Keeping your area safe

Fred Aicken, 90, who now lives in Hatfield, England, was stunned after reading a recent article in the Larne Times, which referred to a souvenir programme dating back to the cinema’s opening ceremony on March 13,1937.

When he read the story and saw a photograph of the old programme, Mr Aicken’s memory was rekindled and he realised that he had, in fact, composed the programme when he was just a 17-year-old boy and self-proclaimed “film buff”.

Mr Aicken said: “My father was the manager of the cinema in 1937, when its changed its name from the Electric Picture House to the Regal Picture House.

“We lived on Victoria Road at the time and I had a real interest in films, so I volunteered to write the programme for the opening ceremony.

“But I had completely forgotten about it until I came across the article in the paper a few weeks ago. It brought back a lot of memories, like the times I would help out in the projection room.

“I remember seeing the old cinema being removed and the new one arise week by week from September 1936 to March 1937.

“The original idea was to have Errol Flynn open it, as he happened to in Belfast at the time. Unfortunately, he was called back to Hollywood and had to decline the offer - at least that is what he said! Mrs Killen, who was involved in many charities locally, took his place.”

Mr Aicken said he has fond memories of watching each of the new films as they came out - though he admits that the quality of these films varied considerably.

He added: “This was not my father’s fault, because the circuit that the Regal belonged to had a booking manager for all its cinemas.”

Mr Aicken has also staked a claim to another aspect of the cinema’s history. “It was my idea to call it the Regal Picture House, to link it with the tin-roofed building that preceded it,” he added.

“The Regal Electric Picture House would have been too much of a mouthful. But, gradually, it came to be known simply as the Regal Cinema.”

Mr Aicken said that he was “saddened” to hear that the cinema had been torn down recently and he believed that the old front of the building should have been retained.

He added: “If I had known that the whole building was going to be demolished, I would have made a special effort to come back to Larne to see it one final time. It is a real shame to see it go.”