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There are a number of converted railway carriages at Dawlish Warren, Devon. I believe but may be wrong ,they are holiday homes for railway employees. ( I'll have a look and see if I can find the name of the site).

I've no doubt there are plenty converted coaches scattered about this fair land.

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On the last day of our jollies Mrs Red always decides to dump the suntan lotion, think it’s time I fetched her in     

My one and only "package holiday" was back in the 50's when I went with my parents to Paris. There was no East Midlands Airport in those days. The holiday company was "Skyways". We had to make our own

First holiday abroad was in 1982 after an insurance policy matured. We had 2 weeks in Calas de Mallorca at a cost of £600 for my wife, myself and 2 kids, one child half price and the other one free. T

@radfordred  I can’t remember having a toy monkey - the nearest thing I can think of is a black teddy (called Fluffy)  I used to have.  Maybe it’s him!   But why would my dad hold him up to the window I wonder...

We did have a little black dog who might have been picked up to look out of the window for the photo

One of life’s many  little mysteries, I guess...

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Margie, it looks as though there is a youngsters face against the lower part of the window on th far left side. Could it be a young boy?

Also, can you remember what car it was in front of the coach?

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@BeekayNo idea if it's a young boy in the photo... My  brother would have been about 12 at the time and he had very dark hair.  He's in the back of the car in the next photo.

i seem to remember the car was a Standard 12?  I know nothing about cars so this may well  be completely wrong!

IMG-1086.jpg

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MargieH it is a Standard 12 or14 they were made beween 1945 and 1948. I think the only difference is the engine size. If i remember right the motif on top of the grill had a union jack on each side.

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The tail end of that car is definitely not the same as the car in your second picture. Is that you sat next to your dad?

I could have been wrong in my assumption of a face at the window. Tried to enlarge it but it just blurs.

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@BeekayMust have been a different year when the 2 photos were taken or maybe the first photo wasn't our car .... we did have visits from relatives sometimes.

and yes, it is little me sitting in the front of the car with my dad

 

@IAN FINN  Thankyou for clarifying the make of the car.  Don't know why I can remember things like that, especially as I have no  interest in cars!!!

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@MargieH  that would explain it then. Any road ! nice to talk to you. I know bugger all about cars so thanks Ian for identifying the car.

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5 hours ago, Beekay said:

There are a number of converted railway carriages at Dawlish Warren, Devon. I believe but may be wrong ,they are holiday homes for railway employees. ( I'll have a look and see if I can find the name of the site).

I've no doubt there are plenty converted coaches scattered about this fair land.

Had a look on Mr Google maps and the railway carriages are at Brunel Holiday Park. They have four coaches.

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7 hours ago, MargieH said:

What does. 'Flying' mean?

 

Also tries to give the impression that it was fast and sleek (for its day) - hence the sloping rear profile.

 

The names given to car models in those days can seem funny or quaint now. Austin were particularly bad/good at it. There was an Austin Heavy and an Austin Chummy.

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CT., Do you reckon the lad has got his right arm out of the window, leaning all casual like? ( See above right).

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I think the 'monkey' is my little dog Scamp' being hoisted up so he could see out of the window

 

@Beekay  I looked at the carriages at Dawlish that you mentioned ... I expect they are very modern inside with proper plumbing and electricity.  They don't look like the original windows that I remember, but they were quite unwieldy with the leather strap and I wasn't allowed to open them as they were heavy and dropped down too easily

Our's had no electricity, the loo was in a little shed outside and the water was fetched from a tap in the field. I expect the lights and cooking were by Calor Gas .... can't remember ( well it was 1954 when we stopped going there)  Dad decided to take us for a holiday to Wales instead - nice but VERY different.  

I sometimes go back to see where it was but our field is now incorporated into a site with posh caravans in.  I can still go back in time when I stand outside the site, though, as the heavy scent of the privet flowers on the hedge opposite is still the same!  

 

 

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Those windows with the leather straps were the norm for railway carriages of the steam age and for a long while after. They can still be found on Steam preservation societies. That's where Nostalgia comes into it's own.

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I too holidayed at Chapel Point in the 40’s. My uncle’s father owned a chunk of land immediately behind the steep sandhills and had built three bungalows in the field some distance from the road. Also in the field was an old green wooden caravan with giant cartwheels. Being the poor relations that’s where we stayed. There was the usual Elsan toilet outside. As a kid it was a great adventure for for me to stay in this primitive caravan. I went to look recently and the bungalows now front onto the main road and the caravan is no more. 
I’ve just checked on Google Earth and they are the last three bungalows before you  reach the Point car park - no longer in splendid isolation and much modified from the original simple structure.

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I don't think I could have seen you there, Phil, as I would have recognised you from school and (possibly) said hello.

The thing I didn't like about Chapel Point was the deep drain that eventually went through big covered pipes on to the beach and thence into the sea.

When we stayed at Chapel, my mum and I and the dog used to get up very early in the morning, climb over the dunes and walk along the beach to Chapel Point where there was a shelter that looked out over the sea. We used to just sit in there and watch the sun rise up from the horizon... beautiful memories

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Freddie Laker    Air Lines

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