The Old Git Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 I was with his brother and a friend overlooking the place on Strathallan Road. I was there as well. We'd decided not to go to Summerland that evening and went to the stock cars at Onchan Park instead. We saw the smoke from the fire and went to investigate. Must have been standing quite close to you that evening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Power Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 I was with his brother and a friend overlooking the place on Strathallan Road. I was there as well. We'd decided not to go to Summerland that evening and went to the stock cars at Onchan Park instead. We saw the smoke from the fire and went to investigate. Must have been standing quite close to you that evening. My my, you've changed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Old Git Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 I think it's the hair........ and possibly the waistline Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BETTYBOO68 Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 I bought a 1973 Summerland brochure a couple of years ago on ebay. http://www.manxforums.com/forums/index.php...c=15916&hl= Some interesting pics (and adverts!) wow pollster those pics were grt to see, summerland was definately futuristic looking from those pics, never really seen a brochure on summerland till u put the pics on, thanks for that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BETTYBOO68 Posted January 31, 2009 Share Posted January 31, 2009 It is slightly off topic but if there is anybody interested, I found a 'transcript' (if its what you call it?) for the story about Summerland being built, what it looked like inside, the fire, and aftermath of the fire. It is really interesting, but of course very sad. I do hope he finds a publisher as it seems an almost forgotten thing. I had never heard of the fire until a few years ago and I know a lot of people hadn't heard about it who I know on the Isle of Man. http://www.gees.bham.ac.uk/staff/phillipsid.shtml that is definately interesting reading, i do hope he gets it publish, in 20 years living here i onlyy ever heard of the summerland fire mentioned a handful of times and usually it was in the papers when it came to the anniversary, only other time i heard it mentioned was when the hotelier i worked for said her mum worked in the shop there. it was very sad reading as i didnt realise how many kids and whole families had persished... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gladys Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 I used to work at summerland as a kid in 1972, the year before the fire, on the rollerskates and ghost train. It was a truly magical place run by Trust House Forte, with all sorts going on during the day and night. Some holidaymakers seemed to spend most of their time there! They had bars, restaurants, shows, the Cave Disco with Johhny Silver, a Dutch DJ and mad as a hatter. There seemed to be an army of staff and managers and I remember I was paid 0.22p per hour! I remember the fire as though it were yesterday. it's frightening to think how quickly it took hold and how fiercely it burned. I lost several friends in it. One was pulled out alive at 10am the following day. He had hidden under a sink and left the taps running. I was with his brother and a friend overlooking the place on Strathallan Road. My friend lost his parents in the fire. The whole thing seemed to be well organised by the emergency services, taxi's were being used as ambulances. People were queueing to give blood at the St Johns HQ. Everyone wanted to help. I remember the days following it all, the town was so deeply in shock. They seemed to be finding bodies for days and storing them in what is now Bar George. Happy days. The whole country was in shock, as I remember. I also remember the story of the people who survived by sitting under a sink with the taps running; that was one of those hope from disaster stories. So glad it really was true. I will also never forget the picture of the man on the stairs next to the sea wall being dowsed with water by the fire brigade in the hopes he would survive. He didn't. It was truly an awful event, made worse because the people in there were relaxing and enjoying their holiday. We had been to the Crescent cinema to watch some James Bond film for my father's birthday. When the film had finished we went out onto the prom and the first thing we saw was the commotion on the prom, then a pall of black smoke across the bay. We then looked towards Onchan Head and saw Summerland glowing like a red brick. I shouted to the fire engines 'You're too late', only to be severely hushed by my parents. The days that followed were bleak; the phone system was sporadic, and more and more stories were surfacing about locked emergency exit doors on every level, people beating on the windows between Summerland and the Aquadrome to get out. That is not to mention the calls for blood donation. And that defining picture, in my mind, of the person on the stairs who was given every assistance by the fire brigade, but they, and we, might well have been a million miles from him, because all we could do was watch a person die - nobody could comfort him in his passing, nobody could give him false hope that he would be rescued, because it could not happen, he just had to, and would, die. Proper horror was the fire at Summerland, I am just so very sorry that it seems to have passed into oblivion so quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La_Dolce_Vita Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 And that defining picture, in my mind, of the person on the stairs who was given every assistance by the fire brigade, but they, and we, might well have been a million miles from him, because all we could do was watch a person die - nobody could comfort him in his passing, nobody could give him false hope that he would be rescued, because it could not happen, he just had to, and would, die. Proper horror was the fire at Summerland, I am just so very sorry that it seems to have passed into oblivion so quickly. Do you mean the photo of a silhouetted body on the stairs? Sorry to ask, don't know what you mean. I can understand why something as tragic like this is not spoken of much, but it does seem sad how little people are aware of it. I used to go to Summerland loads, but never was I never told about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cassettiespagetie Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 I founnd this photo - http://books.google.com/books?id=6htxtHDr0...6&ct=result - of the building itself. My god, it looks HUGE compaired to the one that was knocked down a couple of years ago. I also saw this photos that might be of interest- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keyboarder Posted February 1, 2009 Share Posted February 1, 2009 Oh those lazy, hazy, crazy days of Surmmer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deejay Denzel Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 As a child I never knew about the fire but since hearing about it as a teenager I was very interested in it all. It is a massive piece of history, one that a lot of people would rather forget but to others.. one of an understanding of what actually happened and how it changed the Island. Myself and James Turpin set up a website with some pictures we took as it was in the process of getting demolished, along with some other photo's that were sent to us http://www.summerlandstory.info/. if anyone has any they would like to let us use, let me know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimcalagon Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I was seven when the Summerland fire happened and remember it being reported extensively on the news. In august 1979 my parents brought us on holiday to the Island and we spent an evening in Summerland - an eerie sort of evening as I remembered the stories of people burning to death there. I seem to remember looking down into a roller rink - ?? - and thinking that I wouldn't like to be trapped there if there was a fire. We spent most of our time in the arcade there while the parents watched some 'End of the pier'-stylee entertainers on stage. The next time I visited Summerland was in June 2001 and, apart from the arcade having been replaced by 'Manxland' the place looked exactly the same as in 1979. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cassettiespagetie Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 As a child I never knew about the fire but since hearing about it as a teenager I was very interested in it all.It is a massive piece of history, one that a lot of people would rather forget but to others.. one of an understanding of what actually happened and how it changed the Island. Myself and James Turpin set up a website with some pictures we took as it was in the process of getting demolished, along with some other photo's that were sent to us http://www.summerlandstory.info/. if anyone has any they would like to let us use, let me know! Wow! Looking at those photos brings back allot of memories. I am kicking myself for not taking one of the exterior signs or part of the building before it was torn down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La_Dolce_Vita Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 What was that area at the back of the 'solarium' (after the fire) which is next to the stairs to the toilets and the entrance to the cinema, was it a cafe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Albert Tatlock Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I remember it well, and the whole skyline glowing over Onchan head. It was an accident pure and simple as far as I am concerned, with a couple of kids involved (and it could have been any couple of kids at the time). Had we had the safety equipment, detectors, regulations, and know what we know, today, the outcome could have been wholly different. Unfortunately it seems to take accidents for humans to learn anything, and force additional costs on developers to install precautionary equipment - it has always been that way, and alas with money involved, will always be that way. I am aware of the two lads alleged to have been involved in the accident, one has been racked with guilt and 'what if' ever since, the other was the same and committed suicide only a few years ago, after years of trying to come to terms with it. From iomfire.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Power Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 My god that video clip brought it all back! My blood ran cold there for a minute. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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