In this post I will share some memories sent to me via email, by Gordon – I don’t often get submissions about Gala Land, so this is a real treat!
If you would like to share your Scarborough memories, please get in touch – I am trying to build up as much information about the attractions and histories as I can, so that this information is not lost.
Over to Gordon, who tells us what Gala Land was like:
“I visited the site many times in the 1940s, during day visits to Scarborough with my parents. It was reserved for when the sun stopped shining and it started to rain. The entrance was a little scary as it looked like caves with water dripping down rocky structures covered in ferns. There was the usual slides and seesaws, and such activities, but the side shows and slot machines were the most interesting.
There was a man who guessed your weight, and if he got it wrong, he gave you your money back. On another stall you had to sink a nail into a block of wood with six hammer blows, very few people got their money back as the nail would bend.
My favourite slot machines were a fireman going up a ladder on a burning building to rescue a baby, and bring it back safely down the ladder. One was called a ‘Murders Dream’ but I can not remember what happened. Then there was a polython ? machine that played a large disc. My favourite tune was ‘Good bye Dolly I must leave You’ (from WW1 I think).
Our family lived in Pickering, and there was an old lady called Madame Niomi Bell, who lived at Ness House, Eastgate, Pickering. She had worked as an opera singer, and in later years sang at the Gala Land. She had a large shed in her garden which became a Band Room for Pickering Town Band, and she became the conductor.
After Gala Land closed the owner of the slot machines loaned some of them to Beck Isle Museum for a few years in its early days (it opened in 1967). People would enjoy getting change in order to make them work.“
And some memories of the South Bay Pool:
“The only other thing that I visited in the town was the Open Air Swimming Pool, along with friends in the 1950s, (but only on a hot summers day). People had to que up for entry, and they had a chalk board outside with the water temperature written on it. I am sure that it was always warmer on the board than in the water. Once in, you endured the cold for as long as possible, then we moved out of the water to lay on a flat concrete roof to dry out and warm up. After getting changed, there was a old cast iron mangle with wooden rollers. It was for visitor’s to use in order to remove water from swimming costumes. (before the days of Health and Safety).I wonder if there were any claims for squashed fingers.”
Many thanks to Gordon for providing all of these details, and helping to preserve the history of these lost attractions.
Stories From Scarborough 