Wigan Album

Once again memories come flooding back to me about this mill, It was were my mother and my Sister Margaret worked also sister-in-law Mary Winstanley (NEE )Milligan ,My Elder Sister Margaret died last week the 8th of JUNE 2023 she was creamated yesterday in Wigan 20/06/23 she went staright from school to work at Eckersley's Mill ,with my Mother until it closed. RIP SIS XXX

When walking along Wallgate you could tell at a glance those who worked at Eckersley's - they always had white cotton fluff in their hair, it was hard for them to shake out too as it must have stuck to their hair with static.

I worked in the mill until it closed in 1988, met some great people in there.

So sorry to hear the sad news about your sister, Alan. My Auntie Mary worked at Eckersley's and told me of how the girls used to set each other's hair using sugar and water! The camaraderie must have been wonderful. Auntie Mary used to bring home "banding", which was a kind of tubular string, for us children to make whips for our games of top-and-whip. She had to walk to work at Eckersley's from Ince because her evil husband wouldn't give her the bus-fare; he spent all day dressed up to the nines in the local pubs. In those days women like Aunty Mary had nowhere to turn. What memories these photos bring back, some good, some bad.

Alan, so sorry I forgot to say Sincere Condolences, you'll have plenty of happy memories I'm sure.

My mam worked at Eckersley’s, I think she was a ‘doffer’ at some point. She also worked at the Empress in Ince and came home covered in ‘fluff’. I think it got on her chest and she died aged 63 , a young age really.
Condolences Alan … may your sister Rest in Eternal Peace.

Veronica, folks not knowing the consequences of working in certain parts of mills would have sadly ended up suffered with terrible, debilitating chest problems through inhaling cotton dust, much the same as miners too with coal dust. I can imagine the management or their overseers saying it's only a natural product so it can't harm you.

Those folks didn't think about and probably no one then knew the dangers of working in dusty environments, they were just glad of a job with a wage to take home at the end of the week to keep house and home, and working hard for that wage too, and many not reaching that age when they could retire and draw their pensions. I do feel sorry for the ones working now and those to come with the pension age keeping on being increased, and with the government quite happily clawing back the money those folks earned for their pension if they don't live to retire.

True Cyril there must have been lots of dangerous substances used in the workplace years ago. I came in contact with a few. On top of that smoking as well didn’t help either. I am so glad I never started.

I was one of those daft fools that did start smoking Veronica, when I started my first job everyone there was smoking and when I was offered one daft me took it and I carried on smoking and only stopped when damage was done. Folks would say and probably still say it's a bad habit, but it is more than a bad habit it's an addictive drug similarly to how heroin is, though tobacco is a legalised drug.