Wigan Album

Thanks Mick or Gumshoe for that enlightened research. Interesting to note that the August Bank Holiday was at the beginning of the month in those days!

Thank you Mick. That settles the matter,relating to the date of the fire.

Johnny - the summer bank holiday used to be the first Monday in August, and the date was altered as an experiment, in the mid 1960s to the last Monday in the month. Legislation was introduced in 1971 making this alteration law.

Nostalgic reminder for me. In 1953 I spent 3 months in Wigan Infirmary During which time The Queen was crowned Hillary climbed Everest,We won the ashes and Pendlebury.s burnt down.yes I, remember the year??

AB,remember 1953, had my Tonsil's out day Queen was Crowned,let out of Infirmary same day (so staff could watch Crowning ?) when I got home my Dad had rented a telly for the day from Fred Dawes.I missed most of it but we kept the Telly.

That weekend I must have been on a seventy two hour pass. I was stationed on the Salisbury Plains at the time. too far to come on a forty eight hour one. Then you travelled up to Manchester by coach, (No motorways), then a train to Wigan. All organized at the camp. ( A training Depot.) Same when going back.

You would have thought that the WW local expert would have been onto this straight away. Sadly lacking I'm afraid.

8 weeks earlier there was another big fire in Wigan. One for the conspiracy theorists?