Wigan Album

1985 at a guess.

Good try Jonno, but definitely earlier than 1985.

My Grandma was a Battersby before marriage......wonder if there's a connection?

Ok Bet, the next previous time that Wigan won both the Challenge Cup and the Lancs Cup was 1948.

Two good tries Jonno. Ok, guess you could be right with 1985 or 1948, because I have changed my mind to definitely undecided. http://www.britishpathe.com/video/rugby-league-cup-final-1948/query/Wigan

The clothes look like early 1950s to me, Could it be that the two cups were won in adjacent seasons eg Wigan won the Challenge Cup in May 1951 (1950-51 season) and won the Lancashire Cup in October 1951 (1951 -52 season)and therefore they would have been holders of both Trophys for the period up to April 1952 when Workington beat Featherstone. If anyone has any better info please comment!

For what reason I know not why. On one occasion,the Challenge cup was placed in one of the police cells, at Wigan Central, late fifties. The only reason I can think of. For the security of it, over night.

Norman Cherrington is the player in the back row

Think you got that wrong Homer

Possible Carolaen, Lancs cup final 4th November 1950 Wigan 28-5 Warrington. Challenge cup Final 5th May 1951 Wigan 10-0 Barrow.

There were a lot of Battersby's Irene. Wonder what Grandma Battersby's Christian name and married name was?

My grandma Lizzie Battersby goes back a long way.....she was 40 when she had my mam in 1911, and my Mam was 42 when she had me in 1952, so Lizzie was born around 1871, (I have her birth certificate upstairs if you think we may be related, and I could check). She married Henry, (Harry), Aspey. I think Lizzie's mother was Margaret Battersby, nee Heaton, but I would have to have a root through the birth/marriage certificates I have to check. Can you put a date to the above photo, Bet? I would say 1950s/1960s.

Norman Cherrington ???? Never in the memory of man is he on this photo !!!!

Norman Cherrington's mum is the lady in the centre,his dad Tommy is the man next to her and his brother Les is the one behind her.

That is Les Cherrington on the back row I'm 99% certain of that! I'll show him this next time he walks past our house to catch the bus.

No date or place put on the photo yet, but Norman Cherrington did play for Wigan in the 1958 challenge cup final.Ted Battersby is hiding behind the angel on top of the challenge cup, Irene I will do some checks.

It looks like the old "Hen Ole" vault on Gidlow Lane to me.
The layout looks the same. The old bar was in the middle of the room in those days. The door to the left would lead to the lounge. Another pointer is that the Cherrington family lived almost opposite this pub and it was their local. I've known the family for years since I was born. Norman, Les and my dad were very good friends from schooldays and remained close friends all their lives.

Ian, is Les in his 80s now ? I have him as being born 1932, he looks to be about 16 in this photo, which makes it 1948 approx.

Jonno. Les will be about 84. My dad would have been 83,Norman would have been about 82. Sadly they have passed away. Les told me that my dad was born in between himself and Norman. Les is looking well. And he has a great memory.

Glad to hear it Ian. I think i'm right with my 1948 'guess', Bet, are you happy with 1948 ?

We are all waiting for the same bus as Les now Jonno, I couldn’t even guess what time he is due to walk past Ian’s place, but I am sure Ian will get the correct answers from Les. Meanwhile I am happy with everyone’s efforts in proving the identity of some interesting people on the photo, the venue and possible dates when both cups were in Wigan. Gentleman 2nd right on the photo also appears with Les and his father Tommy on another photo available to view on WW, apparently they were on an outing from the Brewers Arms in 1958 and I believe Ian’s grandfather may also be on that photo? http://www.wiganworld.co.uk/album/photo.php?opt=8&id=11096&gallery=Brewers+Arms+pub+outing.&offset=0

The lady in the centre has a slight look of Normans wife, Marjorie. This photo has got me thinking! In fact I'll make a point of nipping up to Les's house and ask him to come down while I show him this!

Ian, Norman, was born in 1935, 3 years after Les (Ancestry.com) and that's a young Les on the pic, so Norman would only be a young lad, prob around 13/14, when this was taken.

Norman played for Wigan in the second row between 1953 and 1962. The number elevens pace and last minute try saving tackle at wembley, was crucial in Wigans 1958 challenge cup win.http://www.britishpathe.com/video/wigan-v-workington

The rugby league challenge cup is on the left of the picture, the rugby league championship cup is on the right.

Has anyone worked out what year this was yet ?

Above photo 1959 - 1960, at a guess.

I rang Les earlier. He is coming here tomorrow to see if he can shed some light on it.
I gave him a short description of the photo and without seeing him it he reckons it could have been taken in the Brewers Arms pub. He told me they used to lock the cups up in the police station which was opposite the Brewers Arms as Central Park would have been shut before the pub!
I'll find out more tomorrow when l show him this photo.

Thanks Ian,the above photo is about 57 years old and shows two major rugby league trophies in Wigan, not the Lancashire cup.That trophy was probably in Warrington or the other unmentionable town.

Hi Ian, any progress on Les's version of the pic ?

I'm still waiting for him to come, Jonno.
He'll pitch up eventually! Mark my words. My word is my bond!

Les has just been down.
He confirmed the photo was taken in the Brewers Arms pub 1958.His parents are in the centre of the photo and the man 2nd from the right is Les Stanley. Les Stanley's wife is at the back of the photo. The two cups are the RL Challenge cup and the old Lancashire Shield, not the Lancashire cup which was a knock out competition. They won both trophy's that season. I asked him what was the connection with the Brewers Arms pub he said "we all liked his Magees ale". Les's brother, Norman Cherrington learned the ropes in there when he wanted to run his own pub. The landlord who taught him was named Hughie.

Thank you Ian for that, and Les of course. Les looks a very young 26 year old, it must have been the Magees. Norman had the Wheatsheaf in Wallgate didn't he ?

Good show Ian and Les, but there is no Lancashire trophy in this photo, the championship cup on the right of the photo was a knock out competition equivalent to todays super league trophy. Wigan won the challenge cup in 1958 and 1959 and the championship in 1960. Eric Ashton captained Wigan in a record six Wembley cup finals, winning three of them against Workington in 1958, Hull the following year and Hunslet as player-coach in 1965, but losing in 1961 and 1966. However Eric regarded the 1960 championship final against Yorkshire club Wakefield Trinity at Odsal as "my best achievement". Eric Ashton was switched to stand-off, with Billy Boston in the equally unfamiliar position of centre, but scored two tries in front of an 83,190 crowd in a 27-3 win for Wigan.

He did indeed have the Wheatsheaf, Jonno. His very first pub that he had was the Old Bell near the docks in Bootle. I remember my dad taking me on the train to visit him when I was a kid in the mid 1960's.They were very good friends from schooldays and they both played for the same club, Huddersfield RLFC. The record "Mr Tambourine Man" by the Byrds always reminds me of that pub as it was played on a regular basis on the juke box! Funny how things like that stick in your mind fifty years later! His also ran a pub in Little Hulton. I think it was called the Elm Tree or Elm House. It was a brand new pub. Norman could have been the first landlord, I'm not sure. I think he also had the Queens at the Saddle, Newtown. Maybe someone can confirm this? He also did a lot of relief work in various pubs when the landlords took a holiday. He used to relief the Pear Tree as his cousin, Frank Fielding ran it. His last pub was the Springfield before he retired from the business about 1983.

Ian, Wigan won the Lancashire League in 1958. Although the above does not look like a shield it must have been for the Lancashire championship in that year. Therefore my assumption that this trophy was the rfl championship, super league equivalent is incorrect and the above photo was taken in 1958 as kindly confirmed by yourself and Les.

Hughie Wilkinson I believe may have been the landlord of the brewers arms in those days, but he is not related to me.

Hello Terry.
Les did explain to me how the Lancashire league worked but I don't think I got the gist of it! They had the same set up in Yorkshire.He said the Lancashire teams played one another and if they won they got 2 points to go into the Lancashire league and two points to go into another league. The same applied to the Yorkshire teams in their respective league. And then I think there was a play off between the top Yorkshire sides and top Lancashire sides to decide who were the champions. Or something like that! I'm confused now!

Hello Ian, the system was confusing, but your explanation is good enough for me, thanks.