Wigan Album

great photo i have browns in my family from ince thomas brown married mary alice charnock in i would say 1910 ish they has kids dorothy ,jemima ,eliyh ,roy,lizzie and i few more i cant remember i have put a photo of under brown family on here xxxx

A lovely photo. My great grandmother was EMILY BROWN born in Pemberton 1876, her father George brown. Emily married my Peter Bibby and they moved to Barrow-in-Furness area where our family still lives. Emily died age 99 and I was just a little girl but I remember her. She also worked in mills as a young girl, perhaps May Mill, not sure.One of her siblings was Mary Ellen Brown, married George Southern. Her mother was Ellen Lucas.

Hi Angus.
Could the girls possibly be WWI Munitions Workers instead of Mill Girls?
Looks very much like the uniform supplied in some munitions factories

Mick -- a bell that last tinkled in my distant childhood is now clanging deafeningly. This squares with a dimly remembered bit of family history (no-one left to check it with now), so a quite likely yes and certainly a thankyou. So what company was packing shells in the Wigan area in WW1?
Angus

Euxton had a large munitions factory and is about 9 miles from Wigan. My lovely auntie, Margaret Brown, worked there for many years. I have a memory of her getting up at about 4am or so, in order to get to work.

Hi Angus.
Roburite at Gathurst is the first company to spring to mind, but I'm not too sure if they weren't mainly involved in the manufacture of the propellant/explosive, as opposed to manufacture of shells etc.

Roburite at Gathurst made munitions. Also Bentley and Jubb in Wigan.

Euxton R.O.F. only operated from WWII and after, Ashley.

Thanks for the comments. Living at home in Appleton Street, she'd probably have taken a job at whichever factory was closest. The area must, of course, have had a strong reputation for explosives manufacture because of the coal. I was told that she was packing explosives into shell casings (which would have been made elsewhere and delivered?). So a better title for the picture might be "Munitions workers, about 1915"?

Angus, in sunny Sharjah

My late stepmother violet brown also work in euxton munitions born in 1926 also came from ince went to rose bridge school.

Winnie - where have you posted the photos? I'm from the same family, my mum comes from Ince and is a Brown, and I'm in the middle of researching our family tree, would love to see some photos if you're happy to email me? Thanks

Hi,
My Browns (Thomas and Mary) originated from Little Dawley in Shropshire before settling in Ince. They had children as follows: Francis, Hannah, Thomas, Mary, Billhah, Richard, Joseph and Martha. Martha married Joseph Laithwaite. They had a daughter 1911 census head of household widow Died aged 63 at 74 Brookehouse Street. Buried Lower Ince Cemetery. Notes as follows: Laithwaite Martha A. 63 yrs 74 Brookhouse St. 13-Nov 1922 D 653 R C. Does this ting any bells with anyone?

the photo karen is under brown family

i have just found this karen i have emailed you