LIFE`S A BEACH...
This was the scene in recent days as crowds flocked to the beaches on England`s south coast. Images like this are enough to persuade me that it really isn`t worth the effort and that in truth I really don`t want to be there anyway. But photos of beaches like this - and there are many, many more depicting the mayhem on beaches around the country - at least brought back memories of the very first time I ever saw the sea.
It was back in the end game of World War 2. My mother and I had spent most of the war living with relatives in the village of Blackfield close to Southampton Water whilst my father was holed up in a German Prisoner of War camp. Even after well over 70 years I still have vivid memories of those days and indeed those nights when hearing the nightly air raids on Southampton and the surrounding area. I remember the build up to D-Day when a seemingly endless procession of American trucks headed through the village on their way to Lepe beach - about two or three miles down the road - where the mulberry harbours were being constructed prior to the D-Day landings.
But when things quietened down a bit, one day my mother and another family decided it was safe to walk down to Lepe beach. It was quite a walk and I remember passing a bomb crater - a frequent calling card left by German bombers heading back after giving Southampton docks a pasting - but most of all I remember my first ever view of the sea down at Lepe. I looked along the shoreline towards Calshot one way and Inchmery the other way and looked across to the Isle of Wight. It was for me - and still is - an inspiring view. Here`s what it looks like these days:-
It was back in the end game of World War 2. My mother and I had spent most of the war living with relatives in the village of Blackfield close to Southampton Water whilst my father was holed up in a German Prisoner of War camp. Even after well over 70 years I still have vivid memories of those days and indeed those nights when hearing the nightly air raids on Southampton and the surrounding area. I remember the build up to D-Day when a seemingly endless procession of American trucks headed through the village on their way to Lepe beach - about two or three miles down the road - where the mulberry harbours were being constructed prior to the D-Day landings.
But when things quietened down a bit, one day my mother and another family decided it was safe to walk down to Lepe beach. It was quite a walk and I remember passing a bomb crater - a frequent calling card left by German bombers heading back after giving Southampton docks a pasting - but most of all I remember my first ever view of the sea down at Lepe. I looked along the shoreline towards Calshot one way and Inchmery the other way and looked across to the Isle of Wight. It was for me - and still is - an inspiring view. Here`s what it looks like these days:-
It may not be the most spectacular beach but I have been back a few times over the years and despite its `development` as a country park it still holds a special magic for me from all those years ago. I really must get back there before it`s too late.......
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