1900s

1931 8th May saw the last ever Lowestoft tram service, driven by the oldest driver who had been with the service since 1903. In almost 28 years the trams had carried around 80 million passengers, and driven about 8 million miles.

1930 The Corporation saw the spark was failing, and decided to abandon the tram system

Lowestoft’s worst raid of world war II 80 years ago today on 23 January 1942, while convoys of lorries were still trucking the wreckage and rubble from the scene of devastation that became known as "The Waller's raid" in London Road North, Lowestoft, another deadly raid occurred. An alert had been sounded at 8.41 am, probably caused by German bombers seeking a convoy in the North Sea. Barely a minute had elapsed after the warning when a lone bomber, variously identified as as a Do 217 or Ju 88 emerged from the snow clouds overhead and dived towards the railway station from the NE.

The 620 ft (189 metres) Zeppelin L5, captained by Alois Boecker, was heard near Dunwich on the night of 15 to 16 April.

It dropped its bombs on Suffolk including at Henham Hall and the railway station at Southwold, before attacking Lowestoft at 01:15 BST.

Houses in Denmark Road were hit, and what we know, perhaps, as the Menzies building by the signal box in Denmark Road, was also damaged. This building was stables for GER. 

Coastal erosion (South beach, Lowestoft) 1906-2023 approx 200m!   Measuring from the current cliff-top edge to the east of All Saints Church (as was) to the low-water mark on a OS 25-inch map, revised in 1903 and published in 1905.   The lines in red are the old roads and buildings. 

See also Dave Burt FB

Thanks to Marion Hayes for an excellent photo from early 1900’s showing building work on the Town Hall. We had been struggling to find ANY front on old images for this historic building. Now it is pride of place on our stroll 

extract from Lowestoft Journal - Saturday 04 October 1913