Mr. Marley: He owned a horse and cart, selling hardware, and what were referred to as “piss pots” hanging around the cart, and he stabled his horse and stored his goods, including china etc., at his two storey house. His horse, Barney, would drink from the island's communal tap, waiting around the tap for someone passing to stop and turn it on for him!

Mr. T Ions: Thomas Ions' house was the biggest on the island, and he was an accomplished pianist who had lived in Canada for a number of years. He was the son of Thomas and Hager Ions (both pictured below), who lived on the Island, and he continued to live there on his return from Canada, after his parents died.

Hager Ions was a Durrant before she was married, and she lived on the Island in 1861. The house they lived in was double fronted, with the staircase going up the middle of the house.

Some of the other families who lived on Rocky Island, in addition to Nancy's family the Elders, were:

Mrs Foster: Her father, Mr Douglas, was a local builder and handyman. Her story was featured in the local press in 1961 when, as one of the last residents of Rocky Island, she refused to leave when Whitley Bay Council tried to 'force' her out.

Mrs. Taylor: Her son was a baker, and she would serve tea and cakes to visitors, who would often queue down the garden path!

Mrs. Heads and Miss Dorrie Park: Both sold hot water and tea from trays in their gardens. Miss Park was also a dressmaker, who made clothes for the children of the island, often from worn out adult clothing. She also carried hot coals to the SSVLSC Watch House to start the fire there whenever there was a meeting or a social.

Mr. Jimmy Dickinson: A joiner.

Mrs Watson: Born on Rocky Island, returned in 1935, aged 101, to revisit her birthplace.

Hager used to send Nancy to the co-op for a hapeth of yeast, giving her a penny for going. When they died (all three of them), it was Nancy's mother who laid them out. All three are buried in the Parish Church of Our Lady, Delaval.

Nancy remembered Hager's daughter, Mary Salmon (nee Ions), who used to come once a year with her children. She was known as 'Granny Salmon' and brought sweets for the children. Thomas, her brother, maintained a beautiful garden and would ask Nancy's mum to cook his rice pudding for him. Thomas was the last Ions to live on the island. When he died in January 1947, the house was empty for a while, then other families moved in.