Village resident's book tells the story of Surfleet in the 1950s

Did you know that Surfleet village once had its own 'swimming pool', the Riverside pub on the A16 used to be the site of a hotel called 'The Great Northern', and the railway used to run through the village.

These are just a few of the interesting facts published in a new book written by village resident Tony Blissett.

The book, called 'An Account of Surfleet in the 1950s', began as a series of ideas and notes, that Tony (70) put together following his connections with the U3A (the University of the Third Age).

"I have been making notes over the years about things that I have remembered and I have kind of thought it would be a good idea to put these notes together," he said.

"Within the U3A, I run an art group and jointly run a history group."

It was through talking to other members of the group that the idea to create a book became a reality.

The book is compiled of both Tony's own personal memories and those of others who knew the village, or lived there.

"I was brought up in Surfleet and worked in London for 10 years, before coming back," he added. "Surfleet has changed incredibly since the '50s. You used to be able to walk from the church right down to the reservoir and there were less than a dozen houses.

"The book is about the people, characters and how the lifestyle of the village has changed; the kind of work people did and the effect the railway had on the village."

Work was quite rural and people used to take vegetables from the land to the markets in London.

"Today, you talk about people coming over from Portugal and Lithuania to work, but it was no different then; the Irish would come over during potato season.

"The swimming pool was actually a pit, into which they put concrete and let the water flood in from the river. A lot of people learnt to swim there."

• The book is available at £5, from Surfleet post office, the Ship pub in the village, the Surfleet Cafe on Gosberton Road, or from Tony himself on 01775 680588.

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