Southend Beach And Boating Lakes

A Memory of Southend-on-Sea.

We moved to Southend during 1944 and stayed there for about a year till May 1945.
A group of boys who lived in Cheltenham Avenue, off York Road and myself decided to take a boat to the boating lake where Adventure Land is now As we were walking along the front prom when we were approached by a photographer who asked us to play on the newly opened beach, this was in April 44. We played leap frog and sat near a family who were on the beach to make it look full, show ing the beach was open again. We did make it to the lake and had a good day.
These pictures were produced in two local paper that week and we were all keen to view these pictures as children would. Our photo was in the paper, I did say we were children. I do not have copies of these photos to show but would be interested to see them again if anybody had a copy. I have a copy of the paper's microfilm but it is only shoot and white wash as we would say.
Before the war in the Peter Pan's Playground on the right side of the pier there was a small lake and children could hire small sailing boats from dwarfs who were from Disney's films as I recall.
Things have changed since I remember, there were motor boats in the pond before they built the Golden Hind and now a pirate ship, I believe. That was just before the war.
Later in the after war years I would visit my Granmother and go to the 'front' as we knew it and ride the cars paying 2/6d for three rounds trying to over take and beat the one in front.
Many memories of the Kursaal riding the bowl slide and various other attractions. My uncle worked in the kursaal after the war whilst on holiday on the racing game.

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