Wigan Album

It's a long time since I saw this "familiar" sight, my uncle worked here for many years but that wasn't his car.

The building next door was The Central Labour Club, now Riley's Snooker Hall.

Looks like it could be an old MG?

With the insignia on the bonnet I think the car is a hillman

Wonder how many times that three wheeler van in the background got flipped over on corners, favourite places for Reliants flipping over was on the bend of the canal bridge at Dover Lock and the bend of the canal bridge at Martland Mill.

I think the car is a Standard.

I think the car is likely to be an Austin Eight two door 4 seater tourer, possibly 1939. Cars had to last longer in the 1940's and 1950's there was a new car shortage until sometime in the 1950's.

The car is defo an Austin 8 tourer. Follow the link

http://www.oldclassiccar.co.uk/austin-tourer.htm

Hope this helps :)

Austin Tourer, in front of it, Ford E83W 10CWT van and Reliant 10CWT, three wheeler. The building was/is a hire shop. The Lancashire Evening Post moved to new premises at Leyland Mill Lane and the paper re-launched the Post and Chronicle but still part of LEP group. Today, the Wigan Evening Post.

When did "suicide doors" become illegal?.

I would;nt say this car is old, but the last person seen driving it was ELIOT NESS.

Love the Austin/Morris 8 my grandparent had one when I was a child, I remember it well. I also have fond memories of the L.E.P. building, I processed many a roll of film in the darkroom, just above their sign. My good friends Harol Farrimond, Gordon Hurst and Brian McCauley were the staff photographers in those days. The newspaper subsequently mover to Brock Mill for a few years before being consolodated into the Observer building at Martland Mill.

Amalgamated is the word David, the Observer a much more modern newspaper by far in every sence.

The amalgamation had taken place years earlier when Harley Drayton acquired both papers, later on they became part of United Newspapers, I don't know who owns them now

Today David, the Wigan Observer is owned by Johnston Press, and was acquired by Provincial newspapers in May 1965. The chairman was indeed Mr Harley Drayton. Much has changed since then, the paper later became United Newspapers and later, United news and Media, then Regional independent Media and now Johnston Press.
Click on to work and then printers.

The move to consolidate was after The Observer moved from Woods St and the Post/Chron moved out of Brock Mill, now the production would take place with just one set of everything instead of two.

It is interesting to note how an empire such as United Newspapers was built up, and this example may help. The Wigan Observer was a member of Utd News empire. The paper was founded in the 1850s and survived for 114 years in the ownership of the Wall family, a family af wealthy(ish) Wigan Liberals. During the 1960s, the Observer was particularly successful under the management of a man who had married into the family and had only a small shareholding in the firm. With a circulation of over 47,000 it was the third biggest weekly in the country. From accumulated profits the firm was able to buy a modern factory, and with a small loan, what was then a revolutionary new Web offset printing plant in Woods Street, Lower wallgate. Utd News already owned the Preston based Lancashire Evening Post, which had a office in Wigan, and they approached the Wall family to take over the Wigan Observer. Reluctantly it must be said, and Utd News acquired a very successful local weekly paper along with the most up-to-date printing plant in the region, and a portfolio of real profits. Utd News also owned another weekly newspaper in nearby Chorley, the Chorley Guardian, and took advantage of the printing plant in Woods Street by printing both papers on the same press, thus modernizing the appearance of the Guardian and maximizing the use of the investment made by the Wall family. Previously a successful independent family firm, the Wigan Observer became subsumed into the corporate bureaucracy, and the whole of that part of Lancashire became part of the Utd News empire. Around 1984, Utd News closed Woods Street and merged the Observer and Post into one, at new offices at Martland Mill. Today, both papers are owned by Johnston Press and struggle to suvive this day and age. Central Lancashire Printers at Martland Mill closed years ago, and both the Observer and Post are printed in Preston by Broughton Printers, along with many other north-west titles. What will happen next, well you never know in the newspaper game.

Yes it was John DeKeyne who married in to the Wall family and ran the Observer, rumour had it, he had jockeyed for years trying to get on the Queens Honours list but has a serious disappointment when his genealogy revealed some not too legit rompings of William the Conqueror with a wench of unknown heritage

Hi David Simm, are you saying that John DeKeyne was a descendant of William the Conqueror? Legit or not, that's some pedigree!

That was the rumour of the day

Absolute rubbish David Simms, a disrespectful comment to a man who is no longer with us.

Don't forget the Leyland Guardian also.Iworked on both in the mid to late sixties.

Yes Dave, the Leyland Guardian along with the Chorley paper was printed at Woods Street each Wednesday. They was utilized at one stage to print the Burnley Express and the Isle of Man Examiner etc etc, as long as they belonged to United Newspapers. I will dig a photo out soon of the IOM Examiner/Courier being printed at Woods Street from the 70s.

Colin Harlows, I knew and respected John and worked on many projects with him, most importantly the introduction of colour pictures to the Observer. We were pioneers in the the sixties, the Obo was one of the few newspapers to produce colour ROP. I didn't start the rumour and those who were familiar with it are also long departed and all their memories are significant to the history of Wigan and The Wigan Obsever. You may not remember many of the people who also knew him well.

David Simms, The last comment on this page you said...and I quote, "You may not remember many of the people who also knew him well" unquote. I will answer the question. The people who knew John Dakeyne was my grandad Robert, dad Tom, auntie Jessie and uncle Gordon. My late family served the Wigan Observer from 1904-1979. John Dakeyne started work at the paper in 1947 as an office clerk, 10 years later he became Managing Director. Other people I know personally who knew John at the paper...Jack Winstanley, Geoff Shryhane, Barbara Farrimond, Les Fishwick, Dave Taylor, Steve Hooley, Bob Fishwick, Bob Hodges, Cyril Goodman, Cliff Roper, Derrick Smith and Eddie Farrimond. John retired on Friday, 31st, July 1981 after 34 years at the helm. John Dakeyne sadly died at his home in Surrey, on the 6th June 2011, aged 88.

The car in the picture belonged to Eric Thompson the rugby league writer