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THE SEVENTIES NORTH BANK

Life President⭐⭐
Joined
Dec 10, 2006
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Some interesting stuff on this site http://www.southendtimeline.com/1970s.htm, bringing back memories of the town and some of S.U.F.C. exploits.

Click on 1976 and some of us oldies will remember the Southend group Whisky Mac that won the New Faces talent show on T.V. that used to play at a brilliant Disco called Zhivago's on a Thursday night (The best nights had no group, mainly disco music), in the Seventies.
David Miller would be over the moon that he took a huge gamble and acquired Peter Pans. It has now made his son Phillip a multi Millionaire.

Click on 1979, and it mentions the Liverpool game and the film Bloody Kids.

It has all years on there, whatever era you grew up in.
 
Great work here, TSNB - I couldn't help but check out the Skins v Teds gig in '78 first.
 
I was there, I covered it when talking about probably Southends most famous copper, Bill Gosling. I'll try and find it for you.



Fat Sargeant Bill Gosling. I was a Suedhead in the seventies, dressed in me Crombie overcoat or Harrington jacket, Ben Sherman check shirt, Sta-prest trousers and brogues or Doc Martin's. Anyway, a Bank Holiday Monday, It's early and I'm with me mates in the Kursaal fairground. We're joined by a few skinheads, Mods, Casuals and Suedheads (all on the same side on a Bank Holiday), suddenly a huge mob of Teddy Boys and Greasers have turned up. They seem to have all gathered in one massive mob. Whereas our side has more numbers but is scattered in smaller groups all over the seafront.
We are outnumbered about 10 to 1 in the Kursaal. We all leg it for the exit's.
I make it out O.k., only to be tripped up by Sargeant Bill Gosling. The big lump then sits on me whilst two P.C.'s get my arms. He took me around to his car at the front of the minerva, asked me where I was from, at the time it was Leigh, he then took me to Thorpe Bay and told me to take the boot laces out of my Doc Martins. He then said ''Get walking'', ''and if you get on public transport or get a lift, you're nicked''. He drove past about every 30 minutes to check on me and others. It was a very slow and painful walk because of no laces. I ended up with lots of blisters.

That was the infamous Bill Gosling. He had his own ways of dealing with youth, which included swearing right in your face, long walks, a punch in the head or a clip around the ear. Better than getting nicked tho. Thanks Bill.
 
You were Lucky!..I was normally dumped in Wakering and made to walk home.Bill Gosling although hard as nails had the respect of the youth.
 
Fat Sargeant Bill Gosling. I was a Suedhead in the seventies, dressed in me Crombie overcoat or Harrington jacket, Ben Sherman check shirt, Sta-prest trousers and brogues or Doc Martin's. Anyway, a Bank Holiday Monday, It's early and I'm with me mates in the Kursaal fairground. We're joined by a few skinheads, Mods, Casuals and Suedheads (all on the same side on a Bank Holiday), suddenly a huge mob of Teddy Boys and Greasers have turned up. They seem to have all gathered in one massive mob. Whereas our side has more numbers but is scattered in smaller groups all over the seafront.
We are outnumbered about 10 to 1 in the Kursaal. We all leg it for the exit's.
I make it out O.k., only to be tripped up by Sargeant Bill Gosling. The big lump then sits on me whilst two P.C.'s get my arms. He took me around to his car at the front of the minerva, asked me where I was from, at the time it was Leigh, he then took me to Thorpe Bay and told me to take the boot laces out of my Doc Martins. He then said ''Get walking'', ''and if you get on public transport or get a lift, you're nicked''. He drove past about every 30 minutes to check on me and others. It was a very slow and painful walk because of no laces. I ended up with lots of blisters.

That was the infamous Bill Gosling. He had his own ways of dealing with youth, which included swearing right in your face, long walks, a punch in the head or a clip around the ear. Better than getting nicked tho. Thanks Bill.

Great stuff - reminds me of one of his possible mentors, another ex-Southend copper who this is based on:

"Before we head into The Old Town, Johnny, I'd like to take you to the front of the station. Just around here and over to the left is a narrow footpath. Sometimes my grandad would escort his charges down there and offer them a smoke. As you know, Johnny, he was a huge man with granite block hands so not many people said 'no' to him. He'd direct any "wrong 'uns" as he called them - to a kissing gate about a hundred yards down that path from where they'd set off into the open expanse of 'The Wrestling Fields.' His piercing blue eyes used to light up whenever he talked about 'the fields.' That's where Southend and Canvey men used to settle their differences for the sake of local pride and entertainment. When Jack Woodgrange took his hostages down there though, it was a private affair where there would be only one outcome. He spared me the details, Johnny, but he would always --- I repeat always --- finish the story with these same words, "... an' I told 'im if I ever saw 'im 'round these parts again, 'e'd have my size thirteens up 'is jacksie to the sixth lacehole!" He really used to love his work before the advent of the men from Region and their "damn blasted procedures and checklists" as he used to say. He saw himself as a guardian of the waterfront and a sentinel of decency - the moment he became shackled by paperwork and "the clipboard brigade" was the day he fell out of love with 'the Force.' It's a shame you only saw a hollow shell of the man he used to be, Johnny, when you took care of him on the old folks' unit at Pier View. But back in his heyday, PC Jack Woodgrange was one of Southend's finest. He ran the tightest ship you've ever seen, tighter than the Feelgoods' rhythm section from the days of Sparko and The Big Figure but with the glowering menace of Lee Brilleaux and the jagged unpredictability of Wilko thrown in too. He'd expect everything from you too - for him, ninety-nine an' a half just wouldn't do. He wasn't an easy man to be around when I was growing up, so you had to study his ways in order to minimise any fall-out at home. There was only one person who could ameliorate his aggressive side and I've mentioned her before - Ruby, the love of his life. Come with me, Johnny, as I take you down by the railroad tracks past the cocklesheds to where they met all those years ago."

http://www.shrimperzone.com/vb/show...adio!-quot-(A-Musical-Memoir)&referrerid=3694
 
Last edited:
Just as an aside I am in the middle of collating a lot of the older memories posts from the years gone back and adding the prefix "memory lane" to them to bring them all together.You can see a few of the Old Southend ones already if you :

Go to the advanced search box at the right of the forum.click and then go left to the top and click single content type..you will be taken to an new screen..go down to near the bottom and search by prefix..find "memory lane" highlight it then just click search on the right hand side.....They are all there.
 
Fat Sargent Bill Gosling. I was a Suedhead in the seventies, dressed in me Crombie overcoat or Harrington jacket, Ben Sherman check shirt, Sta-prest trousers and brogues or Doc Martin's. Anyway, a Bank Holiday Monday, It's early and I'm with me mates in the Kursaal fairground. We're joined by a few skinheads, Mods, Casuals and Suedheads (all on the same side on a Bank Holiday), suddenly a huge mob of Teddy Boys and Greasers have turned up. They seem to have all gathered in one massive mob. Whereas our side has more numbers but is scattered in smaller groups all over the seafront.
We are outnumbered about 10 to 1 in the Kursaal. We all leg it for the exit's.
I make it out O.k., only to be tripped up by Sargent Bill Gosling. The big lump then sits on me whilst two P.C.'s get my arms. He took me around to his car at the front of the minerva, asked me where I was from, at the time it was Leigh, he then took me to Thorpe Bay and told me to take the boot laces out of my Doc Martins. He then said ''Get walking'', ''and if you get on public transport or get a lift, you're nicked''. He drove past about every 30 minutes to check on me and others. It was a very slow and painful walk because of no laces. I ended up with lots of blisters.

That was the infamous Bill Gosling. He had his own ways of dealing with youth, which included swearing right in your face, long walks, a punch in the head or a clip around the ear. Better than getting nicked tho. Thanks Bill.



When I was in Bill Gosling's police car, I said ''What's that for, I ain't done nothin'', bearing in mind, he almost squeezed every last breath out of me when he sat on me. He said ''Listen pipsqueak, you're local, you know we let that lot(Ted's and Greasers), have the Kursaal, and you lot have the seafront and beach, to keep you apart. So you sneaking in there, weren't clever.''

The Ted's also used to fill up the roller skating rink on the middle of pier hill, and the owner would lock the doors, but all hell would break loose when they left the place as they couldn't stay there all day, and they would run the gauntlet as they tried to make it to the Kursaal.

http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/84888820/Redferns?language=en-GB&location=GBR
 
nice chap

93453298.jpg
 
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