FOLLOWING the launch of its new major exhibition, SURF! in March, the National Maritime Museum Cornwall (NMMC) invited members of the public to contribute their own memories and experiences of Cornish coastal enjoyment for a new, community co-created exhibition, Surfing Memories.

Locals and visitors to Cornwall were invited to send in photographs of their Cornish seaside memories, surfing shots and beach days over the years, right up to the present day, ready for the new display, which opened in June.

The unique ‘album’ of personal and family memories has delighted visitors to the museum over the summer, encouraging many to return with their own contributions.

Ross Ims has contributed a number of family photographs taken at Treyarnon Bay in the early 1950s. He said: “Mum grew up riding the old-style wooden bellyboards on Cornwall’s North Coast.

“I discovered surfing on my fourth birthday, when I was gifted a board. Mum showed me how to catch a wave that day, and I’ve kept surfing close ever since. I find comfort in these grainy images - they capture the joy and purity of playing in the whitewater, and I wonder what they must have meant to my relatives who had lived through so much.”

Tamara Young has contributed a photograph of her on a wooden bellyboard at Polly Joke, taken by her late father in 1988.

She said: “When I visited the SURF! exhibition it made me think of all the old photos we had at home growing up. So, when I saw that the museum was asking for contributions for the new community exhibition, I had a look through what we had.

“It was lovely showing my kids the photos and the old boards we used to use. Seeing the photo of me up in the museum alongside everyone else’s contributions is just brilliant.”

The Surfing Memories exhibition also includes accessories from bygone beach days, video footage of Cornish holiday highlights projected onto the wall, and a digital display of photos submitted by the public.

Dr. Jenny Lee, curator of exhibitions and special projects, explains: “The really exciting thing for me is the exhibition shifts and changes according to the submissions we receive. With over a year left of the exhibition, I’m looking forward to seeing how the show evolves.

“Our major new exhibition, SURF!, takes visitors on a journey through surfing culture – the boards, the medals and the characters, but through this community exhibition, we have captured some of the fantastic personal stories we knew were out there, held by families and people across the country.

“The exhibition is an opportunity to celebrate those personal connections and stories, communicating our individual, deep-rooted links with the Cornish coastline and what it means to us all.”

Photo submissions to the new exhibition can be made any time via an online form.