PETER Sykes said John Gillard's postcard of Bournemouth Pier, printed on October 10 last year, appears to be taken near the Tea House with the band stand in the distance.

The cast iron pier replacing the previous, wrecked, wooden pier, was opened in 1880 by the Lord Mayor of London, Sir Francis Wyatt Truscott, accompanied by the sheriffs of London and Middlesex.

A band stand was added to the pier, allowing military band concerts to take place three times daily in summer and twice a day in the winter. Covered shelters were also added with further extensions following in 1894 and 1905.