THESE waterside memories form part of a huge collection of photographs by a North Essex enthusiast.

Alf Jefferies left thousands of images to his daughter Lynn after he died and she has painstakingly sorted through them and uploaded them to the internet.

Among those receiving a huge amount of attention include rare images of two minesweeper war ships built at the famous Wivenhoe ship yards in their heyday.

Lynne says Alf was on the water when he got the photographs while there was an official photographer on a boat just to the left of his shot.

“The only other photos from this day that I found on the internet are owned by the people who designed the ships, probably taken by the official photographer on the boat, so these ones of dads are really rare.”

The shipbuilders of Wivenhoe tended not to build warships in times of peace, as they were fulfilling the needs of yachtsmen, fishermen and commerce. But during the Cold War Wivenhoe Shipyards Ltd built three coastal minesweepers for the Royal Navy. These were ordered at a time when East-West tension was at its height, the Korean War had just broken out and the Soviet threat seemed to loom very large.

These ships performed many useful roles in the Navy, and also served as Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve training ships. The ships were all named after English villages ending in “ton”.

The Wivenhoe built trio were Calton M1118 Carhampton M1119, Wiston M1205, the last of which was not pictured by Alf.

As well as capturing major events as much as he could, Alf also had his camera on him to capture everyday moments, including vintage shots of children and families fishing and crabbing at Mersea island.

Lynne says she thinks her dad often randomly took photographs when he was out and about, as well as being at major events.

“I don’t know the people in the picture but he was always getting pictures that captured the moment.

“The shop in the background, if you zoom in, it still open I think, called Fleet Stores,” she adds.

Alf took thousands of pictures during his lifetime which Lynn has uploaded for people to enjoy online.

She has been overwhelmed by the response from people with the photographs viewed across the world, hundreds of times.

“It took me a long while to sort through them but I think he would be so pleased so many people are getting to see them now,” she adds.

  •  Do you recognise yourself in the images or do you have any photographs you would like to share in our Memories section of days gone by? Call us on 01206 508186.