Wigan Album

My boyfriend Peter, now my husband of 36 years, worked in Sawbridge's butchers in Commercial Yard when he was 17 and I was 15, (late 1960s). I was still at school and can recall buying fresh yeast, (which my Mam always called "barm"), from Latimer's when we made bread in Cookery lesson. Wish those atmospheric alleways and individual shops were still there instead of the modern shopping precincts which have about as much character as a bin-bag.

My uncle Tom Sutch from Shevington was the manager of this shop in the sixties.Great memories of this place the smell of coffee and tea always remind me of Latimers.

I don't recollect a Latimer's in the town center, only in Pemberton where I used to call on my way home from school often to buy bacon, my mother only liked it from Latimers.
I remember buying yeast also for cookery lessons.

I worked with Tommy Sutch at Latimers in the 60'sa good if strict manager. He was responsible for the daily writing to be found on the front windows advertising bacon, cheese and various other offers.The shop front was on Market Street and the warehouse was in Commercial Yard next to the fish mongers. Besides Wigan we had branches at Pemberton,Ashton in Makerfield,Platt bridge, Hindley and Hindley Green.We had two Thames vans for delivering food orders to customers these were kept overnight in a small garage next to the old warehouse by the side of the canal on Wallgate, the garage was owned by the Ford dealers Williams of Wigan

I remember those hand-written slogans, done in whitewash on shop windows, stating the price of things, all beautifully written and underlined with squiggly lines. People took such pride then.

all in the name of progress wont be to long b4 the galleries bits the dust every politician both local and national has had a frontal lobotomy when it comes to planning

I started work at Latimers in '68/'69, Tommy Sutch taught me how to do the whitewash sign writing on the window. In the pic above you can see the ends of the bacon rolls all lined up no refridgeration then, it sold that quick it didn't need it, Big Ben Sharrat was the guy on the bacon slicer on the right as you went into the shop.

does anyone remember y mum Maureen Harrison xxxx