FROM Santas squaring up to ice skating in Southchurch Park, to a nurse singing carols to a young patient at Southend Hospital, we’ve delved deep into our archives to bring you some heart-warming Christmas memories.

Our photos range from the 1920s all the way up to 1970 and show how festive traditions haven’t changed that much.

One of our favourite snaps shows a man ice skating on the lake at Southchurch Hall Park in 1925.

This was the first time the lake had frozen over since 1917 and a report in the Southend and County Pictorial showed revellers were certainly making the most of the makeshift rink.

Another image, also from 1925, shows a confectioner from Garons Bakeries iin Southend intricately icing a mountain of a Christmas cake. Back then the bakeries were based in Sutton Road and supplied many of the local businesses and restaurants.

Another nostalgic image, this time from 1939, shows two little children carrying Christmas trees almost as big as they were along Southend High Street. Another from the same year, shows a young boy posting his letter to Santa.

Edward Cecil Jones, a famous Southend philanthropist and businessman is also pictured in the gallery, dutifully playing his customary role of Father Christmas at Brewery Road School in Southend back in 1939. Edward was the son of Robert A Jones, another well known and much respected Southend man, who was made a Freeman in 1919.

Nurses today are rushed off their feet, but back in 1968, the Southend and County Pictorial photographer was there to capture the tradition of carols being sung by lamplight at the bedside of poorly children at Southend Hospital. The photo shows nurse Mary Withers singing to little Mark Bishop, from Canvey, who had clearly hurt his leg, judging by the photo and was probably about to spend Christmas Day in hospital.

You might think festive cheer took a turn for the worse judging by the photo of two Santas facing off in Southend in 1970. But all was well. The two bearded St Nics’ both worked at the toy grotto in High Street and took it in turns to work shifts in the grotto. The Pictorial photographer was there for the switch-over one day when a light hearted argument about which was the real Santa broke out.