Wigan Album

Although he lived all his life in Wigan, Henry Simm was born in Clinton, Indiana, USA, of English parents (Maggie & Sandy Simm). Because of his birth certificate, at the start of the war he was treated as stateless, was refused admission to British military, subsequently refused by US military and finally accepted by the Royal Navy. His problems were exacerbated in the 1960's when, in spite of his military service, he was refused a British passport and it took years to sway the home office to get him a passport.