Wigan Album

My mother forbid us to swim in the dog broth, as she called it.lol.

My Uncle James drowned in this lock aged 5 about 1905.

Dennis, Where was the"Big Rock"pub in association with this photo?. Another classic for the wigan world family.

I shudder to think of it now. But as lads we used to walk across the top of the lock gates and this lock was the scene of a tragedy about 1941 when 3 lads drowned in this very lock two brothers named Dewhurst and a lad named Boardman and I remember the attempts by a number of men trying to save them and witnessing them being pulled out. But I still played in and around the canal afterwards. Embarrassing to me now but drownings and accidents were common place in those days

Colin. As far as I remember. If you went to the main Road, and turned left, you pass the Shepherd's Arms, then go under the railway bridge. On the right was the New Inn. At one time a family named Groves had the New Inn. Further up the road, on the same3 side was The Big Rock pub. Further along on the left hand side was the Rock Ferry, or Little Rock. It is fifty odd years, since I lived in Lower Ince.

Your comments ring true with me AB, even as a casual visitor to my grandparents house in Clarington Grove in the 1940’s, at the bottom which was the canal, I would see the occasional child or indeed children running up the Grove on their way home having had “a brush with death” as their dripping wet clothes testified. Even my own mother, I learned many years later, had herself been rescued from drowning as a young girl from the canal - no wonder it was drummed into me that I should stay well away from the water.

You have it spot on Albert big rock still in situ, but not in use, little rock is up and running but the labour club has gone the way of the others around wigan derelict,

Hi Aitch. Sorry to learn about the Labour Club. My mother, (Dolly), as a widow, spent many happy hours there.

The child jumping into the canal was myself. The man catching me (because I could not swim at the time) was my uncle Arthur.

Looks like the jumper was wearing a cossy made of his dads old woolen jersey, I was taught how to swim in the canal a bit further down near fhe railway bridge it was called sandy bottoms