John Knipe, former apprentice chef at the Midland, stayed at the refurbished hotel last week on a visit to the town where he was born and bred – and popped in to the modern catering facility that has replaced the old cooking area he used to work in during the early 1950s.

As for John's verdict on the brand new Midland?
"It's wonderful!"

John, 70, who now lives in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, began working at the Midland as a summer job in 1951 when he was still at school.

His family was well known in Poulton village. His father, also John, ran a baker's and confectioner's at 14 Poulton Square in a building that is now the Lancaster Carpets shop. This was previously owned by John's aunties.

And his grandfather, again John Knipe, was a farmer who owned a sizeable amount of land in the village, including the farm that later became the family home at 21 Poulton Square (now Morecambe police station).

John Knipe the baker supplied the Midland and the younger John reckons this helped him get his job at the hotel. He was taken on as apprentice chef by owners the Hodgson family in 1952. John worked in the kitchens as part of a team that included head chef Jimmy Gallagher, second chef Tony McDougall, Geoff Timms and pastry chef Moira McGregor.

He remembers fondly how Midland staff, including himself, would sometimes be asked to work on the 'boat trains' that ran between London and Morecambe, serving food and drink to the passengers. "We would leave here early in the morning, go down to London and come back again at night," he said.

He worked shifts, 8am to 3pm and 5pm to the close, seven days a week. One of his regular haunts on working days was the Arcadian cafe, where he enjoyed a cuppa before starting work.

John also remembers how famous people, who stayed in the Midland while performing in Morecambe theatres, would pop into the kitchens – like Frankie Laine, Joe Loss, Ted Heath, Johnny Ray and singer Al Martino. "Al Martino – who was a chef in the US army – used to come in and jokingly ask if we had any tins to open, because that's what he used to do," said John. "But we didn't have any tins. Everything was freshly prepared."

In 1954 the Midland's owners sent John to catering college at Blackpool, where he stayed for three years.

He went on to take a management course and worked in industrial catering in Coventry.

The last time he ever visited the hotel was in 1963, on the night before his wedding.

On his return last week, he noted how much the hotel had changed but it was still "a magical place".

"There was such colour and vibrancy at the Midland. The people there were always so well-turned out. Coming back here, it's the same building but somehow totally different. But I do think it's wonderful.
Our bedroom is unbelievable."