A wonderful J. W. Hardy photograph of a family group on Cleethorpes beach c1920s.

An original, unique and typically wonderful photograph by J. W. Hardy, one of the best of Britain’s seaside photographers. As in another of our Cleethorpes beach photos, the children are using a ‘Nu-tex’ confectionery tin as a bucket. John William Hardy, was born in Sheffield on 10th February 1876. He was the son of a newsagent. John married Minna in Sheffield in 1905. He was already a photographer by the time of his marriage. By 1911, he was working as a photographer in Cleethorpes. After living in Signhills Avenue in the early 1920s, the Hardy family moved to 52 St Peter’s Avenue (where the Co-op in now) between 1925 and 1926. J. W. Hardy also had a studio on the seafront. He took outdoor, souvenir photos of holidaymakers walking along the promenade sitting in deckchairs and paddling in the sea. John William Hardy worked as a busy photographer through many decades. He still had the studio at his home at 52 St Peter’s Avenue when he died on 29th or 30th July 1954. His son, (John) Keith Hardy (1907-1955), was also working there as a photographer. Research by Grimsby and Cleethorpes Museum.