Southend Kursaal / Southend United in the 1950s

Footage from Southend Kursaal and Southend United from the 1950s and 60s

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Southend
• Kursaal
• United
• Stanley
• Matthews

[spikeymouse]

It's amazing how the meaning of the word 'Kursaal' has changed. Haha

[cuddieheadrigg]

Great old footage it brings back great memories...many thanks...

[xxSweetxKandixx]

My grandparents met in the Kursaal ballroom in the late 40s :)

[TechNed]

One of my favourite rides was, "The Bowl Slide" - next to, "The Water Chute" as I recall. It was brilliant. - Like a Helter-Skelter but built inside the structure. It had a beautiful giant wooden bowl - like a fruitbowl - at the bottom of the helical slide. To get up to the top, there was an electric inclinator system so you grabbed your mat & sat on little yellow platforms on a chain-drive & it carried you up.

[dirkbogarde44]

@andy7666 The pirate ship is long gone and so is everything I remember from my childhood going up there. It's a dump now. It's all gone.

[tony2329]

Thanks for posting!!, remember it well back in the late 60's with my nan and grandad, scared s***less on the "wild mouse"?, also the water shute, also the "rotor" where you stuck to the sides of a big spinning tub as the floor gave way,( i may be getting confused with dream land on his one tho')Disgrace they tore it down for a housing estate!!.

[sreymind]

My mum always raved about how good the Kursaal was when she was a kid in the 50's. She'd say this when we were in Southend in the 80's and I remember looking at it and finding it hard to believe it was ever anything special.

I'm only now researching it and I can finally see what she was talking about.

[michaelmorley61]

Wonderful film and great memories...than you so much.

[ww1231]

Thanks for this, brilliant stuff !

[sharonessex]

Thank you for loading this, it is great !