'Slum by the sea' beach holiday loved by Mancunians where people lived in rusty old buses
26.06.2023 - 06:15
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A beach holiday destination just a short journey from Manchester was once dubbed a "shanty town" with families living in the rusting skeletons of buses and trains.
Also described in one newspaper as the "slum by the sea" the coastal resort in North Wales was once incredibly popular with holidaymakers from Greater Manchester. Even today, Talacre beach remains a popular getaway with its golden sands and holiday park.
Its dunes and coast are now regarded as internationally important wildlife habitats and a special area of scientific interest. Talacre's first holiday chalets were built on The Warren - an area of coarse land by the beach - in the 1930s.
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After war broke out in 1939, the chalets on The Warren became filled with evacuees fleeing bombing raids targeting the large nearby cities. As the attacks intensified during the heavy bombing raids, more and more displaced families arrived in the village.
Without enough chalets to accommodate the evacuees, people began building makeshift huts, while others made their homes by repurposing old caravans, railway carriages and buses. The Warren became a registered camp during World War Two, despite the lack of amenities like electricity and running water.
Many of its new residents were lone mums with their children, trying to build a life away from the target cities of Manchester and Liverpool – their husbands away fighting or still living in the city to work.
However, despite fleeing the bombings of their home city's, the war was still ever present even in Talacre. In the daytime, RAF pilots used the sand dunes for target practice, firing on wooden targets near the beach.
After the war ended, some