Who are the Knights of Southend-on-Sea 192? 

Not just the official line as that can be found on our
home page of our website (www.ksc192.org) but just
who are we in Southend-on-Sea?

People could say we are like worker ants busying ourselves around the parishes we work in. This is certainly true because we were the forerunners to Parish Councils back in the day, working with and for our parish priests who were also members, carrying out duties to assist the clergy in the running of the parishes. It is no coincidence that some of our main key members in years past were key to supporting my journey through life while growing up in a Catholic family with Catholic values, in a Catholic community not just in the parish I grew up and served in but around the parishes of the Borough of Southend. People that my family met with regularly and socialised with and it all centred around parish life. Charles and Doris Ogden who sadly both are no longer with us were always there in my parish of Saint John Fisher in Prittlewell while growing up. Charles was a member of the Knights for over fifty years until he passed away. I recently found my Children's Bible I was given at my First Holy Communion and in there is a card from Charles and Doris. In our parish he was involved in everything. The man in the background supporting the parish. I will never forget the words that Father (now Canon) Peter Connor said at Charles' funeral "that if there are any squeaky gates or doors in heaven then we can be certain that Charles would be reliably there to oil and fix them".

My Dad used to take me occasionally to Our Lady Help of Christians and Saint Helen in Westcliff-on-Sea. One of the key figures in that parish was a gentleman named Frank Persighetti who passed away on Monday March 17th 2014. Just like Charles Ogden, Frank was a key worker in his parish also involved in everything and well respected within the parish. He was also a member of the Knights for over fifty years when he passed away; sixty-four years a member to be precise.

One of my favourite churches to visit was Our Lady of Lourdes and Saint Joseph in Leigh-on-Sea. Here I used to met my extended family and cousins. My Uncle Gerard was until very recently Master of Ceremonies in this parish. My Granddad lived here too. Did I mention they were members of the Knights? Well, just like my Dad they were. My Dad has been an active member for well over fifty years.

The Knights of Saint Columba have been around in Southend-on-Sea since 1928. We have had many highlights and have reached some serious lows as well. We are the sum of our parts. Consistent, loyal and just eager to support our Church and our parishes. Individually we are nothing special. Dedicated perhaps but as a team we have done some phenomenal work. We all have different skill sets to offer. We all have flaws in our faith and as human beings. As Knights we can come together as a brotherhood, and this helps us all to develop our faith on our individual journeys.

As our blog entries develop, we (meaning our collective number) hope to add stories from years passed to build up a catalogue of our involvement in Catholic Action both locally and in wider circles as well as current activities and what we hope to achieve moving forward.

We hope we can share articles of value and we hope this blog can develop to record our history and contribution to our communities both past and recent.

Thanks for reading
Damian Dillon