From a brick of wartime cake to a honeymoon derailed by bombing, two remarkable archive documents preserve the humour, heartache and everyday ingenuity of people who lived through the First and Second World Wars around Staithes and East Cleveland. “I remember hitting it on a wooden topped dresser with my fists and you couldn't tell the difference in sound.” The offending object was a cake. Or, at least, it was supposed to be one. Flour was rationed, the ingredients were preci

From homemade remedies and cliffside rescues to the great storm of 1953, Edward Hugill’s memories offer a remarkable glimpse into life in Staithes during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. What was it like growing up in Staithes when fishing and ironstone mining shaped everyday life, neighbours looked after one another, and a man with a first-aid kit could find himself treating anything from a broken arm to an injured cow? Edward Hugill was born at Wavecrest, on Seaton Garth, on 27

What was Staithes like when the village was still a close-knit fishing community, when chapels were packed on Sundays, families knitted and sang together, and the carnival could seem almost magical to a child who had never seen anything like it before? This is the sort of question behind a new oral history project at Staithes Museum, which aims to record the memories of local people: the everyday stories, memorable characters, customs, family traditions and little details tha