Wigan Album

My son's wife's family lived in Standish for a time and I remember seeing a photo of her father and friends from The White Duck in costumes for a Standish carnival, and it was reckoned to be the early part of the 1970s, so it was still going then.

Those youngsters on the left complete with Ostrich feathers are very good and all in a straight line too, unlike the pipers in the marching band who are all over the place on the right, and seem to be trying to get into view of the camera.

Really Cyril! That's a bit unkind - the lads to the left and right seem perfectly inline - the drummer is obviously having a problem seeing over his drum to the piper in front - and the lad behind is in an even worse position trying to see round him. Not sure about the drum major though - he's well offline, and in full view of the camera!

I didn't know Standish back then, (I was only four!), but if that's The Globe Pub on the right of the photo, the procession is walking past the chemists where I worked in 1970. (It wasn't a chemists in 1956 though). I don't think High Street, or Standish itself, would have changed much in the intervening years.

I used to love walking behind the pipers on Whit Monday . The skirrrrl o’ the pipes and the swinging of the kilts. I seem to remember the ones we had at St Pat’s came from Ireland specially for the walks in the fifties.

David, I was going off the position of their feet to the centre road line, unless that isn't running straight.

This is about 4 years before my time but I seem to remember the parades into the 90's. In shot you can see the Globe Pub and the tree near to the Cenotaph on the right. Behind the Globe, the row of houses that ran towards the chippy, long since gone. When were they demolished, I don't remember that ? To the left, the Police Station, the White duck and further down, the Council Offices. The Drum Major could be offline as he's about to swing a left to go back up Church Street for a pint in the Black Horse ;)

I like the left wheel theory WN1 and the piper on the left certainly appears to be looking over in that direction . Is that blob Barrie's dad's thumb or a big bobby on traffic duty ?
Also there seems to be a stone column with a downspout above the 'blob' that shouldn't be there . I thought it must be the Jubilee fountain but it's obviously not .

I had relatives in Standish and used to visit them for walking and carnival parades and they were great days out.The only pipe band I remember was St.Benedict’s in Hindley.

WN1 Standisher, Farrimonds chippy the best. I used to work in the police station. Pw, walking day, our relatives used to visit for the day and stay for their tea and if I remember rightly we always got good weather. On the Saturday tea in school and then races on the fields. I never won wasn’t a good runner.

1956- no M6 in those days so the traffic in both directions of the A49 would have been closed by the Police whilst the carnival procession came down the High Street. Father was at work on the Saturday morning and was home in the car before the road was closed. Looking at his diary entry we must have stood opposite "Annie Parks" shop and Father stood in the road to take the shot.