It was with great sadness that we learned of the death of Ernest Storey on 10th January 2026. Ernest was one of our longest serving volunteers, who was regarded by all at Remembering the Past as a good friend as well as a colleague. He will be much missed and long remembered.
Ernest’s role at Remembering the Past was that of Principal Photographer and while his involvement with RTP goes back 15 years or more, his photographs that feature throughout our memories and articles go back to the 1980s at least. He had a lifelong passion for photography as well as a love of the area he lived in and his work is a unique and monumental collection of images that chronicle the changes that have taken place on Tyneside over the last 60 years. He was drawn to the River Tyne in particular and, in recent times, the Fish Quay where he became well known to the people who worked there. He was always happy to share his work with others and regularly posted his photographs on North Shields Fish Quay Opinions | Facebook.
Ernest’s photography skills played an important role in many of our projects and this is best summed up by an article we published in our North Shields Heritage Action Zone pages, which you can read here Looking Back at the North Shields Heritage Action Zone Project
You can also see more of his work in two incredible albums he set up for us on Flickr featuring Whitley Bay Whitley Bay Then & Now | Flickr and the River Tyne Images of the River Tyne | Flickr
Ernest was a very kind, friendly and gentle person whom it has been a privilege to know and to work with. He leaves a wife, daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren and our thoughts are with them. Rest in peace Ernest.