Riceman's Fire

A Memory of Deal.

Riceman's fire was Sunday 6th October 1963. I am researching a book on Deal's shops and have been given the local newspaper for that week. The front page banner headline is "Deal store destroyed by fire." And the introduction reads "Within 90 minutes of first being spotted, fire reduced Deal's largest departmental store, Riceman's, to a jungle of twisted steel girders late on Sunday afternoon ..."

A few weeks ago the East Kent Mercury headlines were of Deal's last department store closing, namely Laughton's originally Baldwins. Last week a headline was "Workers say farewell as Woolworths store shuts." Sad times.

I remember the pony and trap on the seafront in the early 1950s and have a photo of it somewhere in the family albums, taken outside the amusement arcade at the top of King Street. The Regent Bingo Hall, formerly the Regent cinema closed last week.