An interesting studio portrait by J. W. Hardy of Cleethorpes c1920s.

An original photographic portrait by J. W. Hardy, Promenade Cleethorpes & 42 Freeman Street., Grimsby. (It’s unusual to see the Freeman Street address on this card. This was where H. Dawson had his photographic business in the early 1920s.)

The painted background is a fairly accurate depiction of Cleethorpes Pier in stormy weather.

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 a photographer by then. By 1911, he was working as a photographer in Cleethorpes. After living in Signhills Avenue in the early 1920s, the family moved to 52 St Peter’s Avenue (where the Co-op in now) between 1925 and 1926. J. W. Hardy had a studio on the seafront. He also 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, was also working there as a photographer.