People are being asked to submit their memories and photos of Radipole Park Gardens in Weymouth.

As part of the lottery grant awarded to the Friends of Radipole Park and Gardens the group wants to add more photos to its new website.

Sue Hogben, of the Friends, said: "We aim to interview and record many of these living memories as possible for prosperity and they’ll be kept in local archives for future use.

"Ultimately many of them will be used on the website and in what will be our new heritage cafe."

Mrs Hogben has sent us some images that she hopes will jog people's memories.

The first is of the gardens not long after their creation, courtesy of Weymouth Museum's collection.

The second is one that most locals would have fond, or maybe not so fond, memories of…the ubiquitous boating/paddling pool!

Mrs Hogben added: "Whenever you talk to folk about their recollections of the play park it’s nearly always the first thing they mention, often referring to soggy bottoms as the pool’s floor was slippery to the nth degree and if you had to go in to retrieve your vessel becalmed mid pool, you trod very carefully!"

This image, again from the Weymouth Museum collection, is dated, June 25, 1940.

Later the park was requisitioned by the Southern Command and then US troops in preparation for D Day.

Mrs Hogben said a number of memories have been collected already.

She said: "A few of those memories collected already talk about when the US troops moved out suddenly, having disposed of their food rations in the backwater, they were swiftly retrieved by local children and secreted away in their homes to be enjoyed at a later date.

"Talking to another gentleman at one of our events, we were chatting in our Heritage display tent and he told us of playing tennis with the US troops, the courts were part of the requisitioned area."

The new website gallery can be found at https://radipolepark.co.uk/gallery/

Get in touch by using the contact details on the website or email hello@radipolepark.co.uk