Pictures of Blackpool taken in the good old days

They feature in a new book, called Blackpool Memories, published by True North Books.

True North Books, based in Halifax, West Yorkshire, is a nostalgia book publishing company, with a range of lavishly-illustrated books, calendars and other mechandise – featuring images of bygone eras in towns and cities across the UK.

Its Blackpool book captures the resort’s rich seaside heritage – the town renowned for its proms and piers, lights and laughter, its sands and shows in yesteryear.

The Blackpool Memories book aims to provide nostalgia everyone can identify with, and the stunning, rarely-seen pictures help to transport the reader back to the days when they were young.

For the younger reader, it can take them back to when their great-grandpa was a child.

Children indeed feature in many of the black-and-white photos.

One of the pictures included here shows youngsters jumping from a boat trailer at the water’s edge, with people paddling – and Blackpool Tower in the background.

Another shows children with Blackpool Salvation Army on the beach. The stiffly-dressed characters appear to be singing All Things Bright and Beautiful with the children, as they have a board displaying the hymn’s lyrics. Throngs of families can be seen lining the sands in the background, relaxing and making the most of the Blackpool beach.

Another of the photos captures Blackpool’s long association with beauty pageants. It shows the Miss Blackpool 1959 contest, including one of the judges, Edmund Hockeridge.

The book also features some images from the Nigel Temple postcard collection.

A striking general view of South Shore shows the rockery gardens, with the Tower just visible in the distance.

And Blackpool in Victorian times can be seen in another picture,

One of the photos really captures the essence of the resort in its heyday, in the 1950s, a slim young woman can be seen wearing a knitted, two-piece bikini – very modest by today’s standards. Many of the men on the packed-out sands are dressed in full suits and jumpers! Most of the women wear cotton dresses, some with knotted hankies and some with sunglasses.

A spokesman for True North Books said: “This Blackpool Memories book will help you understand the Blackpool you know, that has changed so much and so little at the same time – while giving you hours of enjoyment as you browse through the glossy pages and melt in the warm and comfortable glow of Blackpool nostalgia.”

• For a copy of the book or to find out more, visit www.truenorthbooks.com or call 01422 244555.