Remember the glory days?

To stop the slideshow at any time, click the button on the bottom right, click again to restart.

A very sad reminder

The images in this very interesting slideshow were photographed by Derek Kingham, who has kindly allowed us to show them here.

For those who remember the glory days of the West Pier, these photograhs are a very sad reminder of past times.

Do you remember?

Can you share any of your memories of the West Pier? If you can, please post a comment below.

 

Comments about this page

  • Absolutely sad and disgusting. One of my beloved childhood playgrounds. I wonder what the real truth is behind the destruction of the pier, which should have been an asset in the right hands.

    By Mick Peirson (14/04/2015)
  • ‘The end of the pier show’

    By Stefan Bremner-Morris (14/04/2015)
  • Sadly I lost my husband of many years just a couple of months ago. We met in 1966 (aged 17 and are both Brightonians  although we have lived in Australia for many years.) Just a couple of days before he passed away, he received a letter from one of his mates from Brighton, which bought back memories of him and me, 1966 driving down the slope just in front of the West Pier, long surf board on top of our old Anglia car, wet suit in the back, and seeing about half a dozen cars there, with their owners already in the water trying to stand up on the shore break, which I think was created by the pylons.   It was usually winter, and I sat in the cold car, waiting for him to return for what seemed like hours. He had the most fantastic time, and even though it was cold, and the surf not perfect, it was a time that he relayed to us all around his bedside just a day or so before he died, and as it was his last long story about his life in Brighton, it is one we will treasure for ever.  Even though he surfed many of Australia’s beautiful beaches, with perfect warm water, and perfect waves, this was the event that stayed in his memory  I am so grateful that Eddie’s letter arrived when it did, otherwise he may not have remembered it. I certainly do, and waiting in that cold car for my 17 year old boyfriend to come out of the water, must have been real love as that relationship lasted for nearly 50 years.  

    By Sandra Foster (15/04/2015)
  • Hi Sandra, sorry to hear of your sad loss but it also jolted my memory as I rapidly approach sixty. I also surfed the West Pier starting around 1974 so I’m not sure if you had headed down under at that point. I spent many a happy hour sitting at the end of the pier with my friends hoping for the wave of the week. It was usually winter and blowing a SW gale. I too left Brighton in the 1980s for the West Country for better waves but the sessions and waves I best remember are those of the 1970s at the good old West Pier. Best wishes from an old Brighton surfer

    By Martin Scrace (16/04/2015)
  • I loved that pier, an absolute jewel..lost forever.  I’ll always remember it is the more fascinating and ornate pier of the two.

    By David Scott (17/04/2015)

Add a comment about this page

Your email address will not be published.