FROM forgotten war structures, to lost streets and archaic borough boundaries, so many of Southend’s secret and forgotten histories are on display in plain site to this day.

Driving down the southern end of Walton Road, one would be forgiven for complaining about perceived potholes – with the road surface uneven from what appears to be road repairs.

However, these circular road markings are actually the remnants of anti-tank barriers from the second world war.

This out in the open secret is among many explored by writer Ian Yearsley in his new book, Secret City of Southend, launching this month.

Echo: Book launch - Ian YearsleyBook launch - Ian Yearsley

“The concept for this was to draw attention to items in the townscape which everyone passes daily but which do not register with them: boundary markers for lost boundaries, tree-lines of lost streets, the fabric of forgotten war structures,” Mr Yearsley said.

“By pointing these out, it provides an entry point into lost elements of the city's history.

Echo: The southern end of Walton Road, Thorpe Bay, showing the circular holes made by five rows of conical anti-tank ‘pimples’, which were removed and backfilled after the warThe southern end of Walton Road, Thorpe Bay, showing the circular holes made by five rows of conical anti-tank ‘pimples’, which were removed and backfilled after the war

“The circular road markings of lost anti-tank barriers in Walton Road were an amazing thing to find.

"How could they still be there 80 years after the war had ended?”

History fans will also enjoy the charting of original red telephone boxes surviving in the borough, including.

The telephone at the junction of Alexandra Road and Capel Terrace has been transformed into the Clifftown Telephone Museum.

Echo: The Clifftown Telephone Museum, at the junction of Alexandra Road and Capel Terrace in Southend, which is one of the world’s smallest museumsThe Clifftown Telephone Museum, at the junction of Alexandra Road and Capel Terrace in Southend, which is one of the world’s smallest museums

It is one of the smallest museums in the country and explores the Victorian history of the area through an information board with sound recordings which introduced by tactress Dame Helen Mirren, who grew up in the Westcliff.

Echo: The historic boundary marker at Smithers Chase in Sutton Road which marks the boundary between Southend Borough and Rochford DistrictThe historic boundary marker at Smithers Chase in Sutton Road which marks the boundary between Southend Borough and Rochford District

Another example of history hiding in plain sight is HMS Wilton, a ship, moored at Leigh and home to the Essex Yacht Club.

“You can't miss a ship but you can miss it's significance,” Mr Yearsley said.
“It was the world's first fibreglass warship. A minesweeper, it was designed like that because fibreglass had a low magnetic signature so would be comparatively safe to sail close to mines.

“It was known colloquially as HMS Tupperware. And there it is, on view but little known about, anchored off Leigh.”

Mr Yearsley is attending a book launch at Waterstones in Southend High Street on Thursday, September 22 at 6pm.

Tickets for that event can be booked here: https://www.waterstones.com/events/secret-city-of-southend-by-ian-yearsley/southend?fbclid=IwAR1L556NfE2jVlu5-cSXhoh906pss-0NSW6BeqUvCO2kuOrZxBeV2WTRQjQ