As Bert put it; "One Gent from Doncaster owned three or four of the huts and wooden caravans and let them out to holiday makers, he also owned a big taxi (you didn't see many cars in those days) he would deliver the holiday makers to their accommodation and then take the ones home that had just had their holiday, sometimes he had to make two journeys in the height of the summer. The 'Red Trent' buses were allowed to drop holidaymakers off on Rimac corner but not allowed to pick the holidaymakers up for the return journey (this would be poaching on another bus company's route) so they had to catch a 'Local bus' to the depot and catch their 'Red Trent' buses from there".

In about 1935/6 the Air Ministry bought all of the privately owned land and cleared the holiday camp, some of the accommodation was sold off, most went for scrap a few of the wooden huts went to Mablethorpe, Rimac was closed and that was the end of the 'holiday camp'!

Bombing targets were built one mile out on the east side of the dunes, Margaret (Bert's wife) was a W.A.A.F. stationed at Theddlethorpe, working on Quadrants taking the readings from these targets. Bert told me that the bombs where 'smoke bombs' and when they 'hit' a small cloud of white smoke could be seen. He remembers that his boss had the contract to carry out the maintain the ranges and about twice a year we would go out with a horse drawn cart, take the old timbers of and replace them with new and then re-paint the targets.
At night electric was laid on for bombing practice and light bulbs where placed all around the target. The targets where dismantled at the start of the war for security reasons.

With the start of the Second World War, Bert's farmyard and Rimac were taken over by Artillery Troops. "They lived in tents for a start but when winter came they soon moved into sectional wooden huts!"

"The farmyard and Rimac was full of huts and troops. 'Rimac House' was also taken over by the troops" "These troops changed all the time, as one lot was trained they moved out and some more moved in."

When the 'Artillery Troops' moved on they even took the huts with them, leaving the new troops to erect their own huts!

A searchlight unit was established at Sea View Lane with the 'Searchlight' built on the sand hills - these personnel stayed and didn't get moved on.

During the Second World War 'Rimac' was ploughed up to plant food.

After the Second World War 'Rimac house' became derelict and was eventually demolished, today only the out-building remains  and can be seen as you drive over the bridge to Rimac car park (*Update 3rd August 2007 *  the out-building has now been demolished and all that remains is a pile of rubble!!).

Bert told me that when the demolition work was being carried out they found 'hidey holes' (bricks taken out of the walls and papered over), remnants from the days of smuggling!

After the Second World War ended the Army huts were sold. Bert was one of the locals, who helped dismantle and move a hut from the 'searchlight unit' to become the Saltfleetby 'Village Hall' he said "They were well made, all sectional they took to bits and rebuilt easily" That hut is still the 'Village Hall for Saltfleetby today' so they must have been well made!!

It wasn't long before the sand dunes at Saltfleetby were again full of holidaymakers, with a small caravan site being set up at Sea View Lane, this didn't last long because as Bert put it "the nature people took it over" the site was moved to Saltfleet and was the start of the caravan sites that are there today and Rimac became the Nature Reserve we have today.

So if it's your first or one of your many visits to Rimac and Sea View, take a while and spare a thought for the many Men, Woman and Children who have Worked, Walked and Played here before you.

BUT MOST OF ALL, ENJOY IT!