Kevin’s Chronicles

There are times when a series of events leads to an outcome that alters the course of your life; just your typical bank holiday weekend…

Part 1 of our homage to scooter legend Kev Walsh. This episode investigates the Southend troubles, and what it meant for the scooter scene.

Eighteen odd months into the tenure of running Lambretta Club Great Britain and things were going way beyond the expectations anyone could have ever imagined. Widnes Saints were well into their probation period having taken LCGB out of its suspended state. More than ever the group in control were determined to continue its success. Led by John Illing and Gordon Eves, membership stood at almost 400 and with the Mod revival in full swing was only set to increase. The August bank holiday would see the traditional gathering of members at the club’s main rally of the year at Southend.

Mike Karslake had run the event in 1977 and ’78, which was seen by most as keeping an institution alive. They had been a rather more sedate affair with boiling pans of water for cups of tea and fruit cake handed out as refreshments. Even so, there was a custom show of sorts with trophies handed out by the Lord Mayor to give it a more prestigious feel. Times were changing and Mike had now handed control of the rally to LCGB who needed to cater for a much more vibrant and youthful membership. This was seen as the next step forward for the club and all those on the committee were prepared to put their shift in to make it all happen. Kev Walsh, though not the instigator of the

club reforming, that being down to John and Gordon, was happy to play his part. Like the rest of them, he was excited about the weekend’s events. Not only a break from the stresses of work but the chance to let his hair down enjoying his favourite pastime, that of scootering. Kev was no shirker though and knew it would mean a lot of work and organisation. Aside from that, there would be time over the three days to enjoy one’s self which had even greater appeal.

With the cost of entering the rally £1.50 to club members and only £2 to non members, it was competitively priced. The idea was simply to attract as many scooterists as possible and those that weren’t members of the club could sign up and join. With very little in the way of magazines or any other outlet for that matter to promote the club, the rallies seemed the ideal place to recruit new blood. Even though there was a scooter boom happening it was still difficult to judge just how many might actually turn up. With the facilities in place and plenty of room for camping, there shouldn’t be any need to turn anyone away. As the gates opened it quickly became apparent that the attendance was going to be way bigger than anyone expected. After all, it was the final bank holiday of the year and the chance to go on the piss at a seaside resort was all too tempting for many.

Just because it was a rally run by the LCGB didn’t mean you had to be a member to attend, so you didn’t need to own a Lambretta either. Many of those turning up were on Vespas as in most people’s minds it was a scooter rally and to them, it didn’t matter who the organisers were. Most attending, certainly the bigger clubs, knew each other anyway so it didn’t matter to them what scooter they owned. There would be no conflict and if there was any rivalry connected to whether you pledged allegiance to the Lambretta or Vespa it would only be in a light-hearted way. Even so, a rumour soon began to spread that many were turning up to take on a large gang of Teddy boys that were set to invade the town the same weekend. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Quadrophenia was beginning to influence people. Not just the music, fashion, or scooters but the bitter resentment between Mods and rockers and how it was portrayed in the film.

Things were starting to worry the committee members and John and Kev could feel the tension in the air, discussing it at regular intervals throughout the day. While everything was calm all they could do was carry on but at the same time be very vigilant. By Saturday well over a thousand scooterists were in attendance so given that there were only around 400 in the club it had been a great success on that front. At the same time, the rumoured stand-off between the rival factions had also failed

The majority of those involved in organising the Southend Rally happily posing for a photograph before any trouble started.

The official flyer for the event which offered, among other things, a police display. Quite ironic as in the end they played such a major part in what went on that weekend.

Quite often Mike Karslake would bring his Lambretta fire engine to display at the rally. A good idea considering the majority of the hay bales on the campsite were set on fire.

The Southend rally had been held in the same location since the 1960s but by 1979 things were definitely changing. Look closely and you will see the scooter holding everyone up in actually a Vega

Though it was listed as an LCGB event many of those attending did so by Vespa.