Southend On Sea - Featuring The Kursaal (from the 60's)

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Roller Coaster Club of Great Britain (RCCGB)

4 жыл бұрын

A 16mm film made in the 60's showing the highlights of Southend on Sea. Footage includes the worlds longest pier, the Carnival, Adventure Islands "Wendy Glide" roller coaster and the famous Kursaal which operated from 1901 - 1973 and in that time had 3 wooden roller coasters. The film includes on ride footage from the Cyclone.

Пікірлер: 31

@JaniceCole1950 23 күн бұрын

We went every year in the fifties and early sixties to see the lights and there were puppet shows along the seafront. Loved it

@veronicabennett4359 2 жыл бұрын

I lived in the Southend area until 1964 when I left to go to university and thence to the wider world. This film has brought back so many happy memories of my childhood and of a world that seemed happier and more content than today's. Thank you.

@th8257 5 ай бұрын

Everyone imagines the era they were kids in was happier - because we're absolutely clueless when we're kids and are completely sheltered from the world. In Southend's case, we know now that there were an awful lot of very bad things going on in that era. There was a massive paedophile ring operating around the amusement arcades and into shoebury. The infamous child killers Sidney Cooke and Lennie Smith were involved. Indeed, Lennie Smith lived in Southend for a while. He and an elderly paedophile jack parsons were grooming kids in the amusement arcades. The award winning local journalist Charles Thomson who worked for the yellow advertiser has put together a brilliant podcast about what was going on in Southend back then.

@crawford1083 3 ай бұрын

1984 was when I moved to Southend. I'd have loved to have seen and used the heated pool at Westcliff! Spent so many happy days there since I moved away.

@cafsixtieslover 3 жыл бұрын

Interesting to see the Kursaal. We went regularly to Southend when I was a child but my father would never allow us to go in there. We only ever went to Peter Pan's. Ditto Dreamland in Margate when we went there. Never did find out why.

@robnash1883 3 жыл бұрын

Yes it was 53 the year I was born and ten years later the floats were still brilliant ,.I was born in southend and lived there till 2004 those carnivals and lights made the place to be a great film .

@cozmo8522 3 жыл бұрын

What a lovely film and i love the music... Thank you.

@Ricksta66 4 жыл бұрын

I used to enjoy and spent many a happy fun family times at the Kursaal, good old days and fond memories too.

@jacksugden8190 3 жыл бұрын

Would like to see it in Summer 2021, not as 2020 in lockdown, have fond memories of the early 60’s.

@britishcomposers 2 жыл бұрын

Actually, this film footage all dates from the 1950's and was filmed by Andre Smith, of whom I met over 20-years ago through a mutual friend, the late Bill Thorpe who was a retired projectionist from the big 1930's Odeon/Astoria cinema, Southend. Andre was a budding hi-fi man with great technical abilities and a real appreciation of classical music. He used very specialised quadrophonic apparatus at home and built his own large custom-built version of the Wharfedale Airdale loudspeaker system. He also did relief work at the Odeon in the days when it was still a vast theatre; knowing just about everybody worth knowing back in Southend's hey-day. He also had his own record shop, based at the last parade of shops on the London Road in Leigh Highlands. It can be seen in this film at shortly after 13:37 where the Southend Carnival Queen makes a visit to the shops just after rationing ceased in 1954 at Leigh Park and Leigh Highlands; presumably, this is the stretch of shops on the London Road between Hadleigh Road and Walker Drive. From looking at this film, one can only assume that as budding amateur, he further refined this film with the additional 'early stereo' 1950's period 'light-music' as a post-production measure sometime in the late 70's or early 80's using hi-fi stereo video technology; his dialogue being already recorded into the original mono soundtrack. What makes this a most special document is the strong evocation of the 1950's period: the fashions, the post-war escapism to the coast, the cascading seafront night time lights, - for which I remember in my own childhood from the late 60's when leaving my Grandparents on a Sunday evening in 212, Victoria Road and heading along the seafront with Mum and Dad on our way back home again to Leigh. Then there is that rich and lush of-the-period music. So redolent of the 1940's to the 1960's in Pathe and Rank 'pictorial' news reels. The late Andre Smith lived to around 96; passing away some 12 years ago. This film is a fitting tribute to people like him who enjoyed what they did, long before home editing suites existed beyond a mere splicing machine.

@isabellajanelee 8 ай бұрын

Thank you for sharing your knowledge 🙏

@ed9763 9 ай бұрын

I have been there. Lovely memories to last a life time😗😘💐🌺🍕🎄🎉

@thehobgoblin9790 2 ай бұрын

THV Patricia. My first ship

@whispers8650 4 жыл бұрын

What bright spark thought of putting loud music over the narration!

@mhbpaintings 4 жыл бұрын

5:32 first roller coaster I ever went on. God it makes me feel old

@Ricksta66 4 жыл бұрын

I remember that one two, I think it was the called the Wendy Glide

@sagolily 3 жыл бұрын

I was on the kursaal flyer dressed as a cowboy with mum

@stewartburdett4324 22 күн бұрын

My father painted the Kursaal Flyer and along with my Brother David kept it looking so good

@BrianRamseysg01 4 жыл бұрын

I went for a flight in that chipmunk I had whooping cough and was constantly sick for six months the Doc advised a trip as altitude change may help with sickness. It didn't but it was awesome. In the end, it was the bucket in my room that was causing me to chuck up everything I ate as soon as I coughed. My mum removed it one day so I had to go to the toilet to be sick and it stopped within 24hrs it was a Psychosomatic reflex!

@whispers8650 4 жыл бұрын

It's not the '60s as the narrator says these scenes are of the carnival of 1953.

@isabellajanelee 8 ай бұрын

The music is too loud on this video 🙂

@lordpurchase9189 Жыл бұрын

I wasn't born in the 60s I was born in the late 80s and I know looking back times were much better in the 90s growing up. I can get an idea of what the 60s was really like, both the good & bad I don't look back with rose tinted glasses. Times were a hell of a lot better than they are now. Times literally have been getting worse and now its just dreary there is nothing. The 60s 70s and 80s was life. even in the 90s there was life people were much happier and it all started going down hill by the year 2000. 2010 pretty much marked the end.

@th8257 5 ай бұрын

Mate, you got old. Everyone imagines the era they were kids in was happier - because we're absolutely clueless when we're kids and are completely sheltered from the world. In Southend's case, we know now that there were an awful lot of very, very bad things going on in that era. There was a massive paedophile ring operating around the amusement arcades and into shoebury. The infamous child killers Sidney Cooke and Lennie Smith were involved. Indeed, Lennie Smith lived in Southend for a while. He and an elderly paedophile jack parsons were grooming kids in the amusement arcades. The award winning local journalist Charles Thomson who worked for the yellow advertiser has put together a brilliant podcast about what was going on in Southend back then. Just because we're incredibly naive when we're younger does not mean that that era was good. Far from it.

@lordpurchase9189 5 ай бұрын

@@th8257 Sounds like you were born yesterday.