This appears to be an amateur photograph printed on a postcard format. It is dated 17/8/35 on the reverse, and the rig identified as owned by James Penfold Ltd. of Arundel, a well known local operator at the time. The Engine is said to be a Burrell 3201 threshing engine of 10 tons, with a single crank compound steam engine, registration BP5919.

The rig is parked opposite the George and Dragon - hot work operating such machines! The building to the right is Houghton House, occupied earlier in the century by Jose Weiss, artist and glider pioneer.

For more on the exploits of Jose Weiss, see the Houghton video, and also the Postcards of the Month for February 2023 and May 2022.

Postcard of the Month: April 2023

/

Zebrina: Mystery becomes Legend.

Although this photograph was not taken locally, Zebrina visited Littlehampton on a number of occasions and is featured in our website. She is seen here unloading with the help of a crane at a jetty in Sheerness, some time before 1906 when the card was posted. The dock workers on the jetty give a good appreciation of the relatively small size of the craft, despite her three masts.

The ship is well known for the mystery of the crew of five’s disappearance in October 1917, when she was found abandoned aground on the French coast with some sails still set. A number of books, and recently websites, have included her story alongside other unexplained maritime events. She has been referred to as the ‘Marie Celeste of WW1’ but some of the recent accounts have called her a ‘Ghost Ship’. Sadly, it was the crew who might be regarded as the ghosts.

As the story evolved, Zebrina became something of a legend. It also seems to have acquired some doubtful claims. For instance, that the crew numbered twenty three (rather than the five who were recorded as being aboard) which suggests that she was a secret ‘Q’ ship for submarine hunting, manned by the Navy. It is also suggested that she fell prey to a German U-Boat which removed the crew, but left her to sail on. These suppositions are not supported by the log book which was still aboard the derelict vessel when found. The most likely explanation is probably given by the author, David Masters, who investigated the case for his book When Ships Go Down, published in 1932. He suggests that the crew were overwhelmed and swept overboard in a storm, leaving the craft to drift ashore.

More details of the fateful voyage can be seen here.

Postcard of the Month: March 2023

/

The Hills at Bury: Basil C. and the Chickens

The card doesn't have a postmark but, based on the catalogue number, probably dates from the 1930s. Press reports identify Mrs. Henley's involvement with hockey and whist in Littlehampton, and Basil may have been referring to the latter in his text where he mentions “having to get back to the chickens". Further evidence of family connections comes in the Littlehampton Hockey Ladies team list from 1930, where both family names appear. Perhaps these are daughter and sister to Mrs. H. and Basil respectively.

An engagement report from 1910 shows Commander Charles Beauclerk Henley of the Royal Indian Marine pairing with Nellie Barbara Stranack, both then living in India. She became the Mrs. Henley on the postcard address.

This card, probably published by Hamiltons of Brighton, is a pleasant but unremarkable view and would seem an unlikely choice for this month. It is the text that provides the story which brings together two family names, familiar from other Bury sources. The addressee, Mrs. Henley could be connected with the local barge operator, while the sender Basil Constanduros’s aunt (his mother’s sister) was Mabel Constanduros, a well known national celebrity, actress and broadcaster who lived in the village. She wrote the introduction to the book ‘All About Bury’ referred to in the Bury video elsewhere on this site.

Postcard of the Month: February 2023

/

Sussex Flying Machine Station, Bury Hill

This card, addressed to a Miss A. Cox, The Shop, Finglesham, Kent, was posted in Southwater in 1908, and was from A.C. who added the ‘Near Madehurst’ on the front. The publisher is not known.

The structure shown was built by Jose Weiss (1859-1919), the well known landscape painter and aviation pioneer who used it to launch his large experimental gliders. Note that it is set on a turntable so that it could be faced into the wind, The gliders would gather speed down the ramp and hopefully lift off. Some of these ended their flights in the River Arun, to be rescued by the locals no doubt for suitable reward. No significant trace of the structure is known to remain. See the Houghton Video for more on his exploits, and also the Postcard of the Month for May 2022.

This card was obtained from the auction of the late Rendell Williams’ fine collection. He was the author of the website ‘Sussex Postcards’, an excellent source of information on the subject.

Postcard of the Month: January 2023

/

Flooded Fields at Houghton Bridge

The back of the card led to some careful detective work in genealogy records to try and identify the persons mentioned. The first clue was from the headline ‘Malt House, Amberley’. Census records show that the residents in the early 1900s were the Dunk family, including a daughter Chloe (born 1894) which is the name of the card's sender.

Eric, mentioned in the text, was one of Chloe’s brothers. Her mother was born Agnes Bendall, so Auntie May was probably Agnes’ sister, Rosa May Bendall. It is likely that Uncle Jack was Rosa’s brother, John Ranson Granville Bendall, a postman. They lived on Brook Farm, Rattlesden, Suffolk, which was the family’s poultry farm.

The date of sending the card is thought to be before 1921, when Chloe Dunk was married and had moved away from Malt House.  

Published by Travers of Brighton, this card shows the winter flooding of the fields on both sides of the river, with the route still visible by the raised banks. The presence of the steam crane on the wharf to the right of the bridge suggests that the picture was taken before 1914. A train is standing at Amberley Station in the foreground. For more on local flooding, see Houghton and Amberley Floods.

Both postcards in this blog were previously in the collection of the late Rendell Williams, author of the Sussex Postcards website.

 

Malt House Cottage

Postcard of the Month: December 2022

/

Bury Ferry

This appears to be an amateur photograph, printed on commercially available blank postcard photographic paper. On the back is written in pencil "1945 Bury ferry". The ferry punt is crossing to the near bank, most likely propelled by Bob Dudden who was the ferry operator from 1927 to 1955.

In the background there are at least five craft on moorings where the Arun barges would have moored in the past. Two of these appear to be houseboats, and accounts of people staying in these craft at various times do occur during this period. The building raised on stilts to protect it from flooding also seems to be designed for occupation, possibly for holidays.

For more information on Bury, its ferry and surroundings, please click here.

Postcard of the Month: November 2022

/

The Alice V. Goodhue at Arundel

This card was posted in London, 9.15am, May 27th, 1904, just two days after a press report noted her arrival in Littlehampton on 25th May. Assuming the photographer needed some time to develop and print the card, perhaps he took the picture the day before and then travelled back to London almost immediately, presumably by train. Alternatively, he may have taken the picture on a previous visit.

Posted to “Dear Kate”, Miss H. Felton, 96 Cazenove Rd., Stoke Newington, the text on the back says it is Dick's first attempt at postcards. The sender and picture taker was Richard (Dick) Henry James Hughes of Islington, London. He was variously recorded in the census as a ‘Photographic Apparatus Maker and Camera Maker’. As he writes that this was his “first attempt at a postcard”, he was presumably using equipment he might have made himself.

Kate and Dick were married on 5th August 1905.

This is the only picture that I have seen of this craft. A press report notes her arrival in Littlehampton on 25th May 1904. She did not appear to leave again before her sale in 1907.

The moorings by which she is attached are chains which might be standard for here, given the powerful tidal flows in the river. It also suggests that they are designed for a long period of residence.

As the Alice V. Goodhue arrived from South Shields, the cargo would have been coal which would have taken a while to off-load, probably into Arun barges for onward shipment. Judging by the waterline she was still loaded at the time of the photograph, possibly not with a full cargo.

Postcard of the Month: October 2022

/

Happy 100th Birthday to the A29!

This card shows the signpost at the crossing of village roads with the main north-south route, the A29. The road number, in common with all the other main routes in the country, was only allocated in 1922 by Act of Parliament. The number was clearly added to the signpost arms later than the original destinations, presumably sometime after 1922.

The card was posted in 1933, but would have been photographed before that date. Based on its title and number, the publisher was probably Hamiltons. It was posted in Bury to Miss E.G. Long, 74 Palace Road, London SW.2.

Postcard of the Month: September 2022

/

Houghton Bridge Inn

This card of the inn with soldiers in front was sent to Miss W. Marchant in Brighton. The text ("Dear W, from AJ”) mentions the possibility of meeting. It was posted in Brighton on 21 May 1915 and the publisher is unknown.

The identity of the soldiers has not been established but it may be a group in training on the South Downs prior to WW1. The date of the photograph could be from 1913, as the proprietor is George A. Ford who started that year.

We can see that there is no door on the left of the building which is consistent with this date. Please click here for more information about Houghton and the Inn.

Object of the Month: August 2022

/

Old Timber Slice

A fairly nondescript piece of wood - or is it?

This was collected by Eric Benham of Littlehampton some years ago when it was presented as being from the timbers of the Littlehampton floating bridge, otherwise known as the Old Ferry. It’s not known if it came from the first ferry of 1824 or the second of 1874, which although a steel hull also had timber components.

The rectangular slice is 31cm by 33cm and varies between 7cm to 9cm deep, so was possibly cut from a foot square beam. One corner is rounded which suggests a bottom edge timber, and it could have been from either vessel. There remains some marine fouling on one side with evidence of barnacles and a possible water line. This indicates a floating craft of some description, adding support for the ferry claim.

The cross section (probably Pine from the Baltic) clearly shows the annual growth rings and at least 170 years are identifiable. If the section is from the first ferry, the rings give a planting date of around 1650, if from the second it would have been around 1700. In any event, this is clearly a piece of wood with history!

For more on the craft themselves, please see The Old Ferry in the Littlehampton section of Locations.