By Peter Grimes, Aldeburgh Correspondent

The well-heeled people of Aldeburgh enjoyed some seaside activities as the sun made Bank Holiday a roaring success.

Locals dispensed with their usual reserve to dip their toes into the water.

Ladies used new-fangled bathing machines designed to protect their modesty as they put on swimming attire and descended into the waves out of sight.

The general scene was a delight, and this newspaper can report the Aldeburgh merchants did a fine trade in delicious fondant fancies, made by local baker Lorraine Fisher, 34, and ginger beer.

Children from the orphanage in Leiston, which is sufficiently far away from Aldeburgh so that residents don’t usually need to see them, also enjoyed a special annual outing on Aldeburgh beach.

The little urchins are pictured above after agreeing to stand still for 45 seconds while the Suffolk Gazette Aldeburgh photographer, Reginald Britten took the image on his new Box Camera.

Meanwhile, in Lowestoft, just a few miles up the Suffolk coast, there were distinctly different Bank Holiday scenes.

This is where common people, the type who work in the factories or in the fields, go for their leisure time.

Our image below, taken by our colleagues at the Lowestoft Post and Times, and with colour added from a new printing press technique, shows many working-class folk enjoying a day off from their usual toil. The open air will do wonders for their sores and complaints.

Aldeburgh Mayor Steve Walshe, 43, said: “The town was alive with activity yesterday. Everyone managed to protect their modesty and no adult skin was displayed.”

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