General   (General discussion, talk about anything.)

Tonker, a good observation there, but Wigan does have a mining history which is quite an emotional perspective for many - Wigan had many pits dating back to to the 1600s and possibly even back to the Romans as evidence was found in excavations in the Weind area. My great grand father moved from the forest of Dean to Wigan possibly because the coal was much better (king and canel) and therefore the wages were better. He was in fact a mining engineer. But I acknowledge that engineering was important and often overlooked. As Tonker highlights, the textile industry was incredibly important... and it only died out relatively recently because of overseas competition. Perhaps we need someone to champion this and provide a memorial and legacy to our mills. Thanks for that Tonker.