Sun-seekers swelter on a distant summer's day

A SUN-DRENCHED summer's day in the 1950s and thousands of day trippers and holidaymakers were packed on to the beach at Tynemouth Longsands.

- DAVID MORTON

This was the rock 'n' roll decade, one in which people were determined to enjoy themselves and put behind the miseries of WWII and the subsequent hardships which soon followed the elation of victory.

As the '50s progressed, Britain finally found itself on the mend. The wheels of industry were turning, work was plentiful, the shops were increasingly well-stocked after years of rationing, and living standards for most families were on the rise.

Folk wanted to have fun and make the most of their leisure time. Attendances at football matches, local cinemas and dance halls rocketed, while the summer months saw families, if they were able to, take trips to the seaside.

Tynemouth railway station had opened in 1882, and from late Victorian times onwards, day trippers would flock from industrial Tyneside to the coast.