Serena Silcock-Prince is to host a special free event at Southport’s Atkinson arts centre next month, sharing stories from the 130-year history of Silcock’s Leisure, including its humble beginnings as a coconut shy in Warrington run by her great-great-grandfather.

Silcock’s Leisure operations director Serena Silcock-Prince is to host a special free event at Southport’s Atkinson arts centre next month, sharing stories from the eventful 130-year history of her family firm.

Speaking alongside Justin Prescott – who has worked for Silcock’s for more than 30 years – Silcock-Prince will delve into the group’s past, from its humble beginnings to its modern-day position as a leading operator on the west coast.

“My great-great-grandfather worked on the Wire Works in Warrington,” Silcock-Prince told the Liverpool Echo. “On his break, he started this little makeshift coconut shy and charged people. I think a penny, or whatever the money was back in those days.”

“He made so much money and enjoyed it so much that he quit his job in the Wire Works and started in the amusement business. He had four sons and they all went into the amusement business. My grandfather obviously came to Southport.”

Silcock’s now operate a number of attractions across the town, including Funland, the Golden Gallopers, the Pier Restaurant, and Flavours Ice Cream Parlour, as well as several sites in Blackpool.

However, members of the family have also played prominent roles outside of the business, such as John Jackson, one of only two lifeboatmen to survive the wreck of the Mexico off the coast of Southport in 1886, when 27 other lifeboatmen lost their lives.

The talk, which takes place at The Atkinson between 1pm and 2pm on 13 May, will also include the stories of pioneering businesswomen Elizabeth Jackson, and her two daughters, as well as Silcock-Prince’s own career in the industry.