Wigan Album

As soon as I looked Jack Gregory jumped out at me. A lovely guy. Good photograph.

Never knew that colliery's had blacksmith shops, thanks for the information Dave, a good clear inside shot photo too saying it's from the 1960s.

This could be a shift change, they are all too clean. Good photo.

Bet them Lads could tell a tail or two ,look's like some rum bugger's in that Photo.

Is that Suggs lead singer from Madness, top left.

I seem to recollect a lot of their time was taken up repairing the tubs, or was this the carpenters' shop. It may be the blacksmiths' dealt with the metal tubs. It is such a long time ago, sixty four years.

Albert The Picks, shovels and tools were maintained among other repairs. All mines and quarries had a Blacksmiths shop

When I worked at Stones(Park Colls) we had a blacksmiths shop and they annealed chains, sharpened cutter picks for longwall and Siskol machines. Sharpened hand pick blades, chisels etc. At Parkside however, with the advent of Elf & safety, Chisels and hand pick blades were discarded when dull, as no one would take responsibility in case anyone was injured by them. The same thing happened in the joiner's shop. No one would re-shaft hammers. for the same reason. a big waste of money.

Is Billy rimmer on the photo

If you mean Bill Rimmer from Spring View - that could be him on the left in the front row. His speciality was making crosses out of shoeing nails and wire, painted gold. Many folk at St Mary's will have one somewhere around their homes.
Bill appears in many of the pics of St Mary's Choir (see Album - People - St Mary's Choir), if anyone else wants to check if I've got it right.

Yes David that's who I was referring to I thought it was him either bottom left or top right

Reverend. Did Bill Rimmer have a brother, Ronnie Rimmer, to your knowledge?. That name seems familiar to me, from Spring View School.

Hello Albert - he had a brother Richard (Dick), as I recall. He had left a bit of money to the church which was used to pay for choir trips etc, and, when Bill died, he added to it.
Looking up the family in St Mary's Registers, I see that Richard, Ernest and Thomas Rimmer, born 1903, 1905, and 1907, were all Baptised by Rev Bryson in May 1917. No Baptism for Bill - born in 1908, by his age of 30 at his wedding in 1938 - is listed. He married Mary Farley - and two Farleys, William and Ellen, were Baptised on the same date as his siblings, as were four Barnes children, Walter, Thomas, Francis, and Jesse. Rev Bryson was obviously on a mission - but perhaps Bill was Baptised at the nearer Methodist Church in Spring View.

Mary Farley was my grandmas cousin, used to call them aunty Mary and uncle Billy ,Mary was a dinner lady at st marys school in the late sixties

great photo, i went spring view and worked plank lane in 60s mum was married at St Mary's good memories. not much colour in the old days all dressed same, no choice then

My Dad, Jack Gregory is back row 3rd from the left , His friend Bill Rimmer is last on the right on the back row .. great photo