Wigan Album

I remember Mr Bendelow well, we were not allowed to address him buy his first name in fact I never knew it.He did have a greengrocers in Netherby Road.
MR Bendelow and his wife (our) Maggie were friends of my
parents Jim and Elsie Molyneux.Our house was in Guildford Crescent.
I live in America now and love looking at the old pictures of Wigan.Do you have anymore of Beech Hill??Or Martland Mill? Love to see them. mmck

One enduring memory of Chris Bendelow is the occasion I travelled, as a young teenage passenger, along with a number of ex-Rugby League players which included my father, with I think, Bill McFarlane and Shaun Edwards's father together with a few others in the back of Chris's van. We were on our way to watch the final of the Lancashire Cup competition, probably in the late 50's or early 60's. It was quite uneventful until we reached the Swinton area when the crowds and traffic became very heavy. Without any warning the van lurched violently to the right and just as violently back to the left, throwing us all, including the burly rugby players around like rag dolls in the back of the van (no seat belts in those days). We survived and thanks to Chris he managed to avoid hitting the motorist who had come suddenly out of a side road without looking. I can't remember a thing about the game nor indeed which teams were in the final, but I certainly remembered Chris Bendelow's driving skills.

Sure that's my Grandad in the middle with the cig in his mouth, Bernard Mitchinson.
My nan Nora Mitchinson used to work in the Wellfield at the time. Nice to see an old picture of him, it was only the 1st anniversary of his death yesterday so was a pleasant surprise seeing that!