Guestbook

Brian your a few years younger than me so u most likely not remember the Italians being there.

wigan world is a great site
found things out that i didnt know about
even beinge a native of the town many thanks

I have just been told about this site,I came from wigan (caroline st) and i can see many of my school friends are listed on it.

I hope that I may be able to contact several of them.

Hi, I think wigan world is fab. I live in tenerife for the past year. I was brought up in Sunny Wigan, went to school there and worked for Wigan & Leigh NHS trust for 30 years. I love the website, it keeps me in touch with my roots. The pictures are lovely,mindyou it makes me homesick looking at pics of town centre and the street where I live at home. People think it must be great living in the sun, but I miss all the things Wiganers take for granted like Kings in Caroline Street, Wigan Market, the Galleries, Grand Arcade, Saddle Junction and all the traffic even! Sunshine evryday is just as boring as rain every day. I'm looking forward to my next trip to the little piece of Gods counrty I still call home. Well done for such an informative interesting website.
Denise F

In answer to Cliff Higham. The surname Higham is known to be Anglo-Saxon, which means it carries a Viking-Germanic origin.

The DNA of Scandinavian and German people's is very similar, areas today like Schleswig-Holstein on the German/Danish border contain German and Danish speakers and it is this from region that Germanic tribes migrated to England after the end of Roman occupation from the 5th century onwards. Although Genetically very similar the Saxons and Vikings were different peoples and as a good thumb of rule the Saxons mostly came to populate the Midlands and the South East wheras the Vikings populated the North, in Particular Lancashire, Yorkshire and Cumbria. DNA tests carried out by Nottingham University should that half of men tested in West Lancashire still carry over 50% Viking genes, with direct matches to tests taken in Norway and Denmark. Swedish Vikings were more prone to raid Easten Europe, so most Viking settlements in England were Danish and Norwegian, known as Norsk. The issue is confused somewhat by the later Norman invasion of 1066, because the Normans, though settled in Northern France, were themselves the descendents of Vikings.

The Higham name contains the suffix (-ham) which is means 'place/home/settlement' and of course the prefix (High-) is self-explanatory. The name is almost certainly Anglo-Saxon and especially Saxon given the large number of people bearing the name in the South East.

I've added a link to a small website covering the origin of surnames in my own family tree. Many of these are common names, especially in the Wigan area, so some might find it useful as a guide to understanding surnames. Records show that my own Family originated from places like Dover, Hastings, Penzance, Truro and Wigan, so tracing family history has been a very facinating hobby for me and I certainly recommend it.

A word of caution however. Some surnames have more than one origin, so my website carries the origins relevant to me. The surname 'Morris' for example carries 'Norman, 'Welsh' and 'German' roots. Most surnames however have just one source.

http://normancrests.blogspot.com/2009/10/mayor.html

Hi Gordon. i lived in rookery ave at side of camp.i was 8yrs old when we played on it im now 59 so work it out.also the gates to Lord Gerards Estate were still standing and both gate house,s the left one was our gang hut. take care.

Jorden i remember that the Time Team where in Walmsley park,went to have a look where they were digging it was a small brook which was in trees near the pond,suposed to be a Roman road which went through the park,did not hear about any crash though.

Brian I remember playing on there do you remember the Italian POW.s being billited there we used to go and watch them play football again'st stubshaw cross labour club team, some of them could go out and walk round Ashton and four of them came down Stubshaw Cross and we asked them into our house one of them was called Tony and he learned me how to play draughs (i think thats how you spell it)

BELTIN. Does anyone remember the POW camp in ashton.me and my mates used to play on it when we were kids.

please someone tell me how do you communicate with someone ??? i have clicked and double clicked on names but nothin happens.....:( not as easy as facebook

does anyone know about the crash that happended at walmsley park many years ago when a so called aircraft crashed and it was covered up to be the time team doing a dig so if you know any information please comment back.

First time on site,thought it was really great and very informative..keep up the good work..thanks

Thanks Marlene, I've justed posted my message on communicate

I have really enjoyed looking at all the photos, it is making me home sick.

Frances ,you would have much more success if you joined the site and asked your questions on COMMUNICATE .

Can anyone put me in touch with Joan Hitchen who attended UGS 1959 -1963, trained to be a nurse and then a midwife. Her parents had Hitchen's butchers shop in Orrell. I expect she is married but don't know married name. Also looking for Geoffrey (Jeffrey)? Crooke who attended UGS in same period. I think he came from the Shevington or Standish area.

Have a look at Walders Wigan in the whats on section ,i think its on page 5.All the memories come flooding back ,how beautiful Wigan was before the bulldozers came in .Have a trip down memory lane .
I,ve been up and bought one

I found it quite emotional looking at old class photos. I didn't recognise myself and had to check the identification given by Sandra and Barbara. I found the photos of the demolition of the old building very upsetting. It held so many memories and now it's gone. I have always felt privileged to have attended Highfield school, I think it was exceptional. I'd dearly love to know what happened to members of my class. Mavis Calderbank I always looked up to. I haven't seen her since 1966 when I lived back on Enfield Street for a short time. I know she trained as a teacher and have been told she later re-trained as a speech therapist. After training as a teacher myself I did return to work in Wigan but haven't lived there since 1971.

Searched for info on a medal A.S.R.S. which was my great grandfathers and found this medal listed by yourselves. Has it any value.

Why no Lowton in the Street Photos section? We are still in Wiggin despite the shonky Warrington postcode.