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Issue No. 38 November 2004 – March 2005

Produced by Wigan Heritage Service FREE

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From the Editor

All comments and correspondence shouldbe addressed to:

Editor, ‘Past Forward’,Wigan Heritage Service, Observer Buildings,

Wood Street, Wigan WN3 4ETEmail: a.gillies@wlct.org

Firstly, a very big thank you to somany of you who have played yourpart in our recent consultationprocess. Your feedback has beeninvaluable in helping us improveour services and plan for thefuture (see p20 for further details).The response to the questionnairewhich appeared in the last issue ofPast Forward was particularlygratifying, both with regard to thenumber of forms returned and allthe encouraging comments whichyou had to make about themagazine. It’s so good to knowthat we have a product which is somuch appreciated by so many. It’snot perfect, of course, and a fewreaders did have some constructivecriticisms/suggestions to make; wewill, certainly, be taking a closelook at these comments, and amore detailed analysis (along withthe result of our prize draw!) willappear in the next issue.

Also in the next issue, we hopeto bring you some exciting news todo with the History Shop – watchthis space.

We have a wonderful exhibitionat present in the History Shop.Wigan Casino: the Heart ofNorthern Soul has provedimmensely popular (see pp3,19). Aparticular word of thanks to ClaireHawkins who curated theexhibition; unfortunately, how-ever, this was to be her partinglegacy to us, as she has nowreturned to her previous authority,Warrington (see opposite).

As Christmas rapidlyapproaches, I would like to remindreaders that the History Shop hasgot some very special Christmaspresents with a difference – I canassure you that you will not bedisappointed. It only remains forme to wish all our readers –throughout the world! - a veryHappy Christmas and prosperousNew Year.

Cover: Wigan Casino Club ‘All Nighter’ Poster, 1980.

Wigan Heritage ServiceThe Heritage Service has three main outlets – the History Shop, Archives andLeigh Local History. Please note that all telephone numbers have a 01942 code.If no individual email address is listed, please use leisureheritage@wlct.org

The History ShopLibrary Street Wigan WN1 1NU. Tel: 828128 (general enquiries), 828020 (local history desk – researchenquiries and bookings). Fax: 827645. Email: leisureheritage@wlct.orgOpening hours: Mon 10.00 -7.00; Tues - Fri 10.00-5.00; Sat 10.00-1.00

ArchivesTown Hall Leigh WN7 2DY. Tel: 404430 (general enquiries). Fax: 404425Opening hours: Tues-Thur 10.00 - 4.30 (by appointment)

Leigh Local HistoryTurnpike Centre Leigh Library Civic Square Leigh WN7 1EB. Tel: 404559 Fax: 404567Opening hours: Mon, Thur, Fri 9.30-7.00, Tues 10.00-7.00; Wed 9.30-5.00; Sat. 10.00-3.30

StaffAlastair Gillies – Heritage Services Manager (and Editor of Past Forward) – Tel:488468 Fax: 488479. Email: a.gillies@wlct.orgPhilip Butler – Visitor Services Manager – 827594 – p.butler@wlct.orgYvonne Webb – Collections Development Manager – 828123 – y.webb@wlct.org

Heritage OfficersTony Ashcroft – Local History, Leigh – 404559Alan Davies – Archives – 404431 – a.davies@wlct.orgMike Haddon – Industrial History – 828121Diane Teskey (from 4 Jan) – Community Outreach & Education - 828124Christine Watts – Local & Family History – 827404

Heritage AssistantsElizabeth Fairclough – 828128. Hilary Fairclough – 828128. Stephanie Tsang – 828128

TechnicalLen Hudson – Senior Technician & Photographer – 404432Terry Meehan – Museum Technician

COPY DEADLINEPlease note that the copydeadline for issue no 39

of Past Forward is 1 February 2005.

WHEN our popular CommunityOutreach & Education Officer, ClaireHawkins, left us at the end ofSeptember it was hard to believethat she had been with us for over18 months. These were months ofhard work, yet the time had simplyflown by. We are very happy toreport, however, that much wasachieved during this period.Anyone who witnessed the holidayactivity sessions in the WickhamGallery (the collage footballer, theHalloween creepy-crawlies or theminiature museums) or indeed hasvisited the Wigan Casino - theHeart of Soul exhibition in theTaylor Gallery, will have first handexperience of some of her work andinfluence on the service.

Goodbye and Good Luck!In October Claire took up her

new post of Local Heritage AccessOfficer at Warrington Museum. Asthis is her hometown and whereshe continues to live, alas we couldnot compete. We would all like towish Claire well in her future careerat Warrington and thank her for hertime here in Wigan.

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History Shop Exhibition ReviewWigan on the Map – on now atthe History Shop

A highly colourful and creative ‘map’ (28 giant panelsfeaturing embroidered, painted and knitted images) wasmade by community groups from all over Wigan Borough tocelebrate the new Millennium. The images reflect the bestloved aspects of each area, whether it is the local church,pub, legends or community organisation.

Talks and tours available by advanced booking for groupsand societies (tel: 01942 828128).

Review - A Feast of Photography!Our annual celebration of photography and its valuable

contribution to local history and culture was, as usual, a greatsuccess. We began by showing some of the fascinatingpictures in our own extensive archive collections, illustratingthe milestones of our daily lives with events such aschristenings, marriages, first day at school and our firstseaside holiday! This was followed by work from two localphotographic societies, Wigan and Atherton. The creative anddiverse photographs on display represented the culminationof a year’s hard work by society members. It is alwaysintriguing to see the world through the eyes of someone else!Visitors once again, had the opportunity to vote for theirfavourite picture in the Wigan show. The result will not berevealed until next year’s show, so make sure you are there!

Still on the theme of photography, the Heritage Service iscurrently investigating the possibility of digitising part of ourphotographic archive and making it available on the worldwide web for all. We would be interested to know what youthink, so if you have a view, contact Yvonne Webb (01942828123).

Current exhibition - WiganCasino: The Heart of Soul - Until26 February 2005

Our final exhibition of the year. This exhibition explores andcelebrates the history of a local dance hall credited by many asthe birthplace of Northern Soul. Built in 1915 the buildingfirstly named the Empress Ballroom (known in Wigan as theEmp) became world famous in it’s later incarnation as WiganCasino. From 1973 to the early 1980’s the scene was massive,with soul fans travelling across the country for the regular“Allnighters”. Dancers from the Casino appeared on Top ofthe Pops, American musicians jetted in especially to performand the venue won the accolade “best disco in the world” fromthe American music magazine Billboard. Eventuallydemolished in 1982, Wigan Casino is now the subject of books,paintings, a touring play, regular articles in the press andtelevision documentaries. Soul DJs and their network of fanscontinue to “keep the faith” with many events, fanzines andradio programmes. Many local people have memories of the“Allnighters”, the atmosphere, the unique style of dancing, therecord traders, and the rare 1960’s soul records re-discoveredfor a new audience.

The exhibition is proving to be a favourite, especially withthose of you who remember dancing the night away to thesounds of Northern Soul (see review of the exhibition launchby Visitor Services Manager Philip Butler on p19). We will beorganising an oral history recording day in conjunction withexperts from the North West Sound Archive to capturememories of the old Empress Ballroom and Wigan Casino.The tape recordings will be preserved for future generationsat NWSA headquarters in Clitheroe Castle, and copies kept forreference at the History Shop. Keep a look out in the localpress for details, and please come along. Otherwise, valuableinformation could be lost forever.

The life and death of Wigan Casino.

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Dear Mr. GilliesI enclose an article which I

would like you to consider forpublication in Past Forward,celebrating the centenary of thevisit of Buffalo Bill’s Wild WestShow to Leigh.

Colin BlakeWigan

LEIGH, OCTOBER 1904. Reportsabounded in the district that aparty of around 100 Sioux bravesand warriors from other allied tribeswas active within a ten mile radiusof the town.

Witnesses described attacks oncabins in St. Helens. Stagecoacheswere pursued and even a cavalryregiment was defeated and itstroops massacred. Anticipation ranhigh as the Indians were expectedto arrive at the town soon.……

And arrive they did on Sunday 2October 1904, by three specialtrains. The famous Buffalo Bill’s WildWest & Congress of Roughriders ofthe World made a tour of Britain in1904; it had been at St. Helens on

Saturday 1 October before movingon to Leigh on the Sunday topresent the show the following day(3 October).

Col. William F. Cody (Buffalo Bill) asdepicted on the poster for the Leigh

performances.

The show featured the re-enactment of ‘Custer’s Last Stand’ aswell as attacks on ‘the Deadwood

Stage’ and a ‘Settler’s Cabin’, whichare the incidents referred to in theopening paragraph.

Other examples of life in the WildWest were shown but the show didnot confine itself to depicting these,as the Congress of Roughriders of theWorld demonstrates.

The local press tells us that littlewas done on the day of arrivalexcept to make provision for thehorses, but on the Monday, a tent tohold some 12,000 people waserected with other sideshows.

The afternoon show drew anattendance of 6,000, but in theevening, special trams were laid onto bring people in from Athertonand Tyldesley, many of whom couldnot be accommodated.

The Show

The show which the thousandscame to see had changed in manyrespects. Annie Oakley was nolonger with the show and thefamous Sitting Bull had been killedsome years earlier. His son, youngSitting Bull, however, did appear, atleast according to the St. HelensReporter of Friday 30 September1904.

The Indians AreComing!

An artist’s impression of the Wild West showground which was set up on the Buck’s Farm Estate in the area, betweenpresent day Bonnywell Road and Pennington Brook, Leigh.

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However, those attending stillgot their money’s worth. The showstarted with a grand parade of allthe company, led by Buffalo Billhimself. Apart from the Indians andCowboys, the parade includedhorsemen from all over the world.Mexican Vaqueros rode with Arabspahis. The U.S. cavalry rodealongside British lancers. Gauchosfrom the Argentine featured, alongwith the Cossacks of Russia andhorsemen from Japan. Theappearance of the last two wasparticularly remarkable as the twocountries were at war with eachother at the time!

According to the Leigh Journal of7 October 1904, all the performers“…..are genuinely what theyrepresent and not actors .…..” It waseven claimed that some of the SiouxIndians had actually participated inthe Battle of the Little Big Horn. Bethat as it may, the various riders puton displays that were worthy of thecultures they represented.

The equestrian events were notthe only features on show. Theywere followed by the various re-enactments of life on the Americanfrontier and then by variousspeciality acts. One of these was thespectacular 40 foot leap throughspace by Mr. George C. Davis, whoperformed under the name of‘Carter, the Cowboy Cyclist’.

The Site

So where in Leigh did this greatspectacle take place. The report ofthe show in one paper says:

“it was located in the large fieldon the east side of St. Helens Road,between the railway and the brook”.The brook is Pennington Brook. Therailway line used to cross St HelensRoad just above Lightbourne Avenueon the west side and present-dayBonnywell Road on the east side.This would put the site of the showsomewhere along the line ofPennington Road between thesewage farm and St. Helens Road.The latter occupied the same site in1904 as it does today.

Nothing marks the site todaybut, if you are lucky, you may seesome horses grazing in the field and

imagine them to be Sioux warponies as they were on that day 100years ago, when the Indians came totown.

Newspaper illustration of the bicycle leap across 40 feet by ‘Carter, theCowboy Cyclist’.

The fields between Pennington Road and Pennington Brook, Leigh. SiouxIndians grazed their war ponies at (or very near) this spot in Leigh 100

years ago.

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Marylebone Village 1900-1950Messrs. Ball & Birchall & families,

owners of Marylebone StoresLONG forgotten familypapers have come intomy possession referringto “the sale of valuablefreehold residences,shops, dwelling houses,ground rents and otherproperties, includingeligible building sites,situate in Wigan districtto be sold by auction atthe Clarington Hotel,Wigan, on Wednesdaythe 5th day ofSeptember, 1923, at2o’clock prompt, andbeing the estate of thelate Herbert SpencerWoodcock, Esq.” Havinglived all my 80 years,apart from war service,on part of this estate atMarylebone and MiltonGrove, I will endeavourto recall some of myearlier recollections andcurrent comments on lifefrom 1923 onwards.

In September 1923 mygrandparents, who cameoriginally from a farm atTunley, Wrightington,must have gone along tothe sale of these propertiesand land and successfullybid for Lot No.6, being sixdwelling houses and shopand post office.

Family enterprise

A big decision wasmade in the family that, inorder to make a success ofthis newly acquiredbusiness and post office, itwould be a good idea toget family membersinvolved in the enterpriseand for all to live in theadjoining cottages to theshop.

So, it came about thatmy family moved fromHalifax, Yorkshire, to livein one of the cottages. Myfather had been badlygassed in the First World

War and was finding itdifficult to keep to histrade as a cabinetmakerbecause of ill health; thismove obviously solved theproblem of caring for hisfamily. He did not work inthe family business butwas able to find light worklocally. My mother, on theother hand, was skilled atdressmaking and tailoring,and managed the draperydepartment at the shop.

Influx of workers

All this happenedc.1925, with my mother,brother and myself settledin the end cottage, whichhad frontage onto WiganLane and was surroundedby trees and gardens; con-version from privy towater closets had takenplace by the time wearrived. One can assumethat the cluster of cottagesand school at Marylebonehad been built some 40years previous (c.1883),when privies were part ofvillage life, to house theinflux of workers to themill quite near toMarylebone at the bottomof Leyland Mill Lane.

In those days thefamous Laxey Wheel wasmade near the river andhad to be hauled upLeyland Mill Lane by ateam of horses strainingon the cobbles, and withropes pulled through ringsfitted into the walls of thelane to haul various partsup to Wigan Lane fortransportation toLiverpool, and then byship to the Isle of Man.

Marlyebone Stores

Marlyebone Stores,meantime, was starting toexpand into quite a big

store with a post office,grocers, butchery, fruitand vegetables, potteryand drapery department.

Two lady assistantshelped my two uncles, myaunt and my mother in thestore. My uncles took it inturns to run the butcher’sshop and deliver orders tothe surrounding districts.Business and familypressures were great andoften, as children, we hadto scuttle away from raised,angry, tired voices.

Apart from my father,good health prevailed inthe family, and late nightswere spent on the manychores such as fillingbasins with cooked meatand gelatine, boiling hams,keeping accounts andequipment in good orderand clean.

Sunday Parade

On Sunday summerevenings the butcher’sshop was scrubbed downand opened, to sellhomemade ice cream,sweets and chocolates tothrongs of young ladiesand gentlemen whoparaded up and downWigan Lane, from Swinleyto the Cherry Gardens, intheir Sunday best clothesin the hope of attracting asuitor.

As there were fewmotorcars or garages, thispromenading did notcreate any problems andreasonably goodbehaviour was the order ofthe day. Most of thethrong had spent part ofthe day at a religiousservice or Sunday school,as we did. The religiousfestivals were a yearlypattern to life, withWalking Days and outingsconnected to the churchenjoyed by many families;an arranged charabancouting to the seaside wasa special treat.

Daily life

Meanwhile, thesurrounding cottages andour school were a hub ofactivity as families got onwith their lives, with themenfolk following theirtrades and the womencooking and keeping theirfamilies and houses cleanwith the limited appliancesand cleaning materialsavailable at this time -rubbing boards, dolly tubs,squeezers (used to removewater from washed clothesand bedding) - and allhaving to be worked byhand power.

Wigan Town seemed along way away from the

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close-knit community atMarylebone, with themining, cotton andengineering industriesdeveloping at a great pacein Lancashire as a whole.Lots of workers who hadworked on the land gotemployment in the millsthat had begun to changethe landscape aroundWigan. Men also foundemployment in the manymines being sunk in thearea, as coal had longsince been found to beplentiful and was nowneeded for the industriesand homes. Work was alsoavailable on the railwaysand canals, withapprenticeships openingdoors to advancement inmost of these industries.

As the professionalfamilies moved into thearea, there were plenty ofjobs in their houses for thelocal women.

Electricity had notcome to our cottages in theearly 1930’s and Iremember that gas withfragile mantles was themeans of lighting in thehome and on the streets. Aman came round at duskto turn on the streetlightsand came back again atdawn to turn then off.Coke and coal were usedfor heating and the airoutside was far fromfresh, especially in thewinter. This led to manychest complaints andspitting in the streets withspittoons, and sawdustbeing used in publicplaces.

School

The school atMarylebone had a cross-section of pupils aged 5-11years. Fields and wood-lands nearby were beingbought by WiganCorporation and specula-tors to build houses fordoctors, solicitors, den-tists, skilled and semi-skilled workers, and manyother professions, andsome of their childrencame to the school.

The school had aheadmistress and twoother teachers who werededicated, unmarried andtalented. They were strictdisciplinarians in a prettyparochial environment, butwith lots of music, playacting, country dancingand singing on the lighterside.

Health

One family in thecottages developed TB andit swept through the familymembers shortening theirlives. Also, the feverhospital at Whelley was abusy place and not afavourite hospital to becontemplated by youngminds.

Around this time mostchildren in Wigan werevaccinated againstsmallpox and if you wore ared ribbon on your arm itmeant, “keep off, I’ve got asore arm”. Payments hadto be made for doctors’visits and medicines – itwas also quite normal forfamilies to use herbal

remedies that had beenpassed down forgenerations to cure theirills.

Marylebone Stores waswell placed to cater for thenearby residents andbeyond, and to share theirgriefs and joys.

The daily confiningchores of looking after afamily also created a nichefor home visits by my auntto collect weekly groceryorders; as children we weresometimes allowed to goalong with her on thesevisits and watch as thelittle attaché case wasopened to take out theorder book and see thedisplay of new lines ofconvenience foods thathad come on the marketand on the shelves of thestore.

The normal diet at thistime was basic andwholesome, with lots ofpotatoes, vegetables andmeat in the winter, andgreens and fruits in thesummer, usually grownand delivered to the storefrom the surroundingcountryside.

Survival of the fittest

On reflection, I supposean accurate description ofthese early days was‘survival of the fittest’. Butone marvels at thededication and goodcharacter andthoroughness of the menand women who workedon the various committees,planning and deliberatingto take Wigan and itssurroundings throughthese challenging times –particularly as regardshealth, schooling, housing,and the obvious need formass entertainment whichcame with the expansionof the town.

On the roads

In the early 1900’strams were well used, andran past the rows of

cottages on Wigan Lane ontheir way to and fromWigan and Boar’s Head;later these were replacedby buses.

One day, out of theblue, a young manappeared on a pedal bikewith a box on the front,and we children wereintroduced to our first‘Stop me and buy one’ icecream man. Massedproduced ice cream hadarrived and it was wellworth saving or beggingpocket money to ‘buy one’.

Horse drawn wagonswere still widely used totransport coal and othergoods around Wigan, andmilk was brought round bya farmer with his milk floatpulled by a horse. Ladlingthe milk from a huge churnwas not very hygienic;nevertheless, we used toput the milk jug on thedoorstep, cover it, and waitfor the daily pint to arrive.Refrigeration in the homewas a long way off, someans had to be found tokeep food and milk as coolas possible, in the shape ofbig earthenware pots keptin the cool pantry.

When the tram servicewas replaced by buses, thewalled brick road wasreplaced by the presentwide boulevard – which isstill a very attractivegateway to Wigan town.

Bank House wasdemolished andMarylebone Park created.Mr. Woodcock’s old house,‘The Elms’ still stands andis now used by the NHS.Also, many of the treesaround Marylebone Parkand Milton Grove belongedto his estate and are stillstanding.

Like me, I’m sure manyWiganers love this part ofWigan and we old onesremember, with greataffection, all the grocersand merchants whoserved our town soconscientiously.

Mrs P. RoweWigan

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The Battle of Howe Bridge1881THOSE interested in military matters

will be well aware of the Battle ofWigan Lane in 1651, during the CivilWar. Apart from that skirmish andother even less important events inthe dark and distant past, we cannotclaim to have many important battlesites within the borough. Manyreaders, perhaps, will not know thatthe numbers involved in the Battle ofHowe Bridge in 1881 probablyexceeded those involved at WiganLane, yet the ‘battle’ was of a totallydifferent nature.

Events leading up to the battle In 1872 the Lancashire and

Cheshire Miners Permanent ReliefSociety (LMPRS) was founded withheadquarters at Wigan. Regularpayments guaranteed compensationto the men and their families afterinjuries or death occasioned at thepit. The men paid in 75% of thecontributions but the coalownersmade up 99% of the board. Thisdispleased the men no end, yet theyhad no alternative.

In 1880 the Employers’ LiabilityAct arrived, forcing employers tocompensate workers for accidentswhere the employers were negligent.The coalowners were furious as themining industry traditionallysuffered massively, on a daily basis,serious injury and death. Wigan coalowner John Knowles, MP for Wigantold the House of Commons in 1876that the Act “would lead to nothingbut carelessness and idleness amongminers”. He was obviously beingvery wary, as are today’s employersof ‘compensation culture’!

Miners could opt out of localschemes such as the LMPRS, if theyso desired. The coalowners told theirworkers that unless they stayed inthe LMPRS they would be sacked on1 January 1881. As a resultapproximately 50,000 men and boysin the Lancashire Coalfield went onstrike.

Reluctant strikersAtherton miners working for the

caring Fletcher Burrows and Co hadalready locally negotiated a betterwages agreement than those innearby mining districts, and hadeven achieved the current paydemand. The company also hadembraced with open arms theEmployers’ Liability Act. Atherton’sminers still stopped work, thinking

of the wider union cause, but by 26January the pits were reopened andmost of the men went back.

Meanwhile, angry mobs ofminers roamed the mining districtsaggressively picketing thoseworking. On 25 January 1881, atWharton Hall Colliery, Tyldesley, 18-year-old collier Samuel Findlay ofAtherton died during fighting .

As things worsened the militaryin the form of the 18th Hussars andthe 18th Regiment of Infantry werecalled in and sent to Leigh. TheAtherton miners return to work hadinfuriated the strikers, and on 28January 1881 thousands of minersfrom Ince, Haydock, St. Helens,Wigan and Hindley attended a massmeeting in Leigh.

A jolly rompThe events which took place after

the Leigh meeting are detailed in thefollowing extracts from the curiouslywritten account which appeared as asupplement to the Leigh Chronicle on5 February 1881. The account is astrange mixture of fact, humour,sarcasm about miners’ character andseeing the event as one greatadventure, plus journalistic licence.Very much, in fact, how a Sunreporter of today would approach theevent!

Edited excerpts from the LeighChronicle supplement of 5 Feb1881

The journalist responsible for this

colourful account is not known. Dueto the length of the piece, only themore interesting sections aretranscribed below.

“Friday 28 January, 1881, willbe long remembered in the annals ofHowe Bridge. The air was full ofrumour as to coming events, and thepresence of Infantry at Atherton andof the Hussars at Leigh suggestedmany terrible forebodings in theminds of the more fearful. Greatexcitement prevailed in the whole ofthe district, especially as crowd aftercrowd poured into Leigh from alldirections, many of the lads andyounger men openly brandishingsticks and carrying stones, andloudly cheering, bands of musicadding not a little to the din.

So alarmed were the tradespeoplethat shortly after noon most of theshops in the town (Leigh) wereclosed, but before this was done,numbers of men availed themselvesof the opportunity to collect aid inmoney and kind, some of themrather demanded than appealed forit. In two or three cases theybehaved in the most cowardly anddisgraceful way.

A gang waited upon Mrs. Atkins,who kept her confectioner’s shop inLord Street, and asked her tocontribute to the relief fund. Shegave them some coppers, saying thatshe could not afford more, but notcontent with her contribution, theycoolly set about plundering her shopof the confectionery it contained, thebulk of which they carried off. Muchof the remainder got scattered on thefloor and trampled upon.

In the meantime theneighbourhood of the Police Courtwas not entirely free, many idlersstanding about waiting for‘something to turn up’. Here wereassembled in the buildings several ofthe magistrates for the division,among them being Jabez Johnson,Caleb Wright, T. Lee, T.T. Hayes,Abraham Burrows and RalphFletcher Junior. Captain Allison, theAssistant Chief Constable for theCounty was also present with Supt.Jackson, and the available forcenumbered 50 stalwart men, armedwith truncheons and cutlasses.

At the Courts Hotel the trooperswere paraded and intelligence beingbrought that one of the bands of

Medal struck after the Battle ofHowe Bridge (see p10)

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music had gone towards Athertonheading a mob, the Police andHussars immediately followed,amidst a very babel of groans andhootings and more unpleasantmanifestations of dislike in the shapeof stones and sticks. At Howe Bridgethe police turned up the road on theleft leading to the pits, and awaitedevents. There were here not only theHussars but a Company of the 8thRegiment Infantry, under thecommand of Captain Egerton andLieutenant Mellor, from the SalfordBarracks.

As many of the mob weregradually creeping up the road itwas decided by the authorities toendeavour to disperse the peoplebefore they came to close quarters.Sergeant Dunn and his menthereupon charged at the doubledown the road, amidst a shower ofstones, and did terrible executionamong the flying mob, using theirstaffs most vigorously. The trooperssimultaneously rode into the fields,and thus perhaps unintentionallydrove many of the mob into the armsof the police, by whom they werewarmly received.

Many, in order to get out of theway, took refuge in the closets andouthouses behind the neighbouringcottages, from which they werehauled by the police and hammered.The stones flew in all directions,many of the police being hurt. Somein the mob indeed showed a recklessindifference worthy of a better cause.Having dispersed the crowd from thecolliery road, the constables returnedfor a rest, but it was soon clear that

the mob was bent on mischief, alarge number of men taking the roadleading to the Lovers Lane Pit by theside of Kemp’s public house.

Another charge was thereuponmade, the police clearing the mainroad driving the ‘enemy’ acrosshedge and ditch into the fields,amidst some very discreet stonethrowing from behind the cottages.In spite of these determined chargesby the police, the crowd kept closingup as soon as their ‘natural enemies’retired to the road, and after a lullstone throwing was renewed and theexcited crowd again became defiant.Captain Burn and Lieut. Van-NottenPole, in command of the Hussars,urged the reading of the Riot Act, asseveral of the troopers had beenstruck by stones.

Several of the magistrates tookthe same view, and at length Mr.Jabez Johnson, accompanied by Mr.Burrows and Mr. Marsh,magistrate’s clerk, left a cab, andadvancing into the highway, facedthe crowd in the field, and turned tothe mob which blocked the highwayon each side. “Go away” said Mr.Burrows; “the Riot Act is going to beread.” What the ..…. do we care,”was the reply, followed up bystones. Mr. Johnson then read theshort Act in bold and measuredtones. The last word was scarcelyuttered before the Hussars, drawingtheir swords, charged in alldirections.

The scene that followed cannotbe described. The strategicmovements of the crowd, east, west,north and south, anywhere out of

the way, became a subject of generalconversation. The crowd weredriven far and wide but so soon asthe troops returned, the mob beganto creep quietly up again, and for atleast an hour little rushes along theroad were necessary to keep downthe lawless spirit of some of themob.

Shortly after three o’clock, whenthose working in its pits were readyto leave for home, the row re-commenced. About a score of menwith black faces made their wayfrom the Crombouke Pit. They werehailed as ‘knobsticks’ and freelystoned. The police then hurried afterthem using their truncheons, but themob were still threatening, and the‘knobsticks’ took refuge in thecottages. The Infantry were thencalled out, marched through HoweBridge and back again, and the‘knobsticks’ were escorted home in acart, guarded by eight troopers.

The Yankee who treatedeverything he came across as ajoking matter is reported to havedrawn the line at a mule’s hind legsafter some practical experience atclose quarters. Some of the choicerspirits at Howe Bridge were moredetermined. Out of the painfulexperiences of the miners’ strikethey drew a supply of good, bad andindifferent humour, which was acredit to their inventive genius. It isprobably that in no other localitycould such original wit and good‘story telling’ have been set a-goingas there was in Howe Bridge afterthe ‘Battle of Howe Bridge’ wasfought.

The incident is not, in itself,pleasant to dwell upon. In fairnessto the colliers it should not beforgotten that the disturbance wascaused by comparatively few out ofa large community, most of the fewbeing young men and boys, andnearly all strangers from Wigan andSt. Helens. The charge of theHussars over hedge and ditchnerved many an old competitor atthe Athletic Sports to run as in theolden days. As told with pantingbreath, after all danger was over,the story was like that of theHighlander: -

Some say that we ranSome say that they ranSome say that we both ran away,man.It may be safely asserted that

they did run. The flashing sabre of aHussar charging at point is awonderful incentive to rapid

Engraving from the Leigh Chronicle of the ‘gallant’ charge of the Hussars. Topleft corner shows the police waiting to take action, with local magistrate Ralph

Fletcher Junior seen holding a pistol.

Continued on page 10

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progress. Space would fail totell.………

Of most disastrous chances;Of moving accidents by road andfield;Of hair breadth ‘scapes.Of being taken by the insolentfoe.How one amateur rioter boldy

stood his ground and braved thedanger of being made a ‘bored man’by some luckless thrust of trooper’ssword. How he escaped because ofhis intimate acquaintance with theHussar, who had marked him for hisprey.

How an ex-volunteer ran atdangerous speed across three fieldsonly to have recalled to his mind that‘the wicked flee when no manpursueth’. How an active member of‘Our Own’, and until April 1880, abold exponent of advanced Jingosim,pitifully pleaded on the lines of thedoctrine of non-intervention, andclaimed immunity from attack on thescore of his long and distinguishedservices for Queen and Country. Howyet another took two hours intravelling from Howe Bridge stationto Atherton Mill, and eventuallyreturned to Kirkhall Lane viaChowbent, Little Hulton, Tyldesleyand Little Hulton. How one braverthan the rest ran his head into aconvenient haystack and defied theworld, whilst his less sensitivecompanions crept beneath amongstthe rats. How in fact, everyone wasvery brave, but very discreet, and,after running as though for theirlives, returned to Howe Bridge, andhave since narrated long and welldigested descriptions of theirexperiences.

From the pit brow much could beseen, and at times it was vastlyamusing. The troopers made playfulexercise around the heads of those intheir way, and frightened manyscores to the verge of despair. In onecase a man hurrying over a stile wasabout to receive a blow from the flatside of a sword, but swerving at themoment of attack, received inaddition, a slashing injury to hisgarment and a slight cut to himself,

sufficient to compel him for a fewdays to ‘sit standing up’. It was,however, singularly to mark howuniformly uninjured were those whodisplayed the greatest bravery.

This account would not becomplete without mention of thewar-service medal of bold proportionand goodly pattern, which waspresented by the ingenious inventorand designer to the officers of theHussars, and a few of the moreactive participators in the affray.The medal bears the inscription:‘Chowbent Battle of Howe Bridge1881’. Another decoration [a leadversion later to be made at GibfieldColliery, AD] is still wanting tosuitably reward those distinguishednon-combatant members of localsociety who can conscientiouslydeclare that they were notfrightened, and that in telling thestory of the retreat from HoweBridge, they have kept within thelimits of strict facts.”

In conclusionThe events of 1881 at Howe

Bridge were repeated in most miningdistricts in the latter years of the19th century. Atherton’s miners hadgood reason to be content with theirlot and were the envy of miners inother districts. They were a fairworkforce though, who did notoppose strike action in every conflict.That workforce was to show, in 1893for instance, that they were preparedto suffer great hardship for sixteenweeks when they thought theircause fair. Amazingly FletcherBurrows and Co supported theiraction and helped them withadditional non-mining work andfood. The majority of Atherton’sminers supported the 1912minimum wage strike, and they alsosupported the 1921 and 1926 strikes(albeit being virtually the first in thecountry to return to work!).

On another note the supplementto the Chronicle is a good example ofhow the researcher should be verycareful of relying on newspaperaccounts. Within the account liesfact, waiting to be extracted from thejournalistic colouring. Whateveryour archive source always think ofthe context the writer is in and his orher relationship to the eventsrecorded.

(Thanks to Ken Wood of Heaton,Bolton, author of The Coalpits ofChowbent (1984) for allowing theuse of his transcription of theChronicle supplement)

Alan DaviesHeritage Officer (Archives)

The Battle ofHowe Bridge

1881–––––

Continued from page 9

I have sent this message to a relation inthe U.S. I thought you might like to haveit for Past Forward.

Bob HeavisideStandish Wigan

When do you say that it’s worth itFor future generations to hearWhen do you think it’s interesting enoughAnd to hear it from this volunteer.

I’ve been around now for a few yearsAnd what I have seen I could tellAll about Queen and her countryAnd some here at home as well.

We had a war and it was bloodyThough I didn’t stray too far from homeFilling sand bags,wrapping bandages atthe infirmaryDon’t worry this isn’t a tome.

With V.C.s,D.S.O.s and such likeThe war soon came to an endAnd you coming straight from the U.S.Of course there was Roosevelt and LeaseLend.

And now if we disregard T.V.And getting older we can spout“What did you do in the war dad?”Is that what we hear the kids shout?

It’s not the war that mattersGetting on with others,that’s the thingHow we all jell togetherAnd “how long is a piece of string”.

So sit the young ones on your knee paAnd tell them just what;s going onDon’t let them think we don’t care nowSpeak up, you’ve done it all my son!

From all at WiganHeritage Serviceto all readers of

a HappyChristmas and a

ProsperousNew Year.

Past Forward

11

Another War in IraqTHE invasion of Iraq during early 2003, togetherwith its subsequent occupation by British andAmerican forces, still fills our daily newspapers.During that conflict many comparisons were writtenwith the British invasion of Iraq during World War I,made in order to liberate it from Turkish occupation.Most stressed the disastrous surrender of Britishforces at Kut, and not too many the triumphantoccupation of Baghdad two years later.

Even less prominentlyremembered are the eventswhich occurred during theBritish occupation of Iraqwhich covered many yearsfollowing the collapse ofthe Turkish Empire, as thevictors strove to bringgovernment, law and orderto the region previouslyheld down under atyrannical regime (whosays that history doesn’trepeat itself?) If you lookdeeply into every greathistorical event you willfind human stories whichhave been overlooked bythe larger picture but whichmean everything to thoseinvolved.

William Moore DCM

On the Basra Memorialwhich commemoratesthose British servicemenwho died in the Iraq(Mesopotamia as it wasthen known) theatre ofoperations who have noknown grave can be foundthe name William MooreDCM. Moore lived inNewfold, Orrell, then acluster of small cottages ina small lane near thepresent Upholland HighSchool, now replaced bymodern housing. As a boyhe attended St LukesElementary School beforestaring work at BisphamColliery as a drawer.

In June 1915 William,only just 18 years old,volunteered for the Army.His service records containthree numbers: 3513734,201290 and 89029,indicating that he wasreallocated to differentunits; but in March 1918,when the Germanslaunched their final franticattempt to break throughthe allied lines, he was

signaller in a servicebattalion of he ManchesterRegiment. Outnumberedby swarms of attackingstorm troopers andbattered by the enemyartillery, the Britishdefenders held on and theline was saved.

There were manyindividual examples ofheroism over those fewdays, and on 3 September1918 the London Gazetterecorded a citation whichread:

“201290 Pte. W Moore,Manchester Regiment(Wigan). For conspicuousgallantry and devotion toduty when he remained inan open trench at a visualsignal station under heavybombardment and by thisaction maintainedcommunication.”

He had been awardedthe Distinguished ConductMedal, an honour secondonly to the Victoria Cross.

Local people in Newfoldand Billinge Higher Endheld a collection and, onFriday 25 October 1918,presented William with agold watch in appreciationand recognition of his

DCM. In February 1920 theUpholland District Councilpresented gold medals toMoore, and also to thefamilies of two soldiers,Lance Corporal FredLatham and CorporalJoseph Calderbank whohad been awarded medalsfor military distinctionduring the war but hadbeen subsequently killed inaction.

Mesopotamia

After the war Williamwas unable to settle downand re-enlisted in theArmy, this time beingposted to the 2nd Battalionof the ManchesterRegiment. His regimentwas transferred toMesopotamia where, underthe terms of the 1918Armistice with Turkey, aBritish force was to remainin possession. Then, asnow, Iraq was an unrulyplace where some tribeswere friendly towards theoccupying powers andsome were hostile.

On 4 June 1920 anuprising of dissident tribestook place and a force wassent to put it down. On 20July 1920 the 2ndManchesters were orderedto Hillah, on the railwayline 70 miles south ofBaghdad, to relieve 500

Indian troops and toreassure the friendlynatives in the area. Theymarched in temperaturesover 120F in the shade -although there was noshade! - and the Medicalofficer insisted on a 24hour recovery period forthe men.

The Manchesters dug inbut four days later theywere surrounded andattacked by severalthousand well armedArabs. After some fiercefighting the Manchestersattempted to withdraw.The noise and confusionpanicked the transportanimals; the enemy closedin, resulting in fierce hand-to-hand fighting. Althoughthe Arabs were beaten off,the defenders lost 20killed, 60 wounded and300 missing, of whom only79 were later confirmed asprisoners.

Lance Corporal WilliamMoore was among thosekilled. He was just 23years old, and one of40,000 British and Indiankilled between 1914 and1921, during the periodwhen Iraq was liberatedfrom Turkish rule. Just onestory from the widerpicture.

Fred Holcroft(research by Carol

Littler)

Photograph of WilliamMoore, Wigan Observer,23 Nov 1918, after hispresentation with a gold

watch at Bispham Colliery.

William Moore is standing on the left of the back row inthis photograph dated 27 April 1918 (locationunknown). Written on it are the words “Go one betterboys”, the motto of the 42nd Division, coined by itsGeneral Officer Commanding, Major General Arthur Solly-Flood CB, CMG, DSO.

12

Family History Project newsLocal researchers never cease to amaze me with their

energy and enthusiasm for indexing local records.Recently completed by Freda Chorlton is a much needed

street index relating to all our filmed areas of the census for1871. Freda has now turned her energies to indexing WiganLower Ince Cemetery registers. Since these cover 1856-1976,even with the help of another Friend, Gerald Marsden, Freda’stime should be well taken up for quite some time. Anyone withtime, energy and the inclination to assist Freda and Geraldshould contact Christine Watts on 01942 828020.

As usual Gerry Rigby and his cohorts continue theirdedication to indexing the 1901 census and we have nowreceived the name index to piece RG 13 3564 (Hindley).

Local researchers have also been heavily involved inindexing the marriage registers held by Wigan Register Officefor Lancashirebmd. I am told that an untold number ofmistakes exist in the local marriage indexes and moreimportantly, complete omissions from the listings. Uploadingthe actual data will take a while but I am assured that they willall be online very soon.

Wigan WebsitesVisitors to The History Shop often ask what local websites

are available to assist them in their researches, whether thisis local or family history. I am happy to say that where oncewe had little to report, there is now a growing number of sitesdevoted to life in the Borough in the present and past. Mostare by local people, some highlight local churches and others,census records. But all are noteworthy.

www.wiganworld.co.ukThis magnificent site has grown considerably over the past

year and is steadily amassing a staggering amount ofinformation. Currently there are over 5,200 local photos, inboth colour and black and white, illustrating life from theVictorian era to the present day. Added to these is a fairlylarge selection of local directories. Also of interest are theforums for genealogy and for Wigan ex-pats in general wishingto make contact locally.

Other delights include a section for local walks, completewith photos, and local events (currently St. George’s DayParade). There are also three new linked pages for TheHistory Shop, Wigan Family History Society and Fred Dibnah!This last page has a link for Astley Green Colliery Museum.

The pages for The History Shop, besides showingwonderful colour photos of the building, inside and out, alsolist our microfilm holdings for local churches, whilst those forWigan Family History Society give members’ interests andcontact details, plus a name index to the 1841 Census. Thereare also links to our own web-site at wwwwww..wwllcctt..oorrgg (see below)

Brian Thurston and his son Richard are to becongratulated for the quality of their photos and the web site.If you haven’t already done so, take a look at wiganworld.

www.wlct.orgThis is Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust’s own website and

gives the usual details of opening hours and contact details.More to the point, clicking on culture and then heritage bringsup the Heritage Service page and lists sources available forresearch at our three venues along with details of exhibitionsat the the History Shop. There are no original sources on thesite, however, and the site needs updating a little.

Additions to The Taylor GalleryDonationsSt Anne’s C.E., Shevington; Index to Burials 26 July 1889– 22 August 1914St Thomas, UpHolland; Marriage Index August 1837 –February 20041901 census index, Hindley RG13 3562-4Hawthorne, Ian The Ghosts of UpHolland 133.129Hayes, G Collieries and their Railways in the ManchesterCoalfield 385.54Hilton, John The Empty Plinth: Wigan’s Missing Boer WarMemorialMatrix Archaeology Nos 1-3 Sandy Lane, Orrell:photographic record 942.736

GenealogyGrenham, John Tracing your Irish Ancestors (2nd ed.)Ward, Margaret The Female Line

CD ROMSNadin The Chronology of British Coal Mining (including ThePrice of Coal)

GeneralAspin, C The Water Spinners 338.4767721 Dell, S The Victorian Policeman 363.2 Shannon, Paul British Railways Past and Present –Manchester and South Lancs 940.5Holwell, Colin David Brown Tractors: a British Legend629.2252 Nowell, David Too Darn Soulful: the Story of Northern Soul781.644 Clays, J & S Wigan Journey 82King-Clark, Rex Forward from Kohima 940.5Griffiths, Trevor The Lancashire Working Classes c.1880-1939 942.7 Shaw, Dave Casino 942.736 ï

13

www.cmhrc.co.ukThis is Ian Winstanley’s coal mining deaths data base and

lists 90,000 names for those who were killed in mines (alsowomen and men who were killed on the surface) during theyears 1850-1914. New material, recently added in 2003, hasupdated Lancashire and other Northern counties up to 1946.There is a list also of Ian’s publications available forpurchase. A must for coal-mining ancestor research.

www.communigate.co.uk/lancs A lovely site for those interested in Abram with information

on the Maypole Pit disaster and coal mining in general in thedistrict alongside Abram’s traditional Morris dancers,directories for the area and old Abram Charities, plus lotsmore.

www.billinge-history.comwww.standish.org.ukwww.standish-history.org.uk

The above three sites concentrate on the history of Billingeand Standish and in the case of the Billinge site have aphenomenal number of photographs of the area in black andwhite and colour, ready for downloading to your computer tosave or print. All sites are by local people, ie Billinge LocalHistory Society and for Standish, Steve Bradburn inassociation with Standish Community Forum. Congratulationsto all concerned.

www.a2a.orgThis much underused site gives researchers, as its title

suggests, Access to Archives online. The site indexes archivecollections throughout England and Wales, and especiallyWigan’s own Archive at Leigh Town Hall, Lancashire andCheshire Record Offices and of course other smaller localarchives.

You can search the whole database or, region or specificarchive, by subject or even for an individual name or familyname. The site will then load all references to the subjectrequested and since Quarter Sessions papers and wills areheld by local archives, the details given can illuminate anarea, possibly not explored previously. A major site for all researchers (see also p18)

HIRE OFMEETING ROOM

The History Shop has a Meeting Room, with acapacity for 36. This is available for hire by local

groups and societies at a very reasonable cost:SOCIETY RATE

£8.25PER MORNING/ AFTERNOON SESSION

£12.35PER EVENING SESSION

COMMERCIAL RATE£20.00

PER MORNING/AFTERNOON/EVENING SESSIONIf you are interested, contact Philip Butler

Tel (01942) 828128

Who Do You Think You Are?The new series of Family History Workshops will begin at theHistory Shop on 26 January 2005. As in previous seasons theworkshops will take place on Wednesday afternoons everyfortnight. Additional sessions can be arranged at other timesfor anyone who finds the dates/times inconvenient.

Date Time Location26 January 2005 1.30 & 3.00pm History Shop, Wigan9 February 2005 1.30 & 3.00pm History Shop, Wigan23 February 2005 1.30 & 3.00pm History Shop, Wigan9 March 2005 1.30 & 3.00pm History Shop, Wigan23 March 2005 1.30 & 3.00pm History Shop, Wigan6 April 2005 1.30 & 3.00pm History Shop, Wigan

There will be slight changes to the format and delivery, butin essence the principle of each participant on the workshopgetting one-to-one attention from an experienced genealogistand advice as to the next steps will be continued. The generalsessions are aimed at beginners, but more advancedworkshops can be arranged, please ring with yourrequirements. Other changes include booking and payment(£2.50) in advance (now essential) and the issuing of aFamily History pack before the session.

As always a big thank you to the Friends of Wigan HeritageService for agreeing to run these for us; without them wewould not be able to offer the service. For more informationon the Friends, see p20 or contact the History Shop.

For further information and booking please ring theHistory Shop on 01942 828128.

Information received from Mrs DorisCrook of Higher Ince

After seeing the letter ‘Some of the Best’ from A E Smith inthe last issue of Past Forward Mrs Crook wanted to tell us abouther father Jack Alker.

Jack was born in Little Darlington Street, off ManchesterRoad, at Higher Ince in 1907. His claim to fame was winning aLonsdale Belt in the middleweight division in the 1930’s. Dorisdid have a photograph of her Dad with the belt, a prisedpossession indeed, butunfortunately it wentmissing within the familyand she now has no cluesas to who may have it. Theonly photograph she doeshave is reproduced here ofthe wrestler in a typicallyimposing stance.

Linking in with the letter from Mr Smith, Doris knows that herfather used to wrestle and train at Belshaws, travel to wrestlingmatches at Belle Vue and Hardwick,and was possibly trained fora while by Burgie Ben himself.

Jack became something of a local celebrity and a popularlocal character. We can only guess at the number of drinksearned through his party piece of showing the belt to interestedregulars at the Engineers Arms or the Belle Green Hotel.

Note from Ed. If anyone reading this does know thewhereabouts of the photograph of Jack with the belt please let usknow, Doris would be delighted to see it again, and we wouldlove to print it.

14

RESEARCHING my familytree, I was fortunate to findtwo particularly interestingnewspaper cuttings.

Stalwarts of Methodism

The first of these wasfrom the Daily Telegraph in1924 under the headline"Brothers Proud Record -Stalwarts of Methodism."The article went on to printa remarkable record ofservice in the PrimitiveMethodist church held bysix Lancashire brothersnamed Wright whosecombined ages at that timewere 432 years.

The brothers who whereborn in Glazebury were mygreat uncles and my mater-nal grandfather. The eldest,John Wright, had been onthe church plan for over 60years and was one of themost popular preachersand lecturers in SouthLancashire. The Rev JamesWright began his ministe-rial career as a missionaryin Queensland where heserved for 10 years. On hisreturn to England hebecame SuperintendentMinister in several indus-

Family History

Continued from page 13

trial areas of Lancashire.Peter Wright, profession-ally employed as foreigncorrespondent withPilkingtons, had been alocal preacher for over halfa century and filled all theoffices in the church opento a layman.

Joseph Wright servedthe church in various waysincluding that of choirmas-ter for more than 34 years,while David Wright wasSuperintendent of theMethodist Sunday Schoolat Glazebury. William, mymaternal grandfather,served as Sunday schoolSuperintendent, ChurchTreasurer, Circuit Stewardand Society Steward.

Gardner’s band

The second of the twonewspaper cuttings, dated31 May, 1935, showed aphotograph (top right) of afather and mother and theireight sons who comprisedwhat was claimed to be myhome town's first orchestraknown as "Gardner'sBand." The family wereresponsible for the founda-tion of orchestral music inSt.Helens, home town ofSir Thomas Beecham andwhere I was born in 1922.

The Gardner familywere reputedly musiciansof high standing. They hadmore than a localreputation in St. Helens astheir musical performanceswere frequently acclaimedin Birmingham andManchester. The father, mypaternal great grandfather,played the clarinet; hissons John, Joseph, andWilliam played the violin;

Benjamin played doublebass; Thomas, the fluteand Jim the cornet.

My father, EdmundGardner Wright, theyounger son of Walter andMary Jane Wright, onlydaughter of the Gardnerfamily, was a well knownand respected tenor singerin St.Helens and district.He frequently gaveindividual singing recitalsas well as being a memberof the choral group knownas the Good ComradesSongsters, a leading tenorin the St. Helens AmateurOperatic Society, anddeputy conductor of hischurch choir, thus carryingon the musical tradition ofthe Gardner family.

His father, WalterWright and his wife andtheir three childrenimmigrated to America in1893 where my paternalgrandfather thought hecould make a better life forhimself and his family. Hewas a glass-blower bytrade and they ended up inFisher's Patch, about half-way between the twoPennsylvanian cities ofShendoa and Mahanoy. Itwas here that my fatherwas born in 1896.

As there was little or noglass industry in theimmediate vicinity, mygrandfather went to workin the local coal mines.Tragically he was kicked byone of the mules in themine, receiving a headinjury rendering himepileptic and unfit for workagain. He died in 1901 atthe age of 39 afterreturning to St. Helens.

Unfortunately I nevermet my paternalgrandfather, who died

before I was born. I met mypaternal grandmother ononly one occasion that Irecall, when I was veryyoung. My memory is of asmall woman dressed inblack and wearing a blackbonnet in the house. Shepresented a somewhatforbidding appearance to asmall boy.

Love of the theatre

Although I won severalsinging competitions as aboy soprano, my life-longlove has been of the theatreand after retiring from myprofessional employmentwith BlCC Ltd, in Leigh, Igained the LondonAcademy of Music andDramatic Art (LAMDA)gold medal. For manyyears I was a member ofWigan Little Theatre, andalso performed in theatresin St. Helens, Leigh andBolton.

Eric S WrightLowton Warrington

The Wrightfamily

Edmund Gardner Wrightin one of his many

operatic roles.The six Wright brothers outside their church in Glazebury.

15

and coal miner at varioustimes during his lifetime.

Little is known of herearly childhood and wenext come across herwhen she comes intocontact with Arthur J

Munby (1828-1910).This gentleman kept adiary during his lifetimeand Derek Hudson wrotea book titled ‘Man of TwoWorlds’. Munby was aneducated man, a civil

servant, artist, authorand poet. His role as acivil servant brought himinto contact with Ellen inthe late 1860’s and mid 1870’s, when he waslooking into the role ofworking women,especially in the coalindustry, and he travelledthe country in this work,some of which led tochanges in theemployment of women.

On p343 of the book isthe following report ofone such meeting ofMunby and Ellen who atthis time was living as aboarder with the Greenfamily at 7 Coldwell FoldScholes Wigan.

“Thursday 11thSeptember 1872 Wigan I[Munby[ was lodging atthe Royal Hotel Wiganand I went to see Mrs.Little, photographer andcab owner’s wife. Iinquired about Ellen andwas informed that shehad arrived. Ellen herselfcame out of the kitchenand she was dressed inher pit clothes as she hadpromised. She lookedvastly bigger in herworking clothes than shehad done last night in herSunday clothes. She woreher wadded bonnet, thefront part tied tight overthe forehead and thehood encircling her headlike an aureole, her looseblue patched cottonbedgown made her fullbust and broad shoulderslook larger still, below itcame her striped skirt,

Continued on page 16

Grounds Family NewsletterExtract from

Issue No. 7, September 2004Dear Editor

About two years ago a photograph appeared in PastForward of a pit brow lass named Ellen Grounds and, sincethis is my own family name, it made me search my owndatabase to see if I could piece together something abouther. I have attached the details I have and with someacknowledgements, I hope you find it of some interest.Note that the photographs are taken from a book and I amnot sure where the originals are held.

Jack Grounds Atherton Nr Manchester

Ellen Grounds, aged 17, a collier at Rose Bridge Pits,Wigan 1866.

Pit Brow LassI first came across

Ellen Grounds a fewyears ago when herphotograph appeared inan edition of PastForward, a freepublication by WiganHeritage Service.Although I had manyGrounds names on mydatabase it was a whilebefore I built up a familytree for her. A little whileago Alan Davies, WiganHeritage Service’sArchivist, based in Leigh,informed me about adiary of Arthur J Munby,which was in LeighReference Library andcontained someinformation on Ellen.Tony Ashcroft, LocalHistory Officer for Leigh,let me read the book thatDerek Hudson hadwritten about Munby.

Ellen came into theworld at lam (accordingto her birth certificate) on12 November 1849 andshe was the 5th daughterand 10th child of RichardGrounds and EllenClitherow. Her parentshad been married atWigan All Saints on 13February l837 andresided at Birkett’s Bank,Scholes. The baptism ofEllen was at St.Catherine’s Church,Scholes on 25 November1849, and a month laterher mother registered herbirth at Wigan. Variousother members of thefamily were christened atSt. Catherine’s, which ison a hill above Birkett’sBank. Her father,Richard, was a labourer

16

gathered up around thehips and under that herbreeches, the pair sheshowed me last night andwith her iron shod clogson, Ellen had forgotten tobring her topcoat, andfirst tried on a coatbelonging to Mrs. Little’sson, a big lad, but it wastoo small for her. Mrs.Little coat, a rough onelike her own was triedand it fitted her well.

Then she wasfurnished with a spade,to represent her greatcoal shovel. Sheshouldered the spade in aworkmanlike fashion,

buttoned her coat andstood readily and well asI posed her, and she wasfirst taken in that guiseand then without thecoat. I standing besideher, to show how nearlyshe approached me insire. Indeed the bigness ofthis bonny Ellen struckme more than ever andshe seemed to fill thelobby and the Portraitshed with her presence.She was as big as Mrs.Little and her daughtertogether and she strodeabout the room in hersounding clogs andlaughed and chatted withthe two women in akindly and respectfulway, but with the air of astrong man speaking tofeeble folk. She dideverything just as shewas told and enlivenedthe proceedings by jest ather own expense, and

hearty good humouredtalk”.

The photograph aboveis of Ellen in her Sundaybest and previouslyreferred to in thenarrative. Thephotographer was aRobert Little situated inClarence Yard, just offWallgate, Wigan, andthere is still a place withthat name yet. The RoyalHotel was onStandishgate. Her parentshad continued to live inthe Schofield Lane area ofScholes, and were stillliving there when Ellenmarried Charles Hansonat All Saints Wigan on 22March 1875, althoughshe herself was living inHallgate, and still acolliery labourer. BothCharles and his fatherwere gunsmithsaccording to theirmarriage certificate.

Ellen’s mother died in1885, but not beforeseeing Ellen’s first threechildren. Richard, herfather, died in 1893 andhe was alive for two moregrandchildren. Theirchildren were Elizabeth(1880), Richard (1883),James (1885), Sarah E(1888) and Samuel(1893). By the start ofthe 20th century thefamily were living at 6Cumberland Street,Wigan; Ellen was nolonger working at thecolliery, and Charles wasa Blacksmiths striker, aswas their son Richard.James was a labourer inthe coalmine andElizabeth was employedas a cotton spinner. Atpresent I have not foundout when she died, but itwould be interesting tofind out how her familyfared.

GroundsFamily

Newsletter–––––

Continued from page 15

PARISH VIDEOSTANDISH

presents

The History of Coalminingin the Borough of Wigan

Titles include

Nothing Too Serious?(The last working year and closure

of Bickershaw Colliery)

Blue Scars, Black Diamonds(A History of Mines and Miners

in the Wigan area)(in two parts)

Also available

The Standish ChroniclesPart 1, Part 2

(A General History of Standish)

For more details: 01257 422108

Ellen Grounds in her Sunday dress.

17

THE COLE FAMILYMy parents, John (Jack) Cole and

Miriam (nee Pardoe) were both bornin Warrington, as I was, but moved toWigan when I was four years old -first Fir Grove and then GuildfordCrescent, Beech Hill. I have many olddocuments concerning my father inWorld War I. After he wascommissioned, he served inMesopotamia where he caughtdysentery and malaria before beingtransferred to India. He worked inWigan dole office until I was about 16when he transferred to the Admiraltyin Plymouth.

When World War II started, thewhole family, except me, was inMalta. I joined the RAF and mymother, brothers and sisters wereevacuated from Malta to Camborne inCornwall - the ship containing all theirfurniture and belongings was sunk.My father remained in Malta anddonned uniform again, helping toman the anti-aircraft batteries.

Eunice Taylor and I were marriedin the middle of the war at StMichael's, Wigan which was theTaylor's church (see photo below).Our best man should have beenRonnie Walker from GuildfordCrescent but unhappily he had beenshot down over Holland and I believewas killed fighting with the DutchResistance. Our son David was bornin Wigan the following year. Four ofmy parent's eight children were bornin Wigan including a son, David, whodied aged two in Wigan Infirmary -our son is named after him.

THE HULSE FAMILYThe group photo (centre top) is of

the Hulse family during World War I.The eldest son, Charlie, was not on itas he was away in the trenches. In thecentre-rear is George and extreme

right is my wife's mother, Edna. Theyoungest, Jack, was at Dunkirk inWorld War II. Mr. Hulse worked at thePlantations at Haigh.

The photo below was taken atWigan Carnival in 1911 when Mrs.Hulse, her sister Elizabeth and a ladycalled Seddon (dressed in men'sclothes) won first prize. The Hulse'shouse in Gidlow Lane was opposite thetop of Fir Grove where I lived as a boy.At that time there was a large area

containing a pond between the Hulse'shouse and a row of three shops - abutcher's, a chip shop and Ashton'sConfectioners. Beyond this area was alarge field where I used to play cricketwith the Hulse boys and others. Sincethen, that whole area was taken overby a Tupperware factory - good forjobs but bad for the kids.

THE TAYLOR FAMILYMathew and Edna (nee Hulse)

Taylor lived in Gidlow Houses,alongside other members of the Taylorfamily, from the time when they werebuilt. Gidlow Houses were called bysome in those days Brimelow Houses- we don't know why!

When my wife Eunice's motherEdna was expecting her, Mathew wasburied by a rockfall - I think it was atJohn Pit. His face was badly disfigured,and he suffered from it for the rest ofhis life, but received no compensationin those days. He never venturedunderground again. Below is aphotograph of Coal Board employees -Mathew is second from left on theback row. The locomotive behind themused to travel from Taylor Pit andGiant's Hall to a coal wash on the otherside of Gidlow Houses.

My wife had two sisters - themiddle one, Brenda and her husband,who was on submarines when theymarried, eventually joined thediplomatic service. This led to a veryinteresting life for both of them,travelling and living all over theworld. Her younger sister, Avril andher husband immigrated to Canada.She recently put her name andaddress on the Internet and received areply asking if she was the AvrilTaylor who lived in Gidlow and had adog called Belle. It turned out to be hercousin Dorothy's son, Tony Wyatt,who had lived in Gidlow and used toplay with our son David when theywere little! Tony's father, Jack Wyatt,was a Wireless Operator/Air-gunnerlike me but unfortunately did notsurvive the war.

THREE WIGAN FAMILIESDear SirThank you for printing my letter in PastForward 36, p20. As a result, I havebeen contacted by several Wiganers. Ienclose some illustrated articles foryour consideration, relating to threeBeech Hill and Gidlow families - theTaylors, Hulses and Coles.

Cecil E ColeClevedon Somerset

18

Ephemera from the Archives

Where are theLeigh - Worsleycanal records held?

Most users of our archivesthink that all local records willbe held by us at Leigh. Farfrom it! Many people withoutspecial knowledge wouldnever expect, for instance,Northampton Record Office tobe holding records related tothe building of the canal fromWorsley to Leigh or land inTyldesley and Pemberton.

Thomas Egerton ofBrackley, Northamptonshirewas the Lord Chancellor1603-1617. His son John, the1st Earl of Bridgewater,inherited the Brackley(Northampton ) estate fromhis father-in-law the Earl ofDerby in 1594. The Earls andDukes of Bridgewater heldestates in Brackley KingsSutton, Syresham andCrowfield, Wollaston,Tyldesley and Worsley andStetchworth(Cambridgeshire). So throughthis family connection atNorthampton Record Office,in the Egerton family ofBrackley deposit, we will findmaterial relating to Tyldesley,the Worsley to Leigh canal andPemberton.

Enter A2AA major initiative by the

Public Record Office andregional archives agenciescalled Access To Archives (orA2A) has been in progresssince 2001. This involvesArchives Services all overEngland copying their papercatalogues and sending themoff to be transcribed by typingslaves chained to computers.Once that information is oncomputer, it can be searchedinstantly using keywords,printed out, emailed, or used

in other documents. Comparehow long the process ofsearching took back in thedays of only having the papercatalogues. Since 2001 astaggering 5 million searchesand over 10 million cataloguedownloads have taken place!

A2A allows you to searchand browse for informationabout archives in England upto the present day which areheld in local record officesand libraries, universities,museums and national andspecialist institutions acrossEngland. The long term aim isto get all catalogues held byrepositories online, plus thereare projects in hand to tacklethe many uncataloguedcollections archives held.

Until recently, to find outwhether archives held are ofinterest to you, it wasnecessary to consult a papercatalogue or other finding aidssuch as index cards written byarchivists with illegiblehandwriting similar todoctors! A2A allows you tosearch across cataloguesfrom over 340 repositories inEngland. The database isregularly updated as moreand more catalogues arecopied and sent into the A2Atranscription team, so youneed to revisit the websiteoften to include newly addedcatalogues in your search.

Because the overall task isso enormous, depending onthe region and locality,specific aspects of the area’sarchives are currently beingasked for first under projecttitles. We have just copied allour church, parish and localgovernment catalogues for thecurrent ‘Community Spirit’project, being co-ordinated byGreater Manchester CountyRecord Office. As many of our

older catalogues had nearlyfaded away, with no mastersto fall back on, they had to beoverwritten to be legible. Thisprocess took nearly threeweeks. Access to cataloguedescriptions of this type fromall the repositories around theNorth West will soon bepossible.

BBrroowwssiinngg ffoorr ccooaallGo to the website

www.a2a.org.uk and clickon the phrase “search thecatalogue”. Here you can typein keywords or names orlocalities. This search willaccess all the cataloguescurrently on A2A, so it isbetter to go into “extendedsearch” after you have opened“search the catalogue” and inthe dialog box “location ofarchives” bring up WiganArchives Service. Your searchwill now only include ourcatalogues. Type in coal andsee what comes up.

You can now see howuseful A2A is for us at theArchives. I can now answer aquery on coal, coalmining orthe coal industry and emailback all the cataloguereferences on the subjectinstantly, or better still tell theenquirer how to access them!No archivist, no matter howenormous his or her brainpower, can hold in theirmemory a collection ofmillions of documents. Thecross referencing power of acomputer unlocks thecollections in a way neverpossible before. Unless aperson was prepared toplough through all ourcatalogues over a period ofweeks on the off-chance ofspotting a reference to coal,they only scraped the surfacepotential of our collections.

Don’t go mad!Please be careful when

using A2A. You may be

researching, for instance, theDavies family (a very worthycause!) and, after going onA2A, you find 3500 refer-ences to Davies’s in our areain all manner of sections ofthe collections. A request forphotocopies of all theseentries from the original doc-uments would not be wel-comed for obvious reasons,and would also cost you£52.50!

The information on A2Amore often than not will beadequate for you and a copywill not be required. Some ofthe documents A2A brings upmay be very fragile or of greatage and importance, so alarge order would mean theArchivist spending a greatdeal of time checking the con-dition of many documentsbeforehand.

LimitationsA2A is a great step

forward, but only as good asour catalogues and indexcards - some of these are verybasic, while others are verydetailed, and some evenillegible! We were unablesadly to include ourWrightington Deed collectionindex cards, as many werevirtually illegible to both usand the A2A team. This issuch an important collection,with over 3000 documentsdating back to the late 12thcentury. Very long term theanswer will be searchabledigitisation of archivesthemselves. A computer‘anorak’ friend of mine tellsme that already there areprograms which can scanarchives or illegible indexcards, even archives inobscure early hands and by alearning process convert thecontent into text. This mayhappen sooner than we think.

Alan DaviesHeritage Officer

(Archives)

AA22AA uunnlloocckkss tthhee NNaattiioonnss aanndd((mmoorree iimmppoorrttaannttllyy)) oouurr AArrcchhiivveess

19

HISTORY SHOP NEWSThe sound of WiganCasino at the HistoryShop

On 21 October the History Shop wasthe venue for a party to mark the openingof the exhibition, Wigan Casino – TheHeart of Soul. It was actually a privateview of the exhibition by invitation as athank you to all those who had contributedto its development and supported theHistory Shop in its execution. The partydid get started though, in a real way, laterat the Last Orders in town when everyonefrom the opening event was invited downto Russ Winstanley’s regular Thursdayevening Northern Soul disco.

It was a great turn out for the privateview with over 80 people in all comingthrough the doors, some still arriving asthe doors were about to close at 8pm.Saying a few words about the Casino clubwere the Radio 2 DJ and TV personalityStuart Maconi and DJ Russ Winstanley.

The exhibition features the story of theEmpress Ballroom in Wigan, opened in1915 and destroyed by fire in 1982. It alsocharts the development of the NorthernSoul movement at the venue from the firstall-nighter in 1973 to the last in Decemberof 1981. The story for Northern Soul goeson with the dedication to the music andthe friends made being now as strong asever. For the ‘Emp’, though, Wigan’sgreatest dance hall and the world’s bestdisco, the story came to a sad end.

Come and relive those youthfulmemories or take a look at what yourparents really got up to in the ‘70’s. Theexhibition continues at the History Shopuntil 19 February 2005.

A CD, ‘Wigan Casino Soul Club -30 Years of Northern Soul Memories’- is on sale from the History Shop @only £9.50 plus p&p.

Black HistoryMonth

A big event occurred at the HistoryShop on 8 October 2004, when theCouncil wide ‘Black History Month’ waslaunched. This was combined with ameeting of the Community CohesionForum, a specially prepared multi-culturalbuffet featuring some truly wonderfulfood, and exhibitions from the Rafikigroup and the ‘Kick Racism out ofFootball’ campaign. The speakersincluded our own Council Chief ExecutiveSteve Jones, the Mayor Cllr. John Hilton,and Milton Brown and ‘Afrikan’ fromHuddersfield! The event went extremelywell and showed just how many peoplecould be catered for at the History Shopwith a lot of organisation and hard work.

ExhibitionProgramme 2005

Planning for next year’sprogramme is well under way.We start the year with atravelling exhibition from theNational Coal Mining Museum,and if your ancestors were coalminers, you have just got tovisit it! ‘Routes to Your Roots’looks at ways to trace the familyhistory of coal miners and themore general history of coalmining itself. It will besupplemented by materialwhich is specific to our localarea. It is aimed at beginners,but the more seasonedresearcher will also find it ofinterest. We continue with Wigan andAtherton Photographic Societiesexhibitions - A Feast ofPhotography!

Finally, we end with anexhibition that looks at thepeople who have come to liveand work in the Wigan areafrom other parts of Britain andthe world, since the 19thcentury to the present day. Wewill explore the reasons whythey came, what happened tothem and the effects of theresulting mix of culture andpeoples. We will also look athow this is represented in thehistorical record, which could beuseful for those with ancestorsfrom distant parts of Britain oroverseas.

As always, workshops andevents will accompany theexhibitions, so watch out forour new leaflets, posters andpress releases. See you nextyear!

Yvonne WebbCollections Development

ManagerWigan Heritage Service

DJ’s Russ Winstanley and Stuart Maconilistening to some Casino favourites at

the exhibition launch.

20

HISTORY SHOP NEWSFriends

Over the summer work has continuedon our indexing projects. The subjectscovered are wide ranging and shouldappeal to most people wanting to getinvolved in heritage work in Wigan. Thisincludes the indexing of census returns,church records, local newspapers andimportant local book collections. There isalways more to do; in the past we haveworked on indexing maps, and in the nottoo distant future we plan to tackle thehuge task of cataloguing and indexing ourphotographic collection while making theimages more accessible in a digitalarchive. We are still looking for peoplewho can spare time to devote to theseFriends projects. If this does not appeal,then voluntary work can be organisedthrough the Heritage Service and not theFriends, helping with the Archivecollection in Leigh.

Focus GroupsAt the last Friends meeting one of the

many items covered was what theFriends, all regular visitors, thought of theHistory Shop. Those present were askedthe questions on the current History Shopvisitor survey and their answers werequite revealing. Take a look at theircomments and then please let us knowwhat you think.

• Better signage, both to the buildingfrom the town and once in the building

• Better access to the first floor, somesort of lift

• Upgrading of the equipment, the needfor new readers

• Acquiring more resources, wider GROcoverage

• More consistent staff training andknowledge

• Earlier opening times, 9.30 or even9.00am

Their conclusions were very focusedon improvements that could be made tothe venue and the facilities. As this groupis made up of regular visitors this is muchas you would expect.

Elsewhere in this issue you will findother results from our surveys, theCitizens Panel and interim reports fromthe last Past Forward questionnaire andHistory Shop visitor survey. What do youthink, do you agree or disagree? All viewsare very welcome, please send to P Butlerat the History Shop, Library Street, WiganWN1 1NU.

Citizens PanelAs I’m sure interested residents of our

borough reading this will know, WiganCouncil prides itself on being one of themore progressive local authorities in thecountry. As such over two years ago a‘Citizens Panel’ was set up to gain thethoughts of a broad range of residents onvaried issues. The panel, consisting of1500 people drawn at random from thevoting list and changing over on a regularbasis, was asked in April 2004 questionsrelating to the Heritage Service.

The main findings were as follows:

• 52% of respondents had heard ofWigan Heritage Service

• 21% had used the service in one formor another

• of these 82% found the staff friendlyand/or knowledgeable

• in total 88% wanted to visit the HistoryShop

• 71% wanted to see temporaryexhibitions on local history, 62% aboutfamily history

This survey also made some effort tofind out about the general accessibility ofthe service:

• 79% agreed with the statement thatthe venues were easy to access

• 74% agreed they were easy to find

• 70% agreed they were welcoming

• 74% agreed they were easy to getaround

Some of these results are quitesurprising, especially in relation to theHistory Shop. The project to improve andrefurbish this venue should improve thesefigures further.

When asked about opening times‘what opening times would you be likelyto make most use of?’ the panel gavesome interesting responses:

• Afternoon visits represented the mostcited visiting time but only slightly

• Saturday afternoon was seen as themost likely, 38% for the History Shopand 35% for the archives

• Sunday was seen as the least popularday, 20% for Sunday mornings and33% for Sunday afternoons

• Sunday also got the highest number ofrespondents saying they wouldn’t visiton this day 20%

• Evening openings were not given ahigh status with 27% for weekdayevenings and only 8% for weekends

Factors suggested to increase use ofthe service included:

• 54% Family History Workshops

• 38% Local History Talks

• 35% Guided Tours

• 31% Children’s Activities

FRIENDS OF WIGAN HERITAGE SERVICEName .......................................................................................................................

Address ....................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................

Interests ...................................................................................................................

................................................................................................................................Please enclose £5 subscription for one year’s membership. Cheque/P.O. payable toWigan Leisure & Culture Trust. Please return to the History Shop, Library Street, WiganWN1 1NU.Remember your subscription entitles you to a priority mailing of Past Forward threetimes a year, starting with the currrent issue unless you request otherwise. N.B. If you do not wish to cut this coupon out, a cheque along with your details on plainpaper is fine.

ï

21

HISTORY SHOP NEWSVisitor Survey – interim

Any regular visitors to the HistoryShop will have noticed that there is asurvey being held there too! All we cansay is we do hold great store by publicconsultation and surveys are a great wayof getting your views. We promise thatthis apparent overload on surveys willnot go on forever and once the currentquestionnaires are all in we will spendtime analysing the results. As with thePast Forward questionnaire the finaldate has not passed on this survey, sothe following results are just a tasterprior to a full report next time.

The questionnaire covers all Heritagevenues and these figures are combined.However, over 75% of respondentsvisited the History Shop.

• 74% of visits were for researchpurposes

• of these 91% visited for familyhistory, 16% for local history

• the most used resources among thisgroup were the microfilms at 75%and the microfiche at 30%

• 77% of this group rated their visit asexcellent

• 96% of all respondents rated thevenue, the facilities and the staffeither good or excellent and a similarfigure rated their satisfaction with thevisit as good or above

• 68% rated the staff excellent

• demographics show that 88% are inthe over 40 age brackets while 51%are over 60

• 67% of visitors from within WNpostcodes, with 91% from the widerNorth West region

These results are very encouraging,but do indicate that so far we have onlyreached the research visitors. It is farmore difficult to consult with exhibitionviewers and general browsers throughthis sort of passive survey. However, wehave visitor books and comment booksin the venues and visitor comments fromspecific shows, such as ‘Wigan Casino’,are likely to be valuable feedbacksources.

A Big Thank YouThank you to everyone who replied to

our consultation in the last issue of PastForward by returning the questionnaire,we were quite literally overwhelmed. Asthe currency of the survey actuallyextends beyond the copy date for thisissue, we are only able to publish a fewhighlights from your replies. In the nextissue hopefully we will have a full analysisof the results ready so will share themwith you.

Despite the fact that all thequestionnaires are not yet in, we havelooked at each and every one so farsubmitted. The overall picture isextremely positive. It seems you dogenuinely love the Past Forwardmagazine and look forward every fourmonths to its arrival. You find it difficultto fault either the format, layout, legibilityor content, surely there is something wecan improve upon!

Comments from some of the forms sofar include:

‘I have found it a wonderful reminder ofmy youth…’‘Excellent – a credit to thetown/community’‘Past Forward and the History Shop are acredit to the Borough’‘The Past Forward magazine is unique, awinner for any Heritage Service’‘Excellent value’‘Through it (Past Forward) I am now incontact with an old work mate of almost70 years ago and through her receivingnews of yet another. My annual fiver toyou is well worth it!’‘I derive a great deal of pleasure fromreading Past Forward’‘The Heritage Service is great’‘I forward the magazine to friends in NewZealand, who also pass it on, thefeedback and compliments you receive isquite extraordinary’‘Wonderful memories of Wigan andpeople, keep on printing’‘Thank you all at Past Forward and theHistory Shop’‘Keep up the good work’‘Past Forward is a delight’‘Congratulations on producing such a firstclass magazine’

‘A super publication. Always welcome inthis house’

And we have many, many more.However we are not perfect and not all

the returns are without criticism, and wewill take on board where we can anysuggestions for further improving themagazine.

************As you can see we had more than a

few comments on the History Shop andthe Heritage Service in general. Anothervital reason for us reading every singlereturned questionnaire is to make surethat any requiring an answer were dealtwith promptly.

For example Mr Miller from Bristolreturned his questionnaire (thank you MrMiller) and took the opportunity to askabout an enquiry he had made some timeearlier regarding a book we have for sale.We replied and received a very nice thankyou letter from him with an order for thebook included. Mrs Lawton from Walton-le-Dale returned her questionnaire (thankyou Mrs Lawton) and whilst saying sheenjoyed a recent visit to the History Shop,found it ‘great and very interesting’, shewas not satisfied with the service shereceived while trying to get someinformation. A letter supplying theinformation she had been seeking wasdispatched and again solicited a verycomplimentary reply.

We feel that this part of the process isvery important. If you have put anythingin the comment section that we feelmerits a reply we will get back to you.

Thank you again for your response,and look out in the next issue for a fullreport.

Christ ChurchPennington

is celebrating its150th anniversary

A booklet, which provides abrief history of church isavailable from both Leigh

Library and the History Shop.The title is

‘150 YEARS OF SERVICE’and costs £2.50.

22

25 DoorwaysA DRAWING AND QUIZ

FEATURING25 DOORWAYS

IN WIGANby

GERALD RICKARDS

Gerald’s centre spread for this issue isone with a difference. A number ofhistoric cities in the British Isles havealready produced well-known postersillustrating their doors, so here isGerald’s contribution for Wigan. Betterstill, it’s done in the form of a quiz (a verychallenging one, ideal for pondering overthe Christmas holidays); and best of all,it will also help an extremely deservingcause. Gerald hopes to resume hispopular series of local drawings in thenext issue. Ed.

THE QUIZThe drawing of 25 'Wigan doorways'is presented in the form of a quiz.Most of the doors are in the centre ofthe town. The area covered stretchesfrom the edge of Mesnes Park to theWallgate and Chapel Lane railwaybridges. Number 23 is the only dooron the out of town side of the dualcarriageway Riverway and CentralPark Way.

Hopefully it will give enjoyment to alland at the same time raise money tohelp the Hospice.

ENTRY FORMSThese can be sent in several ways; bysubmitting the question page (orphotocopy) as printed in PastForward; handwritten answers or onone of the question sheets available atvarious centres, including the HistoryShop, the Hospice, Hospice Shops,several libraries, the artist and atCCArt picture framers and gallery inHallgate, Wigan.

HANDING IN OF FORMSEntry forms can be sent to Wigan andLeigh Hospice, Kildare Street, Hindley,Wigan WN2 3HZ or handed in at theHistory Shop, Hospice Shops, somelibraries, the artist, or CCArt inHallgate, Wigan.

THE PRIZESPrizes will be of signed prints inframes (alternative if desired of twosigned unframed prints).

CLUESWith numbers given in five rows, reading from left to right, top to foot of design.

1. I'll bet you get this one ........................................................................... 2. Eat and enjoy the view ........................................................................... 3. First a pharmacy, later a bank. Now? ...................................................... 4. Next door is more genuine ...................................................................... 5. Handshakes no longer here after a 100 years .......................................

6. A musical instrument can sing like Bing Crosby .......................................... 7. Not the main entrance ...................................................................... 8. Looks like a door but it isn't ..................................................................... 9. Two white roses ..................................................................................... 10. The door that leads to an aisle .................................................................

11. Definitely Italian ................................................................................... 12. Blithely climb we up the hill' .................................................................. 13. Said to be the grandest building in town .................................................. 14. Two occupants come from another house .................................................. 15. Queues outside before 9 a.m ..................................................................

16. No longer furnished ............................................................................. 17. Through the door and open wide ............................................................ 18. Go in here for a break ............................................................................ 19. Lengthy history to this place ................................................................... 20. Next door is not quite so genuine ............................................................

21. Do they still serve 'Barkers' here? .............................................................. 22. Some choices limited here....................................................................... 23. Plays a part in entertanment ................................................................... 24. Now bricked over for Tender Loving Care ................................................... 25. Bigger than the other one ........................................................................

26. Extra prize and tie breaker: Suggest another doorway with appropriate clue(no more than 10 words)........................................................................................................................................................................................................................

NAME ......................................................................................................... ADDRESS ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Telephone (optional) .....................................................................................

PLEASE 1) tick here if donation (not less than £1) is enclosed .............2) tick here if donation given when sheet purchased...............

and place where purchased ......................................................................

One prize will be for the highestnumber of correct answers, withquestion 26 as a tie breaker ifrequired.The second prize will be for the mostapt and original answer to question26, with this prize awardedirrespective of answers given orignored from all the other questions.

THE PRINTSPrize winners will be able to select

from a large collection of the artist'sprints taken from many series ofpaintings. Local subjects includepublic buildings, churches, streets,Formby houses, parkland, canalsidethree views of Central Park.Decorative compositions have beendeveloped from designs printed inPast Forward centre spreads Aspull,Haigh, Ince, Leigh, Orrell, Standish,etc. Subjects further afield includelimited editions of Thomas Hardyproperties and places linked with hiswriting; English Cathedrals andCathedral Close buildings, NationalTrust properties, waterside buildings,windmills and Oxbridge Colleges.

23

24

BOB DOBSONPublisher and Book Dealer

LANCASHIREYORKSHIRE & CHESHIRE

I buy, sell and search for second-handbooks relating to these counties: I searchfor books: I issue lists. I buy quantities ofother books.

LIST OF MY NEW PUBLICATIONSON REQUEST

BOB DOBSON“Acorns”3 STAINING RISESTAININGBLACKPOOL FY3 0BUTel: (01253) 895678

“I had many illusions when I was liberated. Ithought …. that generations to come would befree from prejudice forever. Alas, I waswrong.”

Anita Lasker Wallfischsurvivor of Auschwitz and Belsen

Thursday 27 January is the date for thecommemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day in2005. This will be a particularly significantevent, as it will mark the 60th anniversary tothe day of the liberation of Auschwitz, in 1945.The theme for 2005 is ‘Survivors, Liberation &Rebuilding Lives’.

As with the past four years, Wigan Councilwill be holding its own programme ofcommemoration, on and around the day itself.

CeremoniesThere will be two ceremonies of

commemoration, in Mesnes Park, Wigan at 11.00am and in Civic Square, Leigh at 2.00 pm. Pupilsfrom Hesketh Fletcher High School will once againbe taking part, in drama, verse and music; variouscivic dignitaries will also be present.

The Lessons of HistoryStephen Lythgoe, Wigan Library Service’s

Reader-in-Residence, will be giving some moreLessons of History – readings and music tocommemorate the Holocaust. Details are asfollows:

Golborne Library Thurs 20 Jan 1.30 pm

Derby Room, Leigh LibrarySat 29 Jan 1.30 pm

Standish Probus Club, The Owls, Standish Tues 8 Feb 10.30 am

Two additional sessions will be held in WiganTown Centre and Hindley Museum – see publicityleaflets for further details.

ExhibitionAn exhibition

featuring material fromthe Beth ShalomHolocaust Centre, theAnne FrankEducational Trust andothers will be mountedin Leigh Library duringlate January and earlyFebruary.

Everyone is encouraged to come to one ormore of the above commemorations. If you can,please make every effort to attend. For moreinformation about Holocaust Memorial Daycontact Alastair Gillies, Heritage ServicesManager on 01942 488468 or visit the websitewww.holocaustmemorialday.gov.uk.

Holocaust Memorial Day

25

Lance Todd: Memories of aRugby League Legend

THE people of Wigan wereshocked on 14 November 1942to learn that Lance Todd, apopular Wigan Rugby player, asuccessful manager and anoutstanding broadcaster onthe game, had been killed in acar accident in Hollinwoodnear Oldham. The car hadcrashed into an electric tramstandard; Todd and anotherpassenger were killedinstantly.

Wigan Record

Lancelot Beaumont Todd wasborn at Otuhuha, Auckland, NewZealand, in 1883. As a boy heplayed scrum half and made firstgrade rugby in 1905. Herepresented Auckland in theAustralian tour in 1906. In the1906-07 season, he accepted aninvitation to tour Great Britain withA H Baskerville's New Zealandteam. At the end of the visit, duringwhich Todd scored eight tries, hewas approached by Mr GeorgeTaylor, Wigan's secretary and MrJames Henderson, a committeemember, and signed for Wigan.

His first match was againstOldham on 14 February 1908.'Toddy', as he was known in Wigan,although only 5ft 7ins tall andweighing only ten stone, was anideal centre three-quarter, andquickly established himself inpopular favour at Central Park. Thefollowing season was the best thatthe club had ever had and Wigantopped the league, winning 28 outof their 32 games. They beatOldham in the final of theLancashire Cup and reached thefinal of the Northern Union Cup(now the Rugby League ChallengeCup). Todd became a member of the

renowned three-quarters line up ofLeytham, Jenkins, Todd and Miller.In that season, he scored 23 tries.His record for Wigan was to be 128tries and six goals in six seasons.

War Record

He played many brilliant gamesfor Wigan and won every honourwith the exception of the NorthernUnion Cup medal. In January 1914,there was uproar when Toddtransferred to Dewsbury, despitethe first ever special meeting, heldin the Cooperative Hall in DorningStreet which closed with no tangibleresolution being put forward.However, the Yorkshire Club did nothave his services for very long, forwhen World War I broke out in theAugust of that year, Todd joined theANZAC forces, served overseas,attained commissioned rank andwas mentioned in dispatches.

After the War

After the war, he became the fulltime secretary for the North ShoreGolf Club in Blackpool, and was in

business as a tailor in the firm ofTodd and Gibbons; later hemanaged the Silver Grid in KingStreet and the Ship Hotel inMillgate. In 1928 he was appointedsecretary/ manager of the SalfordRugby League Club where hesigned many young players wholater became famous. Under hismanagement, Salford won everypossible honour and became one ofthe leading clubs in the league.Todd married a Wigan girl, MissSamuels, whose father was thelicensee of the Crofters Arms Hotel,Wigan and had been a well-knownrugby player and a famous sprinterin his time.

Lapse of Concentration

At the inquest into Todd’s death,a verdict of 'Accidental Death' wasrecorded. The coroner said that asthere were no skid marks on theroad and no other vehicle had beeninvolved, he could only suggestthere had been a momentary lapseof concentration. Rugby playerswho were colleagues of Todd's 30years before and officials of theWigan Club were present at theWigan Cemetery, where intermenttook place in a family vault of MrsTodd's forebears. As the cortegepassed, a detachment of Wigan'sHome Guard, in which Todd was acaptain, presented arms. The coffinwas draped with a Union Jack andthe bearers were members of theHome Guard.

* * * * *The Rugby League world

ensured that Lance Todd's famewould live on by naming theChallenge Cup 'Man of the Match'trophy after him in 1946.

James FairhurstAshton In Makerfield

26

An Apple for the TeacherIT WAS the hottestday of the year – 9August 2003. I hadawoken from astrange, vivid dreamof childhood to thereality of my son’swedding day, and as Istood in the coolhaven of a lovely oldLondon church, it washard to shake off thepast.

Images of my ownwedding day, together withthoughts of my parentsand my childhood home,drifted in and out of mysenses. It was a day fordreams, and as we sangthe majestic ‘Jerusalem’,I’m sure that everymember of “our side” ofthe congregation sent athought winging 200 milesthrough the sunlitafternoon to the “darksatanic mills” of our nativeLancashire. Earlier in theyear, Beccy’s parents, ontheir first visit to Wigan,had enjoyed a lesson inWigan Pier’s Victorianschool room, where theyhad to sing ‘All ThingsBright and Beautiful’under the stern eye of theschoolmarm.

As a reminder of theirvisit, that lovely, childlikehymn was also chosen forthe wedding, and as wesang, my thoughtstravelled once more – notacross the miles this time,but across the years to theBabies class at Ince Centralschool, where I first sangit. The school was in theold building then, as thepresent school was stillbeing built. We had to take3d. every week to pay for abrick, our payments beingentered onto a little pickcard – do any Ince readersremember that? Mymemories of the old schoolare naturally hazy, but Ican see high windows, and

a coal fire surrounded by ahuge fireguard on whichwet gloves and mittenssteamed gently on winterafternoons. In theschoolyard stood two rowsof smelly toilets, the seat ofeach one consisting ofsimply a board with a holein it. Mrs Sandiford andMiss Ashurst presidedover the “Babies” and theyused to read Milly-Molly-Mandy stories to us justbefore home time, whichwas at 4 o’clock then.

Road safety talks

Sometimes, “BobbyBeacon” came to give usroad safety talks. He wasa big, kindly policeman,with black hair and rosycheeks, and he would hanga sheet over theblackboard, depicting aroad scene. To this heattached a character called“Little Tommy”,demonstrating what wouldhappen if careless Tommydidn’t follow the kerb drill!During lessons we satround a table, in themiddle of which stood asturdy cardboard ‘TidyBox’, which housed ourpencils and crayons.Sometimes we played withclay on little boards – I canstill feel the clammycoldness of it – andsometimes we madepictures with Fuzzy Felts,or played in the sand tray.That first Christmas, Imade a spill-holdercomplete with paper ‘spills’for my dad to light his pipewith, but I got measlesand Miss Ashurstdelivered it to our house. Ican remember my familycrowding to the door to see“our Irene’s teacher”, asshe walked away – suchwas the awe in whichteachers were held in thosedays!

Then came the day

when the new schoolopened. How modern itwas, with light, airy class-rooms, and child-sizeindoor flush toilets – pinkfor girls and blue for boys.Best of all, behind theinfants playground was theWagon Works where mydad worked, and he wouldoften wave to me at play-time. Every child had asmall bottle of milk todrink each morning, themilk-monitor havingremoved the foil top with alittle gadget shaped like aflying saucer. Do youremember buying‘Cheesettes’ from the bis-cuit-monitor? She countedthem directly from herhand into ours from a bigbox, (no one botheredabout plastic gloves inthose days). If I had 3d., Iwould buy 24, and wolf thelot – (oh, happy days! – Ionly have to walk past aCheesette now and I put2lbs on!).

Outside in the play-ground, little Ince ladsmiraculously turned intoWild West cowboys andIndians, whilst girls linkedarms and walked roundchanting “who’s playin’skilly?”, whereupon othergirls joined the link untilthere were enough to war-rant a game. Next day,someone might bring asheet of ‘transfers’ toschool. These were littlestamp-sized pictures of,perhaps, a Union Jack, aboat or a doll. We stuckthem face-down on ourarms by licking the back-ing paper, which we care-fully peeled off after a fewminutes, leaving the pic-ture behind like a tattoo.

As the contents of ourclassroom nature-tablechanged with the seasons,so did the games weplayed. There was a crazefor hula-hoops, and weplayed ‘two-ball’ against

the wall, singing“Nebuchadnezzar, theKing of the Jews, boughthis wife a pair of shoes”, orskipped in a rope beingtwirled by two girlssinging, “Queen, QueenCaroline washed her hairin turpentine”. We played“The Farmer Wants aWife” and “What Time is itMr Wolf?”. You couldalways hear young voicessomewhere, chanting theage-old rhymes – we wereallowed to be children inthose days.

“Nitty Nora, t’bugexplorer”

At the end of playtime,the teacher blew thewhistle, and we formed‘lines’ before leading intoschool, hoping “Nitty Nora,t’bug explorer” wasn’twaiting to examine ourhair for unwanted guests!The teacher heard everychild read from their “Janetand John” book daily, andin arithmetic (which wecalled sums), we chantedour times-tables in a sing-song: “One two is two, twotwo’s are four”. Itwouldn’t be considered thecorrect way to learn thesedays, but it certainly stuck!

On a cupboard in theinfants’ corridor stood apottery rabbit which held astrange fascination for me– oh, how I loved him! Oneday, I spotted an identicalone on Baileys Pot stool inWigan Market Hall, whichremained there all throughmy school days. When Istarted work, I bought himwith my first week’swages. He had been therefor so long that I can recallthe assistant shouting toher colleague, “Ey,somebody’s buyin’t’rabbit!” He is lookingdown at me from mykitchen shelf as I write,

ï

27

and the little girl who lovedhim loves him still.

“Real writing”

How nervous we allwere when the time cameto move across to the jun-iors school! The top classseemed like adults, and wedreaded the ‘nowty’ teach-ers we had heard about. Itwas here that girls wheretaught to knit and I canremember the simple bon-net I made. We learned todo joined up writing - “realwriting” we called it – and Isuspect we were the lastgeneration to use the oldscratch-pens, which wedipped into a porcelain ink-well in the desktop. Myfriend Christine and I usedto buy shilling fountainpens from Tommy Enty’s(Entwistle’s) shop on InceBar, but they always leakedwithin a few days. Ourexercise books came in dif-ferent colours – blue, sayfor English, red for sumsand so on. Do you remem-ber the ones with shinycovers which had conver-sion tables on the backs?Ounces into pounds, inchesinto feet, and strangemeasurements like quartsand bushels and furlongs.

I had (and still have) apassion for stationery, andI would spend hours inStarr’s or Wilding’s onWallgate, buying daftthings like telephone memopads, when nobody I knewpossessed a telephone, orpackets of gold stars likethe ones the teacher stuckinto our books for goodwork. Sometimes, welistened to ‘RadioBroadcasts for Schools’, viaa mesh fronted woodenspeaker on the classroomwall and, once a term, wehad a film show, inexciting, giggle-inducingsemi-darkness on Fridayafternoon. Games lessonusually meant ‘rounders’on the school field, wherewe wore team bands in red,yellow, blue or green. For atreat, if it was very hot, the

teacher took us outside tolisten to a story. How weenjoyed such diversionsfrom the usual time table,and we sat on the grassmaking daisy-chains as thebees droned in the cloverflowers, (which we called‘sucky-bobs’), and thedistant playgroundshimmered in the heat.The actual story probablywent in one ear and out theother, but the memory ofthose golden afternoonsremains as clear as a bell.

Eleven-plus exam

Eventually, we reachedthe top class, were we satthe eleven-plus exam –“t’scholarship” – whichmarked the end of our pri-mary school days. Iremember the day the lettercame to say I had passedfor the grammar school,along with two boys – oh, ifonly another girl hadpassed! I was a very shychild who found it hard tomix, and the thought ofgoing alone to a new schoolterrified me to such anextent that I decided to goto Rose Bridge SecondaryModern with my friends.However, my teacher talkedto me about the chance Iwas throwing away, and Iwas made to understandthat a grant was availablefor the uniform, which Iwas aware my parentscouldn’t afford. Very reluc-tantly, I resigned myself tobecoming a pupil ofHindley and AbramGrammar School comeSeptember, but I felt like anoutcast from my class fromthat day onwards.

On the last afternoon,desks were emptied,inkwells washed andcupboards tidied. Then theteacher called for “Handstogether and eyes closed”for our final prayers beforethe whole school whoopedand yelled its way out intothe sunshine, free for fivewhole weeks. I hung backalone, by the railings. HowI envied those who were

returning! Even the topclass would still have ‘storytime’ in the afternoon, andplaytime, (which wouldnow become ‘break’ at thegrammar school). In theBabies class, a newgeneration of childrenwould play in the sand-tray, and would see mylittle rabbit every day.

It is hard to put intowords, the overwhelmingisolation and dread that Ifelt, but I can feel it yet…. Asudden jangle of keys her-alded the arrival of thecaretaker and the spell wasbroken. I turned and ran,only vaguely aware ofevery day sounds: thechant of the skipping-rhyme: “On the mountainstands a lady, who she is Ido not know”, a snatch oftelevision from an opendoorway: “You’ll wonderwhere the yellow wentwhen you brush your teethwith Pepsodent”. I wouldbe home in time to hearLeslie Crowther announce,“It’s Friday, it’s five to five

and it’s CRACKERJACK!”from our black and whitetelevision, but today Iwould stare unseeingly atthe screen…. Oh, I didn’twant to go!

But I went (andsurvived!), and now schooldays are far behind me,and their sights andsounds are long gone fromour streets – the paper ladswhistle and his cry of‘Chronicle!’, a game ofmarbles on the cobbles, theclip-clop of the rag-boneman’s horse and children’sshrill voices echoing downsome back entry: “Oh thebig ship sails up the alley-alley-o”….. they exist onlyin memory now, but once,on a sad summers day longago they were all aroundme – real and vibrant andalive. But my eyes wereblind to them and my earsclosed to everything but thepoignant clang of theschool gate as it closedbehind me for the last time.

Irene RobertsAbram Nr Wigan

Girls from Ince Central SchoolI took this photograph on our last Sports Day in

summer 1964, just before we left Junior School. Thegirls are: Back Row (L to R): Valerie Hayes, BarbaraBates, Susan Walsh, Freda Ramsdale, Susan Grundy,Lynda Gaskell. Front Row (L to R): Pat Lowe, KarinaLowe, Pat Orrell, Shelia Shawcross, Jean Miller. The

building in the centre background was Smith’s Dairy inBelle Green Lane - a well-known but long-demolished

Ince landmark.

28

‘Very nearly an armful’THIS immortal phrase, penned byscriptwriters Galton and Simpson,was spoken by Tony Hancock in the1961 programme, ‘The Blood Donor’,from the long-running series called‘Hancock's Half Hour'.

By the time of the broadcast, theBlood Transfusion Service wasalready well-established. Donorsgenerally attended a local centrevoluntarily to give blood, which wasthen stored in blood banks for latertransfusion to people in need. Asearly as the 17th century, bloodtransfusions had taken place onanimals only, but it was only in the20th century that it became possibleto undertake it on humans. This wasmade possible by the discovery of thefour main blood groups (A,B,AB,and0) in 1900; the leading Viennesedoctor, Karl Landsteiner, made thebreakthrough in identification.Further new developments occurredduring World War I when there was aneed to relieve pressure on thoseattempting to save lives. It wasdiscovered during this period thatblood could be prevented fromclotting once it had been removedfrom the body if it was mixed withsodium citrate. Also, it wasascertained that blood could lastlonger once it had been refrigerated.By 1921, members of the British RedCross decided to give blood at KingsCollege Hospital, in London, thusestablishing the first voluntary BloodDonor Service.

Leigh Blood Transfusion Service

Locally, a Leigh and District BloodTransfusion Service was inauguratedin December 1933, and formed inFebruary 1934. It was set up to be aself-contained organization to serveLeigh Infirmary. A meeting toestablish the service had taken placein the Mayor's Parlour, Leigh TownHall, convened by the then Mayor,Cllr. William Rowland Boydell J.P. atthe instigation of Leigh Rotary Club.

During the first year of the newservice, 25 volunteers (all male),were ready to donate their blood.They had been accepted as donorsafter they had been examinedmedically, and their blood categorizedinto the relevant groupings.

Full particulars were kept at LeighFire Station, where the Chief Officer

was Francis Annan. When a bloodtransfusion was deemed necessary, arequest was telephoned to the FireStation and an ambulance was sentat once for the donor, who wasconveyed to the hospital. During itsfirst year of operation, six calls weremade for donors. The first appeal hadbeen made in June 1934, when a Mr.T.A. Bigland was the volunteer donor.A Mr. Middlehurst, anothervolunteer, had twice given blood,both times at Manchester, as he wason both the Manchester and Leighpanels.

Financed help towards the cost ofthe service was provided bysubscription from Leigh Rotary Club,Leigh Corporation, and LancashireCouncil.

The End

After 17 years, Leigh and DistrictBlood Transfusion Service voted forits own extinction in April 1952. Itfelt that, in view of formation of theNational Health Service in 1948, andthe establishment of a RegionalTransfusion Service based inManchester, which supplementedlocal supplies, its usefulness hadcome to an end. A further change inpractice had enabled donors to attendlocal centres where a mobile team ofspecialists from the RegionalTransfusion Service were on hand,

rather than being transported toLeigh Infirmary.

40,000 Donors

In 1952, some of the original 25donors were still on the register. Inthis final year blood contributionsincluded 112 bottles from Sutcliffe,Speakman and Co., as well as 95bottles from Mather Lane SpinningCompany. There was due to be apresentation of bronze badges to fivequalifying donors, but unfortunately,the said badges did not arrive in timefor the ceremony. Those eligible forthe badges included;

Mr. K. Brooks, Holden Road,Leigh.Rev. C. Crawshaw, St. Peter'sVicarage, Leigh.Mr. R. Ellis, Plank Lane, Leigh.Mr. G. Gatley, Canal Bank House,Leigh.Miss V. Powell, Newton Road,Leigh.At the conclusion of the meeting,

Mr. B.K.Barker, Regional Organizerof the service, estimated that from itssmall beginning the service hadincreased to 40,000 recorded donors,with running costs totalling £65,000.It was estimated that an average onepint of blood was required every fourhours.

Tony AshcroftLocal History Officer (Leigh)

A rare photograph of the mobile Blood Transfusion Service in operation.In May 1953, as part of their work, they visited Astley Green Colliery

where they can be seen taking samples of blood from donors.

29

Percy Leslie MoxeyWigan (& Llanelli)

PERCY MOXEY was born in theWelsh valleys in 1915, just as thehorrors of World War I werebeginning to impact onto the lives ofeveryday folks and families, such ashis mother Lily and father William.Like all such youngsters growing upin the valleys, their sporting heroeswere rugby players, not footballers.So young Percy was no different andhe gravitated to the famous ‘Scarlets’of Llanelli where, as a powerfullybuilt youngster, he was ideallyproportioned for the rigours of therugby union scrum. He was a prop, awork horse!

Moxey could truly be named the‘nearly man’ of rugby. True he didmake the first team at Strady Parkand impressed with hisscrummaging power along with hisfootballing ability. He must haveimpressed people outside Llanellialso, for in the 1935-36 season atthe tender age of 20 he was selectedto play in the trial games for theWelsh National Team, though hefailed to gain selection for hiscountry. The following two years itwas a similar story - selection for thetrial matches but no caps. He musthave felt that he was always going tobe the bridesmaid, never the bride.

Code switch

Other eyes, however, were alsowatching the ever maturing youngMoxey, and they were not fromwithin the ranks of the Rugby Union.Rugby League scouts from up northhad been alerted to this strongrunning, powerfully built youngfront row forward. They had alsonoted that he had been unable toforce his way into the national team.The scouts knew suchdisappointments made a player morewilling to listen to the offers made byRugby League clubs, and especiallywhen that club was the worldfamous Wigan.

And so it was that in 1938,following his latest disappointmentat not gaining his first cap, Moxeywent north. He signed for the Wigan

club, which at the time was a verypowerful outfit - they had just wonthe Lancashire Cup - and had two ofthe best prop forwards in the game.George Banks was a ‘tough as teak’Yorkshireman whom the club hadsigned from the struggling and soonto be extinct London club, Streathamand Mitcham; he would go on to play

246 times for Wigan. On the otherside of the front row was Ken Gee, alocal player destined to become alegend in the game, winning everyhonour and playing a staggering 559times for the club. It was formidableopposition that confronted Moxey atCentral Park.

War looms

But not only was Moxey going tostruggle to make the team, let alonemake any sort of mark - as his firstseason drew to a close, the threat ofwar with Germany was looming everlarger. This was to curtail his career.As war broke out, Moxey foundhimself moving from Wigan toNorwich where he was employed as

a policemen/fireman on the cityforce. His brother was a senior fireofficer at Yarmouth and this maywell have influenced him to movesouth. During the early years of thewar it was not uncommon for Moxeyto find himself doing an eight hourshift on the beat as a bobby, only toreturn to the station house and be oncall as a fireman.

But he was equally keen to do hisbit in the war, feeling that whilst hiswork as a policeman and a firemanwas worthwhile, there was a war onand he should be fighting theGermans rather than crime and firesin Norwich. So it was that, in 1941,he successfully joined the RAF as avolunteer reserve. His rugby careerat Wigan was firmly on the backburner, although the war at leastbrought him some representativehonours in the game, if only via theservices. Between 1940 and 1942 herepresented the RAF in the inter-services matches which had beenorganised to boost morale. Onenlisting for active service he wasassigned to Bomber Command, andmoved to Upper Hayford where hejoined 16 Operational Training Unitas a pilot officer. There he trained asa navigation officer with a view toeventually joining a squadron onactive service over Germany. Sadly,however, like his sporting career, fatewas to take a hand and ensure heremained a ‘nearly man’.

Ill-fated flight

At this time the RAF needed allthe men it could get, and Moxey’sflight crew were on night flyingduties prior to being assigned to anoperational squadron. On theevening of Thursday 6 August 1942,Pilot Officer Maura and his crewwere briefed on the night exercisethey were about to undertake.Maura’s navigation officer was PercyMoxey. Briefing over, the crew wentto eat and prepare for the night’s‘sortie’. By 10pm the crew wereaboard Wellington bomber IC R1075,

Continued on page 30

30

Percy LeslieMoxey

Wigan (& Llanelli)–––––

Continued from page 29

completing the final checks prior totake off. It was to be a simpletraining operation, flying at night inpreparation for the real thing, whenthey would be flying over Germanyrather than the English countryside.

At 10.07. the Wellington flew offinto the gathering darkness of thesummer night. For the first threehours the flight went according toplan; but just after 1.00am Moxey’saircraft strayed from its designatednavigational flight path andunwittingly entered the BirminghamCity Barrage Balloon defences. At1.32am it clipped a tethering cable

and Maura lost control; the aircraftcrashed at Erdrington, east ofBirmingham. The pilot and twoothers managed to bail out of theaircraft as it twisted and spun out ofcontrol, and survived; but the otherthree crew members did not.According to a former colleague,Moxey, once it became apparent thatthe aircraft was in difficulty, began toassist the crew members to get out.He himself did actually manage tobail out, but sadly he had left it toolate; his body hit the ground beforehis parachute could open.

Accidents such as this tended tobe kept quiet so as not to affect themorale of the population, and werenot as uncommon as one mightthink. Young inexperienced aircrewsneeded to be trained. This training -preparation for night ‘sorties’ overGermany - was usually done overtowns as well as the countryside.Occasionally inexperiencednavigators under training would veer

off course and stray into the airdefences of major cities. Given thatsuch cities were subjected to theblackout restrictions, once over thempilots and navigators would have noidea where they were. Moxey’saircraft suffered the same fate asmany before had done, and manyafter him would also.

* * * * *Pilot Officer Percy Leslie Moxey’s

body was returned to GreatYarmouth and buried at Gorlestoncemetery (ref: Sec. U. Grave 121).Once more he was the ‘nearly man’.He never made it into the war, just ashe never made it into the WelshNational Rugby Union team orWigan Rugby League team! So oftenhe was almost there, but sadly, thistime the stakes were considerablyhigher. Moxey never got to fulfil yetanother ambition - to fight theGermans – and paid with his life.

Tom Mather

Some talk of Himalaya, Everest and K2But there's a hill from which, when young, I marvelled at the viewNo need for clumsy ice boots or such impedimentsJust light array to keep at bay, climatic elements

The journey to the summit, betrayed the eventual prizeA legacy of human greed and so-called enterpriseTorn from nature's timeless grip, vast tracts of stone had foundA niche in architectural whim, in a totally alien ground.

On that site of dereliction ugly items took the eyeHere and there, lay rusting hulks, like bodies left to die.Abandoned by their masters with higher things in mindSuch indifference ruled the day, ne'er thought to be unkind.

Thankfully, there still remained, true signs of nature wildLarge tracts of landscape to the west lay mostly undefiledReaching heavenwards to the base of that haunting bower ofstoneDevoid of windows opening door, just the edifice alone

Oft I shuffled round its plinth, each facet to exploreThe carvings deep in weathered stone by those who'd gone beforeSome depicting hallmarks of the true stone mason's art while others in their crudity, vowing feelings from the heart.

But that was not the purpose of the effort I'd donatedLike Defoe's hero I now surveyed, a vision that God created Reducing Man's temporal boast, to the limits of derision.Only He within six days could create such glorious vision.

On a clear day when the sky above, was painted azure blue Perhaps a woolly cloud therein, drifting lazily throughI could only stand and marvel at that map, spread in reliefThe memory of that spectacle, still a thought beyond belief

Though the aspect east and north, bound by the Pennine's frameCould not be termed idyllic but an area steeped in fameA plethora of industrial hives as far as the eye could see The legacy of an apiary, when ENGLAND was Queen Bee

Changing now the picture as I turned my gaze due WestThere lay a carpet stretched beyond, humanity's behest.Sixteen counties I was told, was the scope of human visionWere visible from that very point, without change of position

The backdrop now is the western sky, dipping into a silvery seaLapping the coast from Cumbria's fells, to the Isle of AngleseyOn spotting Blackpool Tower, there goes a childish dreamOf endless sands and donkey rides, candy floss, ice cream

Turning back the centuries, such pleasures were unknownSave for the sweetest victory, England has ever known.When Billinge played a vital role, relaying Drake's commandNot by E mail, telephone or the swiftness of scout's hand

But by a beacon system, from the days when time beganMessages by fire from hills, relayed from man to manIn that very thought alone, Billinge may take a bowFrustrating Spain's Armada's dream, condemned in history now

But the scene of which I eulogise, is but a jewel in my dreamsNo doubt today quite vandalized, by man's ambitious schemesAnd so until my judgment day, I hope God in his willHas kept a place where I can see, THOSE VIEWS FROM BILLINGEHILL

J.Harold SmithSutton Coalfield West Midlands

G.P.O. BEWARE!Transmission by the beacon system was capable of covering adistance of 60 miles in 11 minutes.

THE BALLAD OF BILLINGE HILL

31

LAST year, I wrote inthese pages about theearly 17th centurytreatise ‘WomansWorth: or a treatiseproveing by sundriereasons that Woemendoe excell men’ thathad been discoveredby Alan Davies in theWigan BoroughArchives in 2002. I amworking on an editionof that work to bepublished by theMedieval andRenaissance TextSociety, the first timethe treatise will appearin print. In last year’sarticle, I reported thata second manuscript ofthe tract had turned upin the BodleianLibrary, where it wasattributed to WilliamPage (1590-1664),fellow of All Soul’sCollege, Oxford. Iwasn’t sure thenwhether thatattribution was corrector not.

I had hoped that thebook would be in pressby now, but during aresearch trip to theBritish Library inLondon last year, Idiscovered yet a thirdversion of the book.Information on thattitle page affirmsWilliam Page’sauthorship of the tractand makes it all butcertain that he did,indeed, write ‘WomansWorth’. An epigraphon the title page reads,“Authoris nomenpagina qu[a]eq[ue]probat / collegiae

Omnium Animarum,”ie “The name of theauthor (of All Soul’sCollege) is shown byevery page”–a pun onthe name Page. Inaddition, the scribe haswritten at the bottom:

OXFORDImprinted as yet

never,onely a M-S in the

Libraryof that famous uni

versity1638

So the BritishLibrary version con-firms the existence ofthe Bodleian WomansWorth’ – indeed, theBL version seems tohave been copied fromthe Bodleian version.And our earlierguesses about the dateof Womans Worth isconfirmed by a date of1638 (though itremains unclearwhether the date l638refers to the date of thetract’s composition orthe date the BL version

was copied).None of this helps

solve many of thepuzzles surroundingthe Wigan ‘Woman’sWorth’ – when it wascopied and by whom,or who was theoriginal owner. TheWigan manuscript’sscribe has taken morecare with that versionthan any of the othercopyists, rubricating(ie writing in red ink)the names of thefamous and holywomen mentionedthere. The BLmanuscript, on the

Womans Worth Three

"… acquire your own piece of history …"

Heritage Estates UK

The perfect gift for any occasionfor anyone with an interest

in Wigan

www.heritage-estatesuk.com

Tel: 00 44 1942 770202Fax: 00 44 1942 770205

E-mail: enquiries@heritage-estatesuk.comContact: Richard Weston

Heritage Estates UK, Caroline Street, Wigan, Lancashire, England, WN3 4EL

other hand, is quitesloppy, with more thana few words scribbledout and other wordsinserted. It wasevidently copied veryquickly.

The discovery ofthis third manuscriptversion of ‘Woman’sWorth’ is veryexciting, but it delayspublication of thebook. I must nowintegrate all the BLvariants into the text,as I have already donethe Bodleian variants.The bonus is that Ihave yet one moresource for checkingconfusing or unclearwords or phrases, andthe final book will bebetter for it. I lookforward to the day inthe near future when Ireturn to Leigh andpresent Alan Daviesand the Archives witha copy of ‘WomansWorth’, finally in printover 450 years after itwas first written.

Prof. Kari McBrideArizona USA

32

Wartime Blitz on AthertonIn 1941 Atherton, 12 milesfrom Manchester on therailway line to Liverpool, wasan industrial town producingcoal, iron, steel and cotton. 7May 2004 was the 63rdanniversary of the town’sdevastation by a German airattack, part of the wartimeBlitz. Hundreds of homes andplaces of work were severelydamaged or destroyed. Duringthat first week of May andbeyond, Manchester andLiverpool and the docks areawere turned to rubble bycontinual bombing. Thousandsof people were killed andthousands wounded over thisperiod. The two cities wereclose to ruins.

My family and I were living atCox's Farm in Atherton, whichhad been our home for fourgenerations. On the night of 7May the house was completelyobliterated by a land mine. Ourherd of cattle and three Shirehorses were killed, along withthe Air Raid Warden, ArthurShaw, Firewatch Mr Grundy anda third person whose name Idon't remember. Many otherswere severely injured, amongthem a young man of 17 whoseface was badly scarred by flyingglass. Happily,the surgeons atBolton Infirmary were able tosave his sight; his name was JackEdge, and after the war hemanaged Stirlings furniture shopin Leigh.

Also among those seriouslyinjured was the Reverend GlynEvans, the Unitarian Minister.Surgeons at Leigh Infirmarywanted to amputate his legs buthe refused to have the operation;in time he recovered and wasable to walk with the aid of astick. His home, HarrisonParsonage, which was next-doorto Cox's Farm, was devastated

but eventually rebuilt, and heand his wife were able to returnhome. But the house at Cox'sFarm was completely destroyed.My parents and I survived bytaking refuge in the cellar but wewere covered with debris. Mysister was blown the full lengthof the hall and also survived,though badly shaken. Myparents were evacuated to ParkEnd Farm and I spent thesummer sleeping in the air-raidshelter. It was quoted at the time

of a visit by our MP, Mr. Tinker,that the actual bomb hole waslarge enough to hold ten double-decker buses.

Fellow members of my sectionof the Home Guard helped toclear the debris from the road tothe farmyard. Within a fewweeks we had erected temporarybuildings to house cattle for theretail milk round, which wasdelivered by a Morris Minor andtrailer. For several weeks the carwas minus a windscreen. DentistJ Wynn, Dr Kathleen Hanby, andpolice detective W Bolton all losttheir cars; the Cleggs' car andegg trucks were destroyed andall these people also lost theirhomes. In the last week of May1942 my family moved to a newhome - Waterworks Farm, RedRock, Worthington near Wigan,on the Haigh Estate of the Earlof Crawford and Balcarres.

Throughout all this, one thingparticularly sticks in my mind - ahen turkey, sitting in the cornerof the barn which had beencompletely demolished aroundher, unharmed, along with thelarge clutch of eggs she wasprotecting.

Cox’s Farm House, Atherton, summer 1912. The home of the Speakmanfamily for four generations, it was destroyed by a German land mine on 7

May 1941. The young man is Herbert Edge, father of Jack Edge, bornMay 1923.

Dear SirPlease find enclosed my personal

account of the Wartime Blitz onAtherton, 7 May 1941. I had justturned 18 at the time; I am now 81and retired for 20 years. I still havefamily connections in Wigan. While Iwas living at Red Rock I met MarjorieStringfellow who was working for theWigan Treasurer’s Dept; her familyowned the well-known coach andremoval firm of the time. We marriedin April 1947 and had a great part-nership lasting 55 years.

James SpeakmanAbergele Conwy

33

THESE are some of my memories ofthe works from almost 80 years ago(I am in my 85th year now). My veryfirst memory is sitting with HubertBradshaw, who was in his earlyteens, waiting to give my father whoworked on the steel furnaces hislunch. We were sitting on a formbehind the wooden shed that wasattached to the works offices, onlyabout 30 or 40 yards from the baseof the biggest chimney in England,520 feet tall. As we sat there a hugeshower of sparks came raining downfrom somewhere at the front of theshed; it was so big that we got underour bench for shelter, and my fathercame running to see if we were safe.

‘Jack Shine, Whistle orShout’

The next encounter with the ‘TopPlace’ which I remember was a fewyears on when, at the age of nine, Iused to play with the rest of the boysand girls at a game called ‘Jack Shine,Whistle, or Shout’, a glorified hideand seek but ranging over a milesquare of woodlands, fields, apartially used railway line and abrook. Standing towering above ourplay area was the slag tip wheremolten slag was tipped down from aheight of about 200 feet; we needed adark night to play the game, so thegang split into two teams and a pieceof slate was spit on one side andthrown into the air. "Wet or Dry” wasshouted and the team that chose thecorrect side showing as it reached theground moved off to hide; thus theshout "Jack Shine, Whistle or Shout”- you had to do any of those thingswhen shouted to do so. However,many of the most exciting gameswere stopped when a bogy of slagwas tipped down the 200 foot slope;invariably it would burst on its waydown and, the inside being molten, itwould light the sky and area asbright as a full moon, making itimpossible to hide.

I lived in Gidlow House then withmy Aunt, Mrs Hesketh and herfamily. She told me that, when she

was a young girl, she saw the tipstarting to grow; it started in a hollowwhere a farm house was and saw thesometimes cooled lumps of slagcrushing the house walls. In thedaytime it was possible to watch thebogy being pushed to the top of the200 foot tip; the driver must havehad nerves of steel being so close tothe edge. The method was to lock thebogy wheels and the engine pulled atipping rod to get the slag to tumbleout; sometimes several tugs wereneeded to get the partially cooled slagout. It was just as spectacular indaytime as at night; in fact, lookingup at what seemed a tiny modelengine running along the edge of thetip 200 feet in the air could befascinating!

Built on rock

A major shareholder in the WiganCoal and Iron Company, who owned‘Top Place’, was The Earl of Crawford& Balcarres who, in a fit of pique,sold his shares to a rival company,the Lancashire Steel Corporation'sIrlam steel works. This caused theend of steel making in Wigan on alarge scale, as everything that wouldmove was taken to the Irlam site.Many years later the derelict site washanded over to a Bolton firm whoused it to store bales of cotton.Around 1950 my brother Ernest, wholived at Kirkless Hall and hadoriginally worked at ‘Top Place’ thenat Irlam, was told by some of theformer management that theyregretted not bringing the Irlamworks to ‘Top Place’; this seemedlogical, as ‘Top Place’ was built on arock foundation and Irlam on sandand water.

Big chimney comes down

When production of steel finallycame to an end in the early ‘30's,there were several chimneys to befelled around the site, but the bigchimney, over 520 feet tall, was left tolast. When it fell, around 1935-36, Iwas standing on the lower slag tip

which lay to the south of the works,far enough away to be safe when itfell; when it came down I witnessedthe scramble for the lightning con-ductor tip which I believe was madefrom a precious metal, platinum. Idon't think they ever found it.

From then the area becamederelict. Ernest bought the shed I hadsheltered behind and made it into agreen house. Coming home from theRAF I took a job on the steelworkssite, now a cotton storage depot runby Mason's of Bolton. Nothing wasever done with the site, however, andfor the next 20 or 30 years it was awaste ground. Living in Kirkless Hallwithin close view of the site, I heardrumours from old hands who hadworked at the steel works beforeWorld War I that nickel bars werestacked alongside the railway on thesite, but had sank into the groundand were never recovered; also thatthe blast furnaces werecounterbalanced with hundreds oftons of lead.

Zeppelins over Wigan

Many times I have walked to BelleGreen Lane from Kirkless Hall -through the old workings when theywere in full swing as a boy andthrough the desolated site in my teenyears until I was 27 years old, thenpast large stacks of cotton in the late‘40's. But in my mind’s eye I can seethe blast furnaces almost along sidethe Leeds and Liverpool canal,throwing their glow to the night sky -in World War I the blast furnacesthrowing their light suddenly to adark night sky may well haveinterrupted bombing by Zeppelinsover Wigan - and the clank of steamengines shunting wagons about.Looking back, these works could stillhave been in full swing today but forselfishness of the ‘get richquick’class; and where could you finda site with a waterway along side,railways all around, and built on rockto help make the best steel?

George Victor WadesonWigan

Memories of the old‘Top Place’ ironworks

34

Developing TreasuresSOMETIME ago I was given some old negatives to add tothe collection; however, with the amount of new materialcoming in, these were left for a rainy day. Can youimagine my delight when such a day finally arrived and Istarted to print them, only to discover reappearing in thechemicals images of people and events around theAtherton area from the I920's, which had not seen thelight of day for over 70 years. The Editor of Past Forwardagreed that some of these should be shared with ourreaders.

With the help of our Local History Officers and the

picture collection at Leigh, we were able to identify anddate nearly all of the new prints, and came to theconclusion that the photographer probably had his ownstudio and certainly supplied pictures to the local paperand other local publications. Among the negatives weresome family pictures, and it may well be that somereaders will recognize the family or be able to tell us whothe stringer for the local paper could have been.

Len HudsonSenior Conservationist

Wigan Heritage Service

Atherton Collieries Carnival & Gala, June 1927Atherton nonconforrnist processions forming up, July 1930.

Atherton Collieries Carnival & Gala Rose Queen 1928,Miss Mary Crudden.

Atherton Collieries Carnival & Gala Float outsideAtherton Central Station.

Studio portrait of an unknownAtherton family.

Studio portrait of an unknownAtherton Soldier.

Atherton Collieries Carnival & GalaRose Queen 1927, Miss Alice Hewitt.

35

The interior of the newly opened St. Richards RCchurch, Atherton, May 1928.

First May procession leaving St. Richards church,seen on Cambridge Street. Leading the procession isthe banner to our Lady, followed by the Queen Miss

Evelyn Parks. May 1928.

Howe Bridge Congregational Mission Bazaar, March1928, with the Rev. D. Thomas in the picture.

SLT trolley bus at the inauguration of the Atherton-Ashton bus service, August 1930.

Hesketh Fletcher school, Market Street, Atherton.

Girl Guides forming up on High Street, Atherton, tomarch to Howe Bridge Spinning Co. sports ground for

the Divisional rally, May 1929.

Studio portrait of an unknown Atherton family. Studio portraits of three unknown Atherton girls.

36

I have recently been reminded of mychildhood days before World War II,when a week’s holiday was beyondour wildest dreams - a day out on theschool trip to Ainsdale beach was thehighlight of the school year.

Outings to Gathurst

My Dad was out of work, as weremany thousands more - they couldn’tbuy a job, as they used to say, for loveor money. So our Mother, like a lotmore at that time, had very littlemoney to spend. But she alwaysseemed to take the initiative to put thespirit of adventure into our lives, andespecially during our four weeksholiday from school in the summer.

There were outings to Gathurst forthe day - a bus took us to MartlandMill, and we walked down the canalbanks out into the field, to the smallfair ride and shop. We would call atAunt Lily’s on the way back at BeechHill for a cup of tea, and thensometimes walk back to AuntRebecca’s at Caunce Road in Scholes.

Then it was back to Bird Street,tired but happy. My mother loved totake us out to Broad Acre wood. Wewould walk up Belle Green Lane past

the golf course into the woods; as wecame out of the woods there used to bethree houses, one of which was atoffee shop, where we could choose tospend our halfpenny, and walk home,calling at Ince Park on the way back.

Trip to Southport

But the highlight was our trip toSouthport on the Workman train. Ifyou caught it before 8.00 am the farewas cheaper. Our Dad used to comewith us, even though he wasn’t verykeen on the idea. We would walk toWallgate Station, and once we hadmanaged to board the train, we allwanted a window seat to spot trains allthe way. Windows would be shutfirmly at Appley Bridge because of thesmell from the bone works.

Then finally we arrived inSouthport, and walked straight downto the beach and the tea café andchildren’s playground (all gone now),buckets and spades at the ready, tomake pies and castles and, of course,knockthemhem down. Buckets ofwater to put around the moat dried upas fast as you put it in.

Then one of us would go for a jugof tea from the café, and out would

The Workman Traincome the butties, a bit sandy and drybut who cared. If we were luckyMother would go and get a pennyworth of chips, which always tastedgood. Our Dad never used to stay withus on the beach - when we weresettled down he would go for a drinksomewhere on his own. Then camethe treat we had been waiting for -down at the Peter Pan play groundwhere, for a penny, you could go on allthe rides for as long as you wanted.About three or four o’clock Dad wouldbe back after he had something to eat,asking us if we were ready to go home.

Of course we then had to make ourway back to the station - I think therewas a time limit attached to theWorkman’s ticket on the train youcaught back. We didn’t need muchrocking to sleep that night after ourday out but we all used to ask whenare we going again.

Just to end, my Mother’s youngestbrother, Tommy Westhead, was quitefunny at times. He told us this story ofhim and his mate, Billy Sherrington,going along to the station and asking fortwo half-Workman tickets to Southport!

A E SmithWinstanley Wigan

The news media of recentweeks has contained morethan a few reminders of thedays of World War II. But Iwonder if any of our (much)older readers, especially thoseof Pemberton origin, have anymemories of the years leadingup to those dark days and howmany of them are able to linkany of their experiences to theirimminence?

Peter Steinbracher

Though not a Pembertonianmyself, I shall always treasurethe indelible, though briefmemory of my connection witha young German chap by thename of Peter Steinbracherwho, in the mid 1930's, cameto live in Pemberton to join, soI understood at the time, hisbrother, already established inPemberton as the owner (?) ofa cycle cum radio shop, a fairlycommon combination in thatperiod.

At the time, I played drumsin a four piece dance band, thepianist of which was baker'sson Harold Whittle from SimsLane End with whom I becamevery friendly. Though I was notaware of the fact, Harold wasalso the pianist in an amateurlight orchestra in Haydock,under the baton of Mr. (Daddy)Forshaw. Imagine the pleasureof my surprise when one day,Harold announced that I wasinvited to accompany him andthe brilliant cellist, PeterSteinbracher, a recently joinedGerman member of theForshaw orchestra, on anevening at a roller-skating rinkin Liverpool, transport viaHarold's father's family AustinTen saloon.

The likelihood of anyonefrom Garswood, especially ateenager of questionable origin,actually meeting up with a live

German would be almost nil.The fact that Peter's presencein our company was connectedwith the occasional newspaperpicture of a little man, sportinga micro, black moustache andpermanently raised left armnever entered the equation!

The trip to the roller rink atLiverpool was to includeHarold's showing off of thebrilliance of the newly openedEast Lancashire Road whichwas navigated in hithertounknown freedom of trafficinterruption. When asked byHarold what he thought of it,Peter, in fairly good English,replied, “’tis a loffly street" -some street, thought we.

Though I met Peter on a fewmore occasions, usually atrehearsals in Haydock, destinydecreed the parting of our waysand I never saw him again.Sadly, Harold, in pursuit of his

other hobby of motor cycling,was killed in 1937 duringmorning practice for the WhitMonday meeting, ironically, atPark Hall, Oswestry He wasonly 27.

Incidentally, I did haveanother brief encounter inPemberton during the earlyyears of the war when Ienrolled at his terraced housefor a series of German lessons.Both Mr and Mrs HeIlmanappeared to be a typical, latemiddle aged English couple. Itnever occurred to me at thetime that the reason for theirpresence in Pemberton was inparallel with that of PeterSteinbracher's, until one dayHerr Hellman announced thathe and Frau Hellman were tojoin their son who, on leavingGermany, had found a safehaven in U.S.A.

J Harold SmithSutton Coldfield

West Midlands

Before we were enemies

37

SOCIETY NEWSTo all SecretariesWould Secretaries please note thecopy deadline on p2, and ensure thatyou send in all details of yourmeetings up to summer 2005 forinclusion in the next issue. Thanks.

Ashton-in-Makerfield Probus ClubMembers of the Club are retiredbusiness/professional people, who meet atthe Angel Hotel, Ashton-in-Makerfield on the1st Wednesday of every month at 11.00a.m. New members welcome, details fromAlan Bradshaw (01942 726493)5 January Open meeting2 February TBA2 March The City of Bath6 April “Hot and Cold”

Aspull & Haigh Historical SocietyWe meet in Our Lady’s R.C. Church Hall,Haigh Road, Aspull on the 2nd Thursday inthe month at 7.30 p.m. Details fromBarbara Rhodes (01942 222769)

Atherton Heritage SocietyMeetings are held on the 2nd Tuesday ofthe month at 7.30 p.m. at St. RichardsJubilee Hall, Atherton. Details fromMargaret Hodge (01942 884893)14 DecemberThe Brownings in Italy (plus Christmasbuffet) Lizzie Jones11 January“Stand Up the Real John Hogan”Dan Muir (Genealogist)8 FebruaryOn the Home Front Len Hudson8 March Northumberland Margaret Curry112 April“Shades of the Past” Steve Abbott

Atherton Probus ClubThis is a non-political and non-sectarian Clubfor retired professional/businessmen, whomeet in St Richard Parish Centre, MayfieldStreet, on alternate Thursday afternoons at1.30 p.m., from 30 September until May2005. New members welcome. Details fromRon Collier (0161 790 1819).

Billinge Local History SocietyFor further details contact Jack Boardman,38 Garswood Road, Billinge, Wigan, WN57TH, (01744 892613), or visit our web siteat www.billinge-history.com.

Golborne & Lowton Local HistorySocietyMeetings are held at Golborne Library onthe 2nd Tuesday of the month at 7.00 p.m.Non-members are welcome. Details fromDerek Briscoe (01942 747366) or JimScotson (01942 206820).

Hindley History SocietyThe Society meets in the Museum atHindley Library, market Street at 7.00 pmon the second Monday of the month.Details from Joan Topping (01942 257361)or Norma Brannagan (01942 258668).The museum is open three times permonth on either Friday or Saturdaymornings; please ask in Hindley Library orphone as above for further details.The Museum has also been open threetimes per month – two Friday mornings andone Saturday. Future dates are: 6, 20, 21August; 10, 24, 25 September; 8,22, 23October; 12, 26, 27 November; 3, 18, 19December.

Leigh & District Family History SocietyMeetings are held on the 3rd Tuesday ofevery month at 7.30 p.m. in the Derby Roomof Leigh Library. Details from Olive Hughes(01942 741594).

Leigh Literary SocietyMeetings are held in the Derby Room at theTurnpike Centre, on alternate Mondayevenings at 7.30 p.m. Details from TonyAshcroft, Local History Officer, Leigh Library(01942 404559)13 December“Everything in the Garden’s Lovely”Agatha Brown10 JanuaryLuxury Travel Anne Ongley17 JanuaryLadykillers Alan Hayhurst31 JanuaryHistory of the Music Hall David Hill14 FebruaryAncient Iraq and its CivilizationRev Chris Byworth28 FebruaryFrances Hodgson Burnett Liz Williams14 MarchThe Natural Heritage of the PenninesGordon Yates4 AprilTraditional Lancashire Recipes (plus AGM)Fred Holcroft

Leigh Local History SocietyMeetings are held in the Derby Room, LeighLibrary, on the last Wednesday of themonth. Details from Norma Ackers (01942865488)26 JanuaryRoman and Turnpike Roads in SWLancashire Mike Atty23 FebruaryLord Leverhulme and RivingtonMartin Brownlow30 MarchBuilding Barton’s Bridges Glen Atkinson27 April AGM and video

Leigh Probus ClubMembers of the Club, which is non-sectarian, are generally retiredprofessional/businessmen. The Clubmeets at the Leigh Masonic Hall onalternate Thursday afternoons betweenOctober and April. Anyone wishing to joinshould contact Tom Kelly (01942 608787).

Shevington Memories GroupThis small, informal group meets eachFriday at 2.30 p.m. in ShevingtonMethodist Church (New Lounge), to sharememories about old times. Anyone is

welcome. Details from Maurice Hilton(01942 223107).

Skelmersdale & Upholland FamilyHistory SocietyMeetings are held on the 4th Tuesday ofeach month, except December, July andAugust, at 7.30 p.m., in the Hall GreenCommunity Centre, Upholland. Beginnersand more experienced family historianswelcome. Details from Simon Martin(01942 702594).

Standish Probus ClubMembers are retired business andprofessional people. Meetings, which areopen to both men and women, are held at‘The Owls’, Rectory Lane, Standish on the2nd Tuesday of every month at 10.30 a.m.New members welcome. Details fromBryan Shepherd (01257 424994)11 JanuaryThe Leeds & Liverpool Canal in the WiganArea Sue & Trevor Lucas8 FebruaryFuneral Customs Tony Ashcroft8 MarchAn Evening with the ‘Mary Rose’Harry Eatough12 April AGM

Tyldesley & District Historical SocietyMeetings are held on the 3rd Thursday ofevery month from September to May at theTyldesley Pensioners club on Milk Street at7.30 p.m. Refreshments available. ContactTony Rydings (01942 514271) orrydings@blueyonder.co.uk. Visit our websiteat www.tyldesleyhistoricalsociety.co.uk.

Tyldesley Probus ClubMembers of the Club meet at TyldesleyMethodist Church, Eliot Street, on alternateThursday mornings at 10.30 a.m., from 7October until May 2005. The Club is forretired business/professional mane and isnon-political and non-sectarian. Newmembers welcome. Details from CedricEvans (0161 790 5166).

Wigan Archaeological SocietyThe Society meets at the BP Centre (ScoutHQ) in Greenhough Street on the 1stWednesday of the month at 7.30 p.m.

Wigan Civic TrustThe Trust meets at Drumcroon EducationArts Centre, Parsons Walk, Wigan, on the2nd Monday of the month at 7.30 p.m.Details from A.J. Grimshaw, 6 BridgemanTerrace, Wigan (01942 245777). Newmembers always welcome.

Wigan Family & Local History SocietyMeetings are held on the 3rd Tuesday ofevery month (except in July and August) inthe Springfield Hotel, Springfield Road,Wigan, at 7.30 p.m. for 8.00 p.m. Themeetings alternate between members’evenings and external speakers. Furtherinformation from John Wogan, 678Warrington Road, Goose Green, Wigan WN36XN or email Johnwogan@blueyonder.co.uk.You can also visit our website atwww.ffhs.org.uk/members/wigan.htm.

38

More on the ‘Petty’See Past Forward 37, p43.

I was born in June 1922, in Bolton Road, Ashton-in-Makerfield which, like Wigan, was a mining town then.The house had a front room called a parlour used only forspecial occasions, a living room and a little back kitchenused for washing clothes and cooking. Above these weretwo large bedrooms and a small bedroom. Lighting andcooking was by gas, heating by an open coal fireplacewith an oven next to it, and we washed ourselves in theback kitchen in a bowl in the slop stone with only coldrunning water.

At the bottom of the bricked yard was an oblongoutbuilding serving two houses. At each end was a toiletcalled the ‘petty’. The petty board had a round hole about18 inches in diameter and underneath was a large canabout a yard in diameter and a yard deep. In the ‘backs’as we called them, there was a wooden flap which waslifted whenever the can was removed with rakes andreplaced with an empty can suitably disinfected bysprinkled pink powder.

The loaded can was placed on a horse-drawn vehicleby the men we called the ‘muck miners’ and taken awayto the sewage. I had heard of the can being taken awaywhen people were on the ‘petty’ doing their business.Toilet paper was past copies of the Daily Dispatch cut intosquares and impaled on a nail in the petty wall. A personleaving the house to avail themselves of the ‘petty's’facilities would say that they were "gooin' dahn t'yard",and if lingering too long would be asked, "duss waant t'oil can?”

The intervening space between the two ‘petties’ was amidden into which was thrown the household rubbish.Periodically it was emptied by the midden men who hadto spade the rubbish out on to the floor of the backs andload it again into a garbage vehicle. Bolton Road was anextremely long street and every terraced house was thesame. Years later, a water toilet replaced the ‘petty’ whichwe called a water closet and dustbins replaced themidden.

None of the sources I have consulted can throw anylight on the meaning of the word ‘petty’ as in toilet. Thecommon dictionary meaning gives it as a Middle Englishword meaning ‘small’ as in ‘petty cash’. One can onlydeduce that it was adopted to mean ‘the smallest room inthe house’. An interesting point is that when anyonedealing out cards to a school in a club dealt the cards inan extremely small circle, it was called ‘a petty boarddeal’. This was because youngsters, having nowhere toplay cards, would use the ‘petty’ for that purpose,gambling for money being illegal. Other informationsuggests that the can contents were delivered toneighbouring farms for use as manure. Also the ‘muck’miners wore sacking around their waists to protect theirclothing. Housewives who could not afford aprons didthis, referring to the sacking as ‘rough brats’.

It was well into the '50’s before we saw the last of the‘petty’. In 1954, requiring a reference, I called upon atown councillor, George Lockett, later a Mayor of Wigan,for that purpose. He was living in a house off Bryn Roadand wrote out the necessary reference by the light of astorm lamp on his table, no other lighting being available.The houses were demolished shortly afterwards.

James Fairhurst Ashton-in-Makerfield Wigan

What were their thoughts,Those gallant men.As they left our English shore.Will I return to family and friendsAnd meet them all once more?

As they sailed across the channelHeads bowed in silent prayerDid they wonder what their fate would beAnd what would face them there?

We at home could only sit and wait,And pray all would be well, And think of fathers - husbands - sons, Who faced that living hell.

Many never reached the land,Lives ended there and then,A foreign shore their resting place,No homecoming welcome for them.We must remember to, all those menWho came from lands afarTo help us fight for freedomAnd end this wicked war.

And women to, they played their partAt home - on land and seaThe nurses, WAAFS and helpersWho served endless cups of tea.

For months men fought in battlesTo set the people freeAnd help those persecutedRegain their dignity.

At last the war was overAnd peace returned once moreWe owe a debt we can never repayTo the men who left these shores.

There are rows and rows of crossesAs a reminder for all to seeThere lie the men who fought and diedIn that land across the sea.

Does war teach us any lessons?Only time will tellSo to all those heroes in that foreign fieldGoodbye - God Bless - Sleep well.

We who are left remember them.

Rose Burns 2004

A tribute to all those gallantmen and women who took partin the D-Day Invasion on the6th June 1944 - 60 years ago

39

Nook Colliery

Remember the JCS?Dear Sir

In 1931-1932, GladysWoodward (nee Farrimond) andmy friend Edith Green attendedthe J.C.S. at the Mining Collegein Wigan. Our headmaster wasCharles H.Kirton. Othermembers of the staff were:- MissWitton (famous for her long beigecardigans, from which she wasnever parted), Arthur Roberts,‘Flambard’ Mr Bradshaw, MrBlears, Mr Gillibrand, Mr Parrand Mr Smith.

We also remember the boys in our class: - Albert Harris,Maurice Haddock, and Ronald Pendlebury (famous because healways sat with only two legs of the chair on the floor, withoccasional disasterous results), Harold Marsh, James Winstanleyand Thomas Hanvey (choir boy in Wigan Parish Church).

The most notable girl in our class was Gladys Fletcher whojoined the Navy and was sadly torpedoed in the Indian Oceanduring the 1939-45 war. One lunch time she decided to climb outof the classroom window (on the top floor of the building) and walkalong the parapet to the next classroom. This was thwarted by thearrival of a member of staff; and Gladys climbed into the classroommuch quicker than she climbed out! Other members of the classwere:- Alice Hubbard, Dorothy Higginbottom, Kathleen Millard,Ellen Lowe, Annie Shannon, Teresa Kerwin, Edith Peet (a brilliantscholar), Audrey Armitage, Kathleen Jones (now deceased) NorahTongue, Elsie Scott, Margery Clarke, Helen Calderbank, MarianGreen, May Anderson Gladys Cavey and Marian Calland.

We are still in touch with a few of the pupils; however, it wouldbe interesting to know how the others are faring.

Mrs Gladys Woodward (nee Farrimond) Tel: 01942 884253

Dear SirI was interested in the letter

from Mr. Greenhalgh (PastForward 37, p43) about the busin Nook Pit Lodge, Astley. Thishappened in the 1950’s, and aphotograph of the eventappeared in the Leigh Journal atthe time; the same photo is alsoin The Wigan Coalfield by WiganHeritage Service’s Alan Davies &Len Hudson.

In the photo the double-decker bus is standing in thelodge with the water up to theupper-deck level, the destinationboard showing NOOK PITS withLUT below, just above waterlevel. The caption to the photogives the story: "Nook Pit bus inthe lodge, 3rd August 1950 with

No.4 Arley Pit behind. The LUTBus had started back afterdropping off 60 miners, hit thekerb, the driver lost control andthe bus crashed through thelodge railings. Miner FredCanning and others ran back,diving in to rescue unconsciousdriver Harold Sydall from thesubmerged cab. Theconductress had managed tojump off."

It would be most interestingto learn how the LUT garagestaff managed to get the bus outof the lodge and on to the road!

The Nook Colliery consistedof five pits, named ‘Arley’ and‘Jubilee’ respectively; thecomplex was served by NorthCoal Pit Lane and South Coal PitLane, both from ManchesterRoad, Astley and now shortenedto North and South Lane. Arailway line ran from the sitedown to and across ManchesterRoad at Marsland Green and onto a coal tip on the Leeds &Liverpool canal bank for loadinginto barges; this survived up tothe late 60's and early 70’s.

A OldhamAstley Tyldesley

I greatly value allcontributions to PastForward, and if you don’thave access to a computer,don’t let that put you offsending me your article -preferably typed, butagain, if you can onlymanage handwritten,that’s fine.

Best by far areelectronic contributions, ieby Email(a.gillies@wlct.org), or onCD ROM or floppy disctogether with hard copyprintouts. And it wouldhelp the production teamand myself even more ifarticles were double linespaced with one inch(25mm) margins and aword count included. Manythanks.

Ed.

PLEA FROM THEEDITOR

Brought togetherDear Alastair

Thank you for the messagefrom Ian Dibblin fromBournemouth, re my article inPast Forward 36, p43. Thename does ring bells with me, Ithink he was the sister of AnnDibblin in whose garden thephoto accompanying the articlewas taken. I'll get in touch withhim.

As a result of the photo I amnow in touch with a cousin inCornwall (last heard of over 30years ago) who receives PastForward, a girl in the photo(now aged 64) who alsosubscribes and lives inAustralia, and also another onewho lives in Bristol.

Thank you for bringing us alltogether.

Audrey SherringtonColwyn Bay North Wales

Gladys Farrimond

Request for PedicureAh wish thi’d cut thi tonenailsTha’s ruin’t awl thi socksTha’s two new pair on’t bedroom chair(Reet next t’beddin’ box)Ah wish thid cut thi tonenailsThi scawp’t mi leg last neetAh turn’t Iin’t’ bed mi ankle’s redThi catch it wi thi feetAh wish thid cut thi toenailsAh skenn’t round bathroom doorTher long ‘n white gi’ dog a frightWer curling on t’t floorAh wish thi’d cut thi toenailsTha’s such a lot fo’t loose

Thi’v grown such size bi’ no surpriseIf tha needs smaller shoes

Elene HumphreysTreuddyn Mold

40

Dear Sir In the last issue of Past

Forward (no37) Mr Smith ofWinstanley writes about awrestler named Burgie Ben. Asa youngster growing up in Incein the 1930's I recall his namedbeing mentioned many times.Ben's opponent was definitelyJapanese; his correct namewas YOKIOTANI. Tani was anexpert in the Japanese art of JuJitsu, which made Ben's winmore praiseworthy.

Another wrestler lived inInce; his name was AlanLathom, who wrestled underthe name of Francis Sullivan.Alan lived in Park View, close towhere I was born. He appearedon TV when wrestling wasshown on Saturdays. Therewere some more from Wiganwho probably trained at BillyRiley's Gym whose names Ican't remember.

I look forward to your nextissue.

Alf Boyd Marsh Green Wigan

The Burgie

Dear Mr. GilliesFurther to the letter from

Henry Collins in Past Forward37 and a previous letter fromFrank Winnard (Issue No.33), rethe ‘Burgie’ in Orrell, perhapsthe following information may beof interest.

The location is referred to inDonald Anderson's The OrrellCoalfield, Lancashire 1740-1850, p16. Writing about theOrrell Five Feet coal seam, hementions that between 13 and20 yards above it was the "boneor Burgy Mine, a thin seam ofindifferent quality which wasworked sporadically and in smallareas by small companies

Dear SirI read the letter by Henry Collins in issue 37 p42, in which he

expressed his interest in the word 'Burgie' which I had used todescribe the area where the unexploded bomb landed during thelast war. He stated that the word was also used in St Helens and thatit described a process at Pilkington’s glass works.

From being born and spending 30 years of my life in Edge HallRoad and up to the present day, the word 'Burgie' was the name ofa pathway, and meant nothing else to me. However, after HenryCollins’s letter I decided to look further into the meaning of the word.The Burgie path ran from the Old Lane (the Old Lane was a dirt roadthat connected Edge Hall Road with Orrell Road at Orrell Mount) toMoor Road, passing through arable land for about 300 yards, butabout 30 yards from Moor Road the arable land ended and theground became rough and covered with lots of coal dirt.

After looking up some local history I learned that Orrell was on arich coalfield in the 17th century and that a good many mines weresunk around the area; one must have been where the Burgie Pathmet Moor Road.

I also looked up the word 'Burgie' in an old Reference Dictionaryand found the spelling was a little different - 'Burgee '. Thedefinition, however, was interesting – “small coal used mainly forfurnaces and kilns”.

So the ‘Burgie Pad’, as my Grandmother called it and long beforeher lifetime, was the 'Path to the Burgee Coal Pit'

Frank WinnardBillinge Nr Wigan

Dear Mr. Gillies,The most interesting last

edition of Past Forward (no 37)contained a letter from MrHenry Collins about ‘Burgie’ aswaste sand beds at thePilkington Glass Works.Perhaps I could clarify theorigins of the Orrell ‘Burgy’,with the aid of DonaldAnderson's most readablebook, The Orrell Coalfield,Lancashire 1740-1850 and oldOS geological maps, reinforcedby some personal knowledge asa resident of Orrell for some 40years.

The locality in Orrell knownas the ‘Burgy’ is the site of aformer coal mine now adjacentto the motorway bridge in MoorRoad, Orrell. The Bone or Burgyseam of coal, some 13 to 20yards above the Orrell Five Feetseam, outcrops on or close tothe site now known as the‘Burgy’, and is described as a"thin seam of indifferentquality". This thin seam wasalso apparently workedsporadically in the Orrell areabetween 1870 and 1930 bysmall companies. The principalworkings were by Holt and Scottat the site now referred to asthe ‘Burgy’ between 1872 and1887. The site was connectedto the Lancashire and YorkshireRailway, close to Orrell Station,by a mineral tramway, evidenceof which was visible up to 1939.

Many readers of PastForward will doubtlessremember the ‘Burgy’ old pitsite being occupied from timeto time by local undertakings:Barton & Danson, Coldman’shaulage contractors and busoperators, and others.

So, the Orrell ‘Burgy’ takesits name from the coal seamwhich outcrops in the vicinityand was worked by smalloperators over 130 years agothere.

Robert WrightKirkby Stephen Cumbria

SandDear Alastair

Re letter from Henry Collinsin the latest issue of PastForward, I suspect theconnecting factor is SAND, asin my youth we played in thesand quarry that existed in theBurgie. Sand martins evennested there.

David ParkinsonOrrell

between 1870 and 1930,although never during the greatdays of Orrell." It is furtherstated that the principalworkings were those of Holt andScott from the ‘Burgy’ pits, atthe site of the motorway bridgein Moor Road, which operatedfrom 1872 to 1887, and who alsobuilt a railway to the sidings atOrrell station.

Mr. Peter Easton of Orrell haskindly loaned the photographbelow. He explains that it showsGerman prisoners-of-war fromHuyton Camp who were sent toexcavate the unexploded bomb,which was dropped on the‘Burgy’. Also pictured is the

British army bomb-disposalengineer who defused it, and allsurround the retrieved ‘trophy’!In the background can clearly beseen the craters left by otherbombs which did explode andthe council houses in nearbyLinden Avenue. Further homesappear to be in the process ofconstruction on the extremeright of the picture. The reverseside of the photo is stamped 'T.MARSH, ELECTRICAL STUDIOS,PEMBERTON'.

Mr. Easton's sister latermarried one of the Germanprisoners and it was he whopassed on the photo upon hisreturn from Germany.

Carol LittlerOrrell Wigan

41

Dear SirSince retiring I have been researching my

family's history. I have been intrigued withthe recent article in the local papers aboutskeletons found in Lord Street, Wigan.

My great great grandmother, JaneDicconson, lived at St Domingo Farm, betweenDuke Street and Swinley Lane (now occupiedby St Michael’s Church). She kept a few cowsand had a milk round. My great grandfather,John Valentine, his wife Margaret (nee

Dicconson) and children went to live at StDomingo Farm for a brief period. The familywere terrified because they believed the placewas haunted. Father Gradwell from St JohnsRC Church blessed the house and gave theValentines a statue, which is still in the family.

If anyone has any information about StDomingo Farm, I would be delighted to hearfrom them.

Muriel Sage Euxton Chorley

Skeletons in the Cupboard

Dear SirI recall being taken through

the Pennygate tollgate in HallLane, Hindley by an uncle whowas charged a few pence forthe gate to be opened to allowhis car to pass through. Thiswould have taken place in theearly 1930's.

Following the demolition of

the farm and the projectingporch from which the toll-keeper, usually a lady,(presumably the farmer’s wifeor daughter) would emerge asrequired, the surroundingfence along the lane was alsoremoved and the areaalongside the roadwayrendered fit to walk on by

Dear EditorI read Past Forward for the

first time when the latestissue (no. 37) was passed onto me by John Lonsdale, whohad provided someinformation about theLonsdale Egg distributionbusiness for your local historyproject. It was a surprise tofind a photograph of myfather, Frank Lonsdale, withthe raest of the family (p5).

The family photograph wastaken to commemorate thefinal get-together beforeFrank and Eddie left to serve

in the Army in 1914.My father was wounded in

October 1918 and had a legamputated. For many yearsafterwards he gave muchtime and energy to hisvoluntary work for BLESMA(British Limbless Ex-serviceMen's Association) and forthe British Legion, withhospital visiting during WorldWar II a high priority. As achild I was sometimesallowed to accompany him onthese visits, taking cigarettes,

soap and other 'comforts'.The youngest of my father'sfamily, Teresa, now 96, is theonly one remaining of hergeneration.

Another entry in yourmagazine was of interest. MySister Teresa and I share withMargaret Hurst the memoryof time spent in the WiganSanatorium. My sister and I,when seven and four yearsold, were dispatched to theSanatorium with scarlet fever.Without telephone or car, our

A Pleasant Discovery

Recordattendance in

WiganDear Sir

I am currently writing abook on Wigan BoroughFootball Club, foundermembers of Division ThreeNorth in 1921/22. I thinkone claim to fame they haveis that they hold the recordattendance for anAssociation Football game inWigan, when 30,443watched their 3-1 defeat bySheffield Wednesday atSpringfield Park in an FA Cupgame on 12 January 1929.

I would love to know if anyof your readers have anymemories or memorabilia ofthis football club who, on 26October 1931, became thefirst club to resign from theFootball League in midseason, just 2 days after a 5-0 defeat at Wrexham.

Mark IddonTarleton

Email: markiddon@aol.com

flagging and the addition ofkerbstones.

I would have been about sixyears of age at the time, sothe date of the photographwould be early 1920's. It mayhave been taken by anotherrelative, Tom Gerrard, whotook many photographs ofhistoric interest. He was alsofor many years officialphotographer to Wigan RFC.

In pre World War IItimes, Hall Lane wasalmost impossible formotor vehicles becauseof the enormouspotholes in the un-metalled surface, butwas an excellent ‘dirttrack’ for young cyclists.Because there washardly any traffic, it wasa safe play area all theway from Hindley toAspull St Elizabeth'sChurch.

Norman Spooner Oswestry Shropshire

Hall Lane Tollgate

parents had an anxious timeof it. My mother pushed mybaby sister in her pram fromKenyon Road to Whelley inorder to wave to us throughthe window of the ward onvisiting days. Things havecertainly improved sincethen!

Now living in Upholland Iam a little less in touch so Ishall seek the opportunity toread your magazine in future.Best wishes for itscontinuance.

Winifred LonsdaleUpholland Wigan

Toll-Bar, Hindley, c.1900.

42

Ex Telephonists Reunion 2004

TELEPHONISTS REUNION

Dear SirThe reunion of the ex

GPO/BT telephonists on 25May 2004 at the Tudor pub onMossy Lea Road, Wrightington,Wigan was voted a hugesuccess. Telephonists from asfar back as the 1940's,together with the younger

generation who were at thetelephone exchange in DorningStreet Wigan until its closure in1992, were there. Theatmosphere was electric and itwas difficult to be heard abovethe hubbub as approximately89 ladies laughed, joked andreminisced. It was unanimous

that there must be anotherreunion in the not too distantfuture and anyone wishing toreceive information can callPat Cotton on 01942 832564or Muriel Fox on 01257453062.

Muriel FoxWrightington Nr Wigan

Dear SirI am trying to obtain infor-

mation of work that was carriedout during World War II at theLancashire Electric PowerMeter (later Norweb Electricity)Testing Station at MountainStreet, Walkden nearManchester, on copies of theGerman ENIGMA codingmachines which were built,modified or rewired there.

I started work at the MeterStation in 1959, and in the1960’s, discovered in the cel-lars of the building severalmachines, together with a boxfull of change wheels. In 2001 Isaw a television programmeabout Bletchley Park, home tothe breaking of the EnigmaMachines, where I recognizedthat the seemingly uselesspieces of equipment I had seenmany years before were actu-ally Enigma Machines, probablythe last undiscovered examplesremaining in the world. Thesemachines and change wheelscould have represented the sur-plus build material and/orfaulty machines in a part of thecellar that had been kept lockedup since the war.

In May 2001, 1 wrote toBletchley Park Trust to tell themthat I knew of the location ofsome 8-10 Enigma ciphermachines, along with a box fullof Enigma wheels. EventuallyJohn Gallehawk from BletchleyPark Archives and Museumcontacted me; he was veryinterested in obtaining thisequipment. However, before hearrived, I heard that the roof ofthe Meter Station was off anddemolition was underway. Andso it was that John Gallehawkand I found to our dismay thatthe section of the building con-taining the partial cellar hadbeen flattened and all the con-tents dumped into skips. Theskip onsite was examined and

found not to contain the pre-cious equipment; nor did wehave any success in our searchof the scrap metal reclamationyard for where the skips weredestined.

However, as a result of mysister going on a ramblerecently in the Walkden area,the guide referred to the factthat the famous Enigmamachines were assembled atthe nearby Meter Test Stationduring World War II. He went onto say that, apparently, oneSaturday morning, the upstairstest room was cleared of metersand test racks, in preparationfor the construction or modifi-cation of the Enigma machines.

I am writing to you in thehope that some readers or localhistory societies may havesome more information, which Icould pass on to the BletchleyPark Trust, and help to put ourarea on the annals of Britain'sbest kept secret – ‘Ultras Baseat Bletchley Park’.

Robert Mather6 Millbrook AvenueAtherton M46 9LL

A Local Enigma

Abram Ladies

Hello AlastairFollowing on from my article in Past Forward 36, is there any

chance that you might be able to publish the enclosed photographof Abram ladies, c.1907? I would love to be able to identify at leastsome of the women on the photograph. The only person whoseidentity I am sure of is Revd Twemlow; I imagine that the womenmay comprise the membership of the Mothers’ Union. There is onelady who may be my great-grandmother, Mary Walls (sitting in thesecond row from the front, next to the intriguing lady who looksIndian).

Mary SayersBuxton Derbyshire

Email: hca00mms@shef.ac.uk

43

Published by Wigan Heritage Service, Wigan Leisure & CultureTrust, Market Suite, The Galleries, Wigan WN1 1PX

The views expressed in this issue are not necessarily supportedby Wigan Leisure & Culture Trust. Nothing printed may beconstrued as policy or an official announcement unless so stated.

Neither Wigan Leisure & Culture Trust, nor the Editor, acceptliability for any matter in this publication.

Contributions are welcome but no responsibility can be taken forloss or damage to contributors’ material.

© Wigan Leisure & Culture Trust, November 2004.

ARGYLE STREET SCHOOLDear Sir

Perhaps you can find a little place for this photograph in yourwonderful Past Forward. It shows a class from Argyle StreetSchool, Hindley. My daughter is on the front row, second left.She is 56 now; perhaps some of the pupils can recognisethemselves.

My teacher at All Saints School, Hindley was Mr Darling, Ithink he became a councillor at Wigan and married MissSharrock. Thank you all very much for the memories.

J BoweryHove East Sussex

Dear Mr GilliesI have read with interest

the letter from Joyce Dennisin connection with StThomas's School in the 1948era. I attended St Thomas'sSchool 1944-1949 and canrecollect a number of pupilswithin that period; JoyceBailey, Audrey Monks, AnnaHulse, Betty Highton,Thomas Purdam, Joe

THE DAVIES SISTERSDear Sir

I would like to thank James Fairhurst on his contribution ‘A PitBrow Girls Story’ in issue no 37. Charlotte and Mary Ann Daviesare my great grandfather's sisters and it was nice to hearsomething about the way a member of the family lived than justthe dates and information I gather whilst doing my research.

Linda Veasey

Lewis BradleyDear Alastair

I was delighted to see thearticle on Lewis Bradley inPast Forward no 37. I hadcome across his name whileresearching the names on theWigan War Memorial. Hewas one of 21 playingmembers of Wigan NorthernUnion RFC who enlisted, andthe only one killed, althoughC Molloy was permanentlyblinded.

His obituary in theSporting Chronicle andreproduced in the WiganExaminer brings tears to youreyes.

"Quick off the mark, he

was often past his opposingthree quarter back before thelatter realised that Bradleyhas the ball. Fireworks werealways evident in his game,he could get up pace in astride or two. Inside oroutside mattered nought tohim. He could feint anddodge with a shrewdnesspicked up in Welsh football.Shall we ever forget thisspeedy wing three quarter atCentral Park? He was the idolof the crowd and it onlyseems like yesterday that hewas dashing down thetouchline, his long flowinghair blowing in the wind,those long raking strides andthat final natural swerve".

It is wonderful that TomMather's article in PastForward means that he is notforgotten.

Fred HolcroftWinstanley Wigan

See Fred’s article on Iraq onp11. Ed.

Atherton, Joyce Hall, NoraKay, Brenda Hart, PhyllisHinds, Pat Mosely, MarianMarsh, Joe Higham, JanetButler (whose Aunt was MissButler, a teacher at StThomas's Juniors), JoyceDagnall, Sally Gregory andPat Monagham.

Doreen Bolton (neeForshaw)

Whalley Nr Clitheroe

St Thomas’s School

Dear SirI read with interest Fred

Holcroft's article in PastForward No 37 on the twoWigan lads who fought atRorke's Drift. Private WilliamNeville 1279 was born inWarrington Road, Abram inFebruary 1858 and baptisedat All Saints Parish Church,Wigan on 2 July. He died ofheart failure in August 1895at the age of 52 at BrownStreet Ince-In-Makerfield. (Ihave not been able to locatewhere Brown Street was, andI would be grateful if anyreader could help me).Neville is buried in Ince

Cemetery, Church of Englandsection C, grave 478; there isno headstone on his grave.

Private John Smith 1005was born in Chapel Lane inDecember 1851, and wasbaptised at All Saints ParishChurch on 29 February1852. At Rorke's Drift hewas wounded in the stomachby an assegai, the onlysolider to receive such awound while fighting at theBarricade. He was examinedby a medical board on 6August 1879 and sent backto England.

Clifford Storey Whelley Wigan

Wiganers at Rorke’s Drift

44

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