Green jackets myth

In about 1969 there was a mad rumer all over the Wigan/ashton area that a gang of over 100 black lads from Manchester,who had there hair bleached white and all wore green blazers were coming to couse a riot.It was reported in the papers and our head master brought it up in assembly.We were told that if we saw them we had to run away and not to fight.
ANYONE ELSE REMEMBER?

You're going to get lots of replies on this one Gareth. I wouldn't be surprised if the topic hasn't come up before though. I remember them well. I was terrified getting off the bus home from school each day. There were various descriptions of the said "Green Jackets" flying around. I remember The Wigan Observer picking up the story and printing an artist's impression of one of these fictional gang members. I seem to recall that the picture looked like an image you used to see on the back of the Robertson's jam jars!

It may have been posted before but Im quite new to WW.I never thought they existed.All the Ashton skinheads and bootboys were walking round with knives.Who said that kids carrying knives is a new thing.A kid got stabbed outside Edmund arrowsmith by a 15 year old in about 1971.

Gareth, what do you think the greenjackets would have done when, reaching Ashton, they were confronted by 'JOHNNY PICTON'!

They could all have taken one of his water bottles from his bike as he had dozens of them on it.Do you remember Harold Wildman?He was daft as a brush and used to tell everyone he was mates with Frank Sinatra and Elvis.He told me that Prissila was realy upset and he had been over to Memphis for 2 weeks to console her.

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Just as well that rumour didn't start in the late'40s and early '50s because that was the colour of Wigan Tech STS and SCS blazers,and when I started there was 33 in my form,with boys coming from many social backgrounds and not one pigmently challenged person in sight.

I do, but it was in the 70's, rumour then were theyd catch ye and carve there names in ye back wid a razor blade we were absolute petrified as young uns ...well about 13/14 year old.

I remember that one. All the lads stole knives from the dinner rooms for protection.

Some good they would have been, they wouldn't even cut through school mashed spuds, lol.

I remember this one well . i was at junior school at the time . and the story we got was that these gangs in green jackets where going around .. and they had carved happy birthday on a girls back .
Being a 9 year old at the time we where all terrified .

Just spotted this thread. I was a sixth former at the time and all the young kids at school were terrified at this story. No-one ever found out where the story originated. As well as green jackets, they wore boots with bright coloured laces, odd coloured socks, drainpipe trousers and shoelace ties. After the Observer's artist's depiction of them made them look totally absurd, the story just disappeared.

Story was false but the fear was very real!

That`s nowt...When I was a lad the rumour was ``Watch out for`t scissormon`.....

Or Spring Heeled Jack?

spring heeled jack rings a bell but cant remember details

Yep I remember the stories about the green jackets. One night coming home from the school disco with my mates we scared ourselves to death just by talking about the things they would do to us

i was out very early morning delivering papers was terrified they were going to ambush me coz the streets were deserted especialy near whelley hospital and bottling wood

I dont remember this at all... I should it where my era.... whats does that say about the memory I do however remember the mods and rockers all over Pem

I'd guess at 1972 '73

There was an artist impression type thing in one of the lacal papers.

As Holly posted earlier ^^^^^^^

"I remember The Wigan Observer picking up the story and printing an artist's impression of one of these fictional gang members. I seem to recall that the picture looked like an image you used to see on the back of the Robertson's jam jars! "

There were tales at the same time of skinheads approaching kids and asking "Can your mam sew?"

Following an afffirmative repy 'they' would then slash the kid's face and say "tell her to sew that then".

Do you mean a Gollywog dostaf



It was 1972 when the 'Greenjackets' were coming to Wigan and I remember the artists impression in the Wigan Observer and I am sure they weren't black, they were just white thugs with a combat jacket on and scruffy longish hair

The 'black with white hair' aspect was mentioned in the newspaper so as to point out the incredulity of the tales going around.

Tha jam jar comment was a quote, APLS.

I can vaguely remember the drawing in the paper. I'm sure the character wore a combat type jacket.

Dostaf said :-There were tales at the same time of skinheads approaching kids and asking "Can your mam sew?"


That jogged my memory strangely enough I remember now or at least I remember that saying going around

Reet dostaf

I remember some skinheads asking me that, "does your mam sew" and I was going "wot" and they repeated it and I said "yea" and they just laughed, they must have been 'nice' skinheads

They were probably those charming boys who were pictured on Twig's 'Norley Boot Boys' thread, APLS.

Tonker spoke/wrote highly of them.

Here

I hear that some Wigan lads in red & white striped tops are going to Sintelins to knock hell out of their Rugby team,

And in forty years time, folk will be wondering who started that one off, Bentlegs.

Ha Ha Ha I remember that Ray ' Watch out for't scissormon'

Had all us young uns frickent round Stubshie

almost 6 yrs old this thread

Story is even older.

General (Discuss and ask about anything related to Wigan.)

Approved by Darren?

I started Our Lady's in Downall Green in 1970 and someone started the rumour that Hell's Angels and skinheads were coming to the playground for a fight, if they caught any little kids they would play O-X-O on your head with a razor. Lots of really terrified first years in tears.(can your mother sow? stitch this)

Same thing happened at Rose Hill but it was Red Clogs was going to climb over the wall and get you

Speaking of Rose Hill, they used to have outside toilets, one of the boys games was to see who could 'pee over the wall', it was never a good idea to stand against that wall. I recall a couple of first years getting showered

Why resurrect a thread started 18 years ago?

Because I joined a couple of days ago and I was reading back the old threads