SAUCY postcards are as much a part of the British seaside as buckets and spades – bringing a ray of raucous sunshine even if it’s chucking it down.

Bursting with bawdy buxom blondes and cheeky jokes, they chime with the double-entendres and ‘ooh-err missus’ humour typical of end-of-pier comics and the kiss-me-quick seaside culture. Having teased and titillated their way into mainstream British culture a new exhibition, Secrets of the Saucy Seaside Postcard, opens at the Time and Tide museum, in Great Yarmouth tomorrow. This touring show, from Kirklees Museums and Galleries, highlights cards from the 1950s to 70s by the popular postcard manufacturer Bamforth & Co which was based in Holmfirth, Yorkshire. Their mischievous illustrations and double entendres were part and parcel of the great British seaside holiday of the period, titillating both holidaymakers and their friends and relations back home. While the postcards are best remembered for their entertainment value, the exhibition takes visitors behind the scenes at Bamforth & Co and includes more than 200 original drawings, sketches and paintings, and a DVD showing artists and illustrators at work.

Visitors can also see a display of postcards from Great Yarmouth; Wish You Were Here is a nostalgic reminder of the town’s heyday as a holiday resort.

These reflect the light-hearted atmosphere and down-to-earth fun of holidaymakers when the town was at its zenith as a holiday resort.