The Golden Hind

A Memory of Southend-on-Sea.

My family have come from Southend on Sea since the early 1800s, there name is Cass, one of my 7 auntie's Ivy Cass was the cashier on the Golden Hind it was open 364 days a year and only closed on Christmas day. From 1945 until 1955 when I was 14, we came from Hayes Middx to Southend for Christmas and stayed at my grand parents who lived at 10 Quebec Avenue a 5 minute walk from the train station, one of my greatest memory's from that time is going to work with my auntie on Boxing day and messing about on the Golden Hind for most of the day until it closed at 4 o/c, I have spent many hours in the cash office shown in the picture (who knows my auntie could have been in there when this photo was taken)
I have taken my grandsons on to the Golden Hind and they greatly enjoyed the experience, I was sad to see it had been removed the last time I visited, I also see the statue of Queen Victoria has been moved, also York Road Market no longer there, I used to go there with my older sister on Christmas Eve to buy veg for the next day when all my relations came to my grandparents house for dinner, it was a big squeeze with all of us there at the same time.
I feel very nostalgic about Southend as it holds years and years of very happy memories for me.
Sadly none of my uncle's and auntie's are no longer with us but I am lucky enough to have a few cousins and many second cousins still living in the area
Mike Batten
Northampton UK