LOCAL HISTOry

By SyLvIA ENdACOTT

In October 1978 and again in March 1979, evenings of ‘Old Films of Bognor’ were shown to packed audiences at the Esplanade Theatre, opposite the royal Norfolk. This was to be my introduction to the history of the town, and the start of my own story of local history. The site originally formed from part of the royal Norfolk Hotel grounds, was sold in 1901 for the sum of £60. The Town Surveyor, Oswald Bridges, was then called upon to design a Bandstand for use by the large number of military bands that travelled around the resorts. By 1913 the venue was very popular and enlarged. The charge for these chairs helped to raise the £500 per year needed to hire the bands.

An enclosure was proposed and approved and finally opened on 19 June 1937 at a cost of £3,666; with 3,000 attending the opening. This bandstand enclosure comprised a horseshoe-shaped wall and was turfed inside, but open to the sky.

In 1945 further improvements were made and in 1946 the area was covered with a canvas roof and renamed the Esplanade Concert Hall. So much use was made of this Concert Hall that by 1951, 720 tip up seats, were added, and when it reopened it became the Esplanade Theatre.

It was finally closed on 10th February 1980, creating much sadness and anger in the town at its demise. The final show at the theatre was reported as ‘an extravaganza.’ By April 1980 the theatre was demolished.

Arun & ChiChester (Air) enthusiAsts so Ciety AirACES www.airaces.org.uk

Patrons – Sqn Ldr richard (dick) Kharegat rAF (retd) – ex vulcan, victor, B52 Pilot wg Cdr robert (Bob) Prothero MrAeS, MIMgt, rAF (retd) – ex victor Pilot Monday 24th April 2023 - 1900 for 1930 hrs

‘Flying for Films – pre Computer-Generated Imagery’ and ‘display Flying before 2015’

Jonathon whaley returns to Air ACES to give two more of his remarkable talks.

The first is ‘Flying for Films - before C-GI’. As a highly experienced display pilot Jonathon has also carried out a considerable amount of film flying. In this talk he will explain how this is done with a view to achieving the desired film sequences. Films he flew for include Indiana Jones, Born to Ride and The Mummy

In the second half of the evening, Jonathon will explain what is involved in becoming a display pilot and the evaluation process required to achieve display Authorisation. He will conclude by telling what constitutes good or bad displays and point out some of the errors that display pilots commonly make.

AirACES is an aviation talk society, providing its members with regular talks, given by experts in many different fields related to the world of aviation. The talks are held at the Chichester Park Hotel, westhampnett road, Chichester 7pm for 7.30 start. Members £5, visitors £7 and under 16s FrEE. doors open at 6.45 no pre-booking, no reserved seating For further information about AirACES, please see www.airaces.org.uk, or call david Batcock on 01243 823007.

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