"I was born in Prittlewell in 1959 and, apart from 10 years in Rayleigh, have spent my life around Southend. As a youngster I attended St. Mary's Church in East Street every Monday evening as part of the campanology group that assembled there. As young as I was, I must have shown some degree of knack in the art because not many months had passed before I was upgraded to the tenor bell, and I had to stand on a hard backed chair in order to reach the rope. I was 11 or 12 years old at the time. I remember it was always a race to get home afterwards because the practice finished just before 8pm and 'Alias Smith and Jones' started on BBC2 at 8pm sharp!
I have seen many changes in our town over the years, but the most relevant changes in recent times happened in the 1960s when I was too young to understand anything about the concept of redevelopment." |
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I can just remember the Victoria Circus before the underpass was constructed, and the small news stand outside the big (Victoria) hotel where the shout of 'Standard' was heard at regular intervals from the man outside the main entrance selling newspapers. The Talza arcade that my grandfather took me round from time to time had gone. I also remember being 'parked' in my pram outside the shops in Victoria Avenue, just around the corner from East Street, for what seemed like ages whilst my mother was shopping. All very vague and sketchy memories. |
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"I was born in Southend in 1966, and although I have lived in the town most of my life, I spent my early childhood in Shoebury, long before it was built up and still had fields and "the bunkers" to play on. I most remember the summer of '76 and the hose pipe ban; all the neighbours got their hoses and buckets out and we had one big massive water fight.
I have a keen interest in English history, particularly the Victorian era, and found it so sad that Southend lost most of its most magnificent buildings during the construction of the Hammerson Development. That architecture is gone forever from Southend, and I feel it is essential to preserve what we have left of the town's unique identity with its rich and enviable history." |
In studying the history of Southend, we found that in 2007, what there was relating to the town and its history on the internet was fairly sparce and took some considerable time searching for information about one thing or another. Having a keen interest in local history, and of the RAF, particularly during the Second World War, we felt the time was right to create a website that could encapsulate everything so that any visitor, whether just curious about our town, or a student of local history, could find everything 'under one roof'. We decided to research further and present the findings here. The website is considered a 'work in progress' and is regularly added to.
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That's why we would like to hear from the people of our parent's generation and beyond, who have seen all the changes, and remember the times, for better or for worse, in the shaping of our town. |
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To contact us or to submit your stories, memories and anecdotes for the website or monthly newsletter, please contact us |
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