One of the best-known personalities in the UK coastal amusement industry, Harry Symonds, has passed at the age of 86.
Harry ran Coastal Amusements and for many years the famous Deluxe on Hastings’ seafront. He was 60 years in the industry and was a much-respected figure in the local community.
Harry opened his arcade business in 1960 and went on to help create much of Hastings’ current seafront.
He took over the Deluxe Amusement Centre in 1969 when it was no more than a derelict cinema, creating from it a snooker club upstairs which was at various times a familiar haunt of many famous players.
He came from showland stock - his father ran an arcade at Sheerness which Harry subsequently sold off and moved to Hastings where his father had Harry’s Old Time Bingo.
Harry and his wife Anne developed a substantial family business with their two sons, Harry Jnr and Mark, both of whom predeceased him. Harry and Anne sold the Deluxe in 2024 when Harry took a step back from the day-to-day operations.
The funeral will be held on July 9 at Hastings Crematorium (family flowers only with donations to Cancer Research UK).
