Southend United at 120: Families of First Players Reunite at Roots Hall

About 8,000 people attended Pioneers Day at Roots Hall as descendants of Southend United's earliest players traveled from Canada and Scotland to mark the club's 120th year.

Southend United marked 120 years as a club with a Pioneers Day celebration at Roots Hall, where about 8,000 people turned out to honor the Essex side's history. Among them were descendants of some of the club's first players, who traveled from Canada and Scotland for the occasion.

Roy Gabriel, 74, made the journey from Dawson Creek, Canada, with his wife, Cindy, 63, taking three flights inside 24 hours to be there. A year earlier, he had discovered that his great-grandfather was among the first men to play for Southend United.

That discovery began when a researcher for the club reached out to ask whether the family knew a man named Ben Freeman. Gabriel realized he did, though he had known him by the name Charles. Freeman had played football professionally for Southend United, and after his wife died in childbirth he was forced to part with his children, something Gabriel described as a pivotal moment in the family's history. In 1912, the four oldest Freeman children were sent to Canada.

Cindy Gabriel said the couple knew pieces of the family's story but had known nothing about Freeman the footballer until roughly a year ago. For her, the trip was about the resilience of families, how relatives can be separated and later come back together, and how those stories come to light. She added that something her relative was part of 120 years ago is still going strong.

Scotland provided its own contingent at the anniversary. Pat MacRae, 80, who lives in a village near Edinburgh, said her grandfather, William 'Jerry' Thompson, was the first player signed by the club, in 1906, and that the family had never fully realized what that meant. Thompson played fullback for Southend United.

MacRae said she viewed her grandfather as superman. She recalled that he taught her to drive at 16 and would allow her to drive to the village and back without her father knowing. When it came to his career, he said little, telling the family only that he had played, and MacRae noted that a grandson of hers plays football today.

Thompson's other granddaughter, Maureen Main, 84, also traveled from Scotland. She said she has plenty of stories about her grandfather and knew he had played for the club, describing him as someone who was always modest about what he did.

The pair once owned a medal that had belonged to Thompson and have now donated it to the club. Other family members at the anniversary brought medals passed down from the original players, carrying the club's earliest era into its 120th year.

On the football schedule ahead, Scotland host Slovenia at Hampden Park on Tuesday, October 6, with kickoff at 2:45 PM EDT.