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Obscure places
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Red Rum a Southport legend
October 2020
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the Unusual & the Obscure By Stephen Roberts
B
eing something of a Bohemian eccentric (a writer you see), I do prefer things a bit unusual, somewhat obscure, quirky even. I hate to follow the mainstream, so the only reason I own a pesky so-called smartphone is because my much-loved, and perfectly adequate dumb-phone, did a bit of ‘tombstoning’ on to a pavement and failed to bounce. I don’t like driving much either. I didn’t even bother to learn until I was about 30, figuring it was one of life’s less important distractions. Even now I prefer to drive something decidedly naff and unglamorous. And my point is? Well, I think it’s possible to go off in a slightly rebellious, unfashionable direction, yet still have fun. Here’s some ideas for unusual and obscure things you might get up to in Lancashire. Think of it like a bucket list, that’s well, unusual and obscure.
Above: Colourfields, Blackburn, which utilises a former cannon battery as its base (author – ‘Xmastree’, source – Own work).
Above: The Atom, Pendle (author – ‘SG2020’, source – www.flickr.com).
The Singing Ringing Tree et al Now, this is an example of one of the ‘Panopticons’ (an arts and regeneration project of the East Lancashire Environmental Arts Network). These 21st century figures, or ‘structures with a view’ (that’s what a Panopticon is), are symbols of renaissance (rebirth) and there are currently four of them to go and see, offering a little mini-tour of Burnley, Rossendale, Pendle and Blackburn. The ‘Singing Ringing Tree’ overlooks Burnley and is described as a ‘musical sculpture’. Built from pipes of galvanised steel, I’m sure that it does sing when the wind gets at it. If you want to get the full set you need to search out the ‘Atom’ (Pendle) which is bronze-coated glass fibre reinforced concrete (or GFRC) and thoughtfully had a shelter incorporated in case the wind got too tasty, then there’s ‘Colourfields’ (Blackburn) which uses a former cannon battery as its base, and finally the ‘Halo’ (Haslingden, Rossendale) which utilises a onetime landfill site (hence renaissance) and comprises a steel lattice facility on a tripod, which can be lit at night using low-energy LEDs sourced by a nearby wind turbine. It appears to hover over the town like a UFO and indeed it does have a look of ‘The War of the Worlds’ about it.
Above: Halo, Rossendale, which has the look of a UFO about it and lights up at night (author – Ian Roberts, source – ‘Halo – a Panopticon for Rossendale’).
OBSCURITIES: Renaissance – the European cultural rebirth, 14th-17th centuries, following the Middle Ages. The War of the Worlds – novel by H.G. Wells (1898) describing a Martian invasion of Earth. Panopticon – the original ‘Panopticon’ enabled all prisoners to be observed by one guard.
Melanie C
The stars line up for a virtual blackpool illuminations switch-on The stars of Blackpool’s first ever virtual Illuminations Switch-On event have been revealed.
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Spice Girl Melanie C, Fleur East, Becky Hill, Tom Grennan, Diversity and Blackpool’s very own Rae Morris will all perform in the hour-long streamed event which is being staged by MTV at 8.30pm on Friday 4 September. The virtual show, which will be hosted by Diversity’s Ashley and Jordan Banjo, will also feature chart-topping DJ, Joel Corry. It will be free to access on MTV and VisitBlackpool channels, and will feature a mixture of exclusive pre-recorded performances at home and live performances filmed inside the Blackpool Tower Ballroom, as well as the all-important Switch-On moment, details of which will follow over the coming weeks.
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Fleur East
Rae Morris
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The Switch-On, which normally takes place on the Tower Festival Headland in front of a 20,000 strong audience, will act as the curtain-raiser for Blackpool’s Illuminations season which has been extended by two months and will now run from September 4 to January 3, 2021, It will be the first time in more than 70 years that the resort has been unable to hold a live Switch-On celebration – but also the first time that a Switch-On event has been accessible to a national and international audience. Melanie C is one of the most famous female pop stars on the planet. Last year, saw the Spice Girls’ blockbuster reunion tour with sell-out stadium concerts that served as a joyous reminder of the spell that 90s girl power still casts on pop. 2019 also saw Melanie travel around the globe, performing with the LGBTQ+ club collective, Sink The Pink, at Pride parades in Amsterdam, Santiago, London, Cologne, Berlin, Brighton, Belfast, Dublin and New York’s Times Square. During the lockdown pandemic Melanie was seen DJ’ing from her home to a global audience using the power of IGTV and YouTube. On October 2, Melanie’s eighth studio album “MELANIE C” will be released featuring collaborations with Biff Stannard and Nadia Rose. The first and second singles from the album “Who I Am’ and “Blame It On Me” have already been huge airplay hits. Rae Morris, who will return to her home town to do a live performance on a closed set in the magnificent Tower Ballroom, said: “Being a part of the Illuminations Switch-On is a huge deal for me. It was always the highlight of my summer as a kid, a magical ending. “This year will be slightly different, but an extended period of Illuminations on the seafront is a silver-lining that’ll bring muchneeded joy! I’ll be performing from inside the ballroom and will do my best to channel its spirit out into your devices!” Becky Hill and Fleur East are no strangers to Illuminations Switch-On events, both have performed on the Tower Festival Headland stage in previous years. Singer-songwriter Becky is one of Britain’s most in-demand musical exports and is the second most listened to female artist on Spotify in the UK, notching up over a billion streams and 18 million monthly listeners. She has had a string of top 40 hits including this year’s top 20 solo record, “Better Off Without You” and current top 20 single “Heaven On My Mind”, as well LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 17
The Most Iconic Aircraft Made in the North West By Andrew Harris
The Avro 504
F
rom a modest start in the First World War – and a lull between the wars – our region became a major force in aircraft production during the 1939-45 conflict and has maintained this role to this day. This is a story of great aircraft and the companies and factories in the north-west which built them - and continue to build great aircraft. We start more than 100 years ago, honour 15 types of aircraft which changed the world, mention those that got away and glimpse the future. When World War 1 broke out, the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service – which combined to form the RAF in April 1918 – were using the 2-seat Avro 504 biplane. Although designed pre-war in 1913 the Avro 504 became the most numerous type of aircraft to serve in what was then called the Great War. During the war this plane was used for reconnaissance, bombing, fighting and training. It had light and powerful controls and was fully aerobatic. No fewer than 4,500 – 42% of all Avro 504s - were built in Avro’s factories in Miles Platting and the Park Works in Newton Heath. Production continued until 1932.
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The Avro Anson
The Avro Anson first flew just 3 years later – on the 24th March 1935 – and in 1936 was the first twin-engined monoplane to enter service with the RAF. Dependable and sturdy the Anson equipped 26 bomber and coastal squadrons of the RAF by the outbreak of World War 2. Although lacking the glamour of Spitfires and Hurricanes it went on to fulfil vital transport and training roles. Avro built 4,161 Ansons – out of 11,020 built everywhere - at Newton Heath, Chadderton and Woodford. Production ceased in 1952 but in the winter of 1962/3 your columnist dropped bales of hay from an RAF Anson to starving sheep in Northumberland. The last RAF Anson retired 5 years later. www.lancmag.com
The Bristol Blenheim
When it first flew on the 12th April 1935 the Bristol Blenheim was acclaimed as the fastest bomber in the world. However, by the outbreak of war in 1939 it formed the largest part of the RAF’s front-line equipment but was obsolescent and suffered heavy losses. The Blenheim went on to perform night fighting, anti-shipping and reconnaissance roles as well as valuable secondline duties. It had the distinction of being the only aircraft type ever to serve in every RAF Command and every theatre of operations during the war. Despite the name, 3,560 Bristol Blenheims were built by Rootes Securities and Avro at Speke, Woodford, Chadderton and Newton Heath. Production stopped in 1942 by when 60% of all Blenheims had been built in the north-west. No other British bomber was built in such numbers as the Vickers Wellington. A total of 11,461 were completed of which no fewer than 8,946 or 78% were built at Broughton near Chester, Cranage near Holmes Chapel and in a huge factory at Squires Gate in Blackpool. Until the 4-engined Halifaxes and Lancasters became available in large numbers the Wellington formed the backbone of RAF Bomber Command. First flown on the 15th June 1936, it equipped six squadrons by the outbreak of war. It incorporated the innovative geodetic construction – as illustrated - developed by (later Sir) Barnes Wallis who went on to make www.lancmag.com
the dambuster and other raids possible. As a result the Wellington was incredibly strong. The Wellington was used worldwide in many roles. It helped to win the war.
Above: The Vickers Wellington flying over the Blackpool factory where it was made. Picture from an un-named source. Right: The geodetic construction which made the Wellington so strong.
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Red Rum A Southport Legend By Margaret Brecknell
Red Rum at Castle Park Bristol 1980 Credit Rick Weston CCBY2.0
I
n October 1995 the UK lost one of its favourite sporting heroes, a performer who in the 1970s had captivated viewers and won many people’s hearts. To many, he remains the greatest ever in his sport. On the 25th anniversary of his death let’s look back at the life and achievements of the incomparable Red Rum. Red Rum is now so closely associated with North West England that it may come as a surprise to discover that he was born in May 1965 across the water at the Rossenara Stud in County Kilkenny in the Irish Republic. The young horse was given the name Red Rum from the last three letters of the names of his mother Mared and his father Quorum. He arrived in England as a yearling in 1966. Initially, he was trained as a sprinter on the Flat and achieved some limited success, but ownership of the horse changed hands on several occasions and he was passed from trainer to trainer. The year 1972 proved to be a momentous one in the life of Red Rum. At the time he was 48
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owned by Lurline Brotherton, a well-known figure in the sport and one who had achieved several notable successes as an owner including a previous Grand National winner. By this time Red Rum was running over jumps as a steeplechaser. Both his owner and trainer, Anthony Gillam, had high hopes for him at the 1972 Scottish Grand National. The omens did not look good before the race when the plane carrying their first-choice jockey failed to arrive on time. With a replacement jockey in the saddle, Red Rum finished a courageous, but slightly disappointing, fifth, clearly struggling with sore feet towards the end of the race. Following the Scottish Grand National Mrs Brotherton instructed her trainer to put the horse up for sale. Part-time trainer Donald “Ginger” McCain had viewed Red Rum’s progress from afar with interest. McCain had been involved with training horses since the early 1950s, but only on a small scale. He used stables which were situated behind his second-hand car business in the Southport suburb of Birkdale and worked as www.lancmag.com
a taxi driver to supplement his income. Through his taxi work he had become acquainted with an elderly local businessman called Noel Le Mare. Le Mare was accustomed to attending a dinner dance at Southport’s Prince of Wales Hotel every Saturday night and McCain would take him there in his taxi. The pair would often chat about horses and Le Mare told McCain of his lifelong ambition to own a Grand National winner. When it became known that Red Rum was to be auctioned at Doncaster’s August 1972 Sales, McCain suggested to Noel Le Mare that this horse could be the one. The trainer went to the sale on Le Mare’s behalf and bought Red Rum for 6000 guineas. When Red Rum first arrived at the stables, he appeared lame and he was diagnosed as having an incurable inflammatory bone disease called pedal osteitis. Ginger McCain came up with a novel method of treating the condition. As a young boy he had seen the restorative effects of the sea on the old horses used by the shrimpers working on the coast at Southport. He started to take Red Rum for a dip in the sea. Soon the salt water of the Irish Sea was working its magic and the horse’s lameness had gone. The beach became Red Rum’s training ground. McCain would prepare a stretch of sand between Birkdale and Ainsdale, ensuring the sand was smooth and clean by preparing it with a harrow attached to the back of his van.
This approach paid dividends. Red Rum won his first five races under his new trainer and owner. As the 1973 Grand National approached, Red Rum was installed as joint favourite alongside Crisp. On the run-up to the race he was heavily backed by local punters, hopeful of seeing the first winner from the Merseyside area in over 50 years. Such was the support, owner Noel Le Mare appealed to racegoers in the local press on the eve of the National not to spoil Red Rum’s chances by giving him an ovation too soon. He was worried that the horse would suffer the same fate as that experienced by Devon Loch in the 1956 race, who had collapsed inexplicably as he led down the final straight. Le Mare believed that Devon Loch, owned by the Queen Mother and the then fans’ favourite, had been spooked by the crowd’s cheers. The 1973 race is now considered to be one of the greatest Nationals of all time. By Becher’s Brook on the second circuit Crisp had built up a significant lead of over 20 lengths and as he jumped the final fence was still over 10 lengths clear. However, at a considerable weight disadvantage to his biggest rival, the gallant Crisp began to tire visibly and Red Rum memorably thundered past him just yards from the line to win the race in a then record time. It marked a famous second National win for www.lancmag.com
Aintree Entrance Credit Paolo Camera
jockey Brian Fletcher, who had won previously in 1968 on Red Alligator. He remarked after the race that red was now his favourite colour. Octogenarian owner Le Mare’s lifelong ambition had been finally fulfilled. A year later Red Rum won again, beating L’Escargot by seven lengths even though this time it was he who carried the top weight of 12 stones. He followed this success up with victory at the Scottish Grand National only three weeks later, thereby becoming the only horse ever to win both races in the same year. Red Rum was at the peak of his powers at this time and with the highly experienced Fletcher in the saddle the pair formed a formidable partnership. The build-up to the 1975 race focused on whether Red Rum could win a historic hat trick of successive National wins. His main rival again appeared to be L’Escargot, the previous year’s runner-up and a two-time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner. On the day the soft ground suited L’Escargot better and he romped home 15 lengths clear of Red Rum in second place. This proved to be the last National in which Red Rum and Brian Fletcher teamed up together. As the year progressed, Red Rum increasingly looked like a shadow of his former self and LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 49
Lancashire Wulvers. ‘It’ had brown and black matted fur and the face had a snout like a Dog ‘I felt hunted that night’
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As Halloween approaches and I would take the opportunity to share some of the Stranger Autumn rolls in, Ithought reports I have received whilst collecting personal stories from
ordinary folks who live in Lancashire. Stories of Upright Wolves, commonly known as Werewolves, Wulvers or Dogmen. These Creatures are often described as being as “large as a Pony and thickly muscled. With snouted faces and Canine teeth” these Creatures are the critters from our nightmares, they are certainly fierce enough to keep you up at night. Some Lancashire residents came face to face with these inexplicable horrors in some of our most beautiful Places. The Forest of Bowland hosts a very strange Creature and ‘It’ was witnessed by two Lancashire Residents in the 1990’s and in 2014. One witness is a resident of Lancashire enjoying a family break. The other is a wild camper who has camped in some of our remotest areas alone until an event at Wolfs Hole Crag ended that hobby for him. The witnesses both contacted me by email and are happy to share their encounters in the hopes of finding some answers.
What Creature was watching me in the Forest of Bowland, 2014 - Witness Report: Ray: “My encounter happened a few years ago at night, I think around September time, when I had gone out on a remote excursion to see a meteor shower. I love wild camping and I am always looking for new spots to set up camp. It was the first time I’d ever been to the Crags or the Bowland Area. That night it was drizzling and slightly wet and I was camping up near Wolf Hole Crags. I had settled in for the night when I realised I was not alone. I first noticed something watching me from outside the camp when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I could also hear ‘It’ as it was moving around. It was shifting in the shadows and this shifting movement lasted for about 15 or 20 minutes. I kept watch as whatever was out there lurked around the area where I was camping. ‘It’ would move every few moments to a different spot and ‘It’ was watching me the whole time. It was almost Canine in appearance, but it would rise up on two legs, or belly crawl low to the ground. ‘It’ sat in a crouched or hunched position, just watching me. Coming closer and closer to where I was sitting back up to the rock. I will be honest, I was scared witless for a while there, not by anything the Creature did or by any noise ‘It’ made. It was bad enough seeing ‘It’ and knowing I was alone out there but even more creepily ‘It’ kept changing positions and watching me constantly. ‘It’ never took ‘It’s eyes off me, it was very unnerving and I was quite frightened at the time. I could hear the sound of ‘It’ getting up and running a short distance then ‘It’ would squat down again in a strange hunched stance. I didn’t have a fire going at the time so I was fairly well in the dark but the sky provided a slight bit of light, just enough to see the ‘thing’ as ‘It’ lurked around my camp. From that crouched position ‘It’ looked to be maybe three or four feet tall but when ‘It’ stood up and lurched away ‘It’ became maybe five feet tall but always with that hunched posture. How tall was it standing up straight? And how did it move so strategically. No human could move like that. The whole event was absolutely terrifying. www.lancmag.com
As you can imagine, I didn’t sleep at all that night. I just huddled there in the cold waiting for daylight, and when it was almost morning I made my way back out of there, but I was keeping a watch behind me the whole way out, just in case ‘It’ was still there and following me, but as far as I could tell ‘It’ was gone. It was really intimidating and that night has put me right off camping which is most unlike me, but experiencing something like that leaves quite an impression on you. Whatever ‘It’ was I got the feeling ‘It’ was probably somewhat annoyed at my being there that night. As if I had intruded somehow? During the encounter the Creature kept getting closer and closer to me, a little bit at a time. I didn’t know whether to get up and run, or stay huddled against the rock? I would have left immediately but I was too scared to leave the spot I was in, just in case that started a pursuit. I felt hunted that night. Although to stay put was the lesser of two evils it was not easy sitting in camp until sunrise when I packed up and left. I just sat it out until the sky began to get light and made a break for it then” Ray.
A Young Girl Comes Face to Face With A Snouted Creature in the Forest of Bowland 1990’s read on...
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Sir Richard Owen (1804-92) By Stephen Roberts
Richard Owen with a giant moa skeleton (author – ‘Memoirs on the Extinct Wingless Birds of New Zealand, vol. 2, 1879 by Richard Owen, publisher - John van Voorst, London, source – www.lib.utexas.edu).
H
e gave us the word ‘dinosaur’ (or ‘terrible reptile’). For that service alone he deserves to have his story told. Sir Richard Owen was a controversial figure but with a gift for fossil interpretation. A ‘preDarwinian’, he’d be a dissenting voice as far as some evolutionist theories were concerned and would become an outspoken critic of none other than Charles Darwin. A zoologist to be, Richard Owen was born in Lancaster, on 20th July 1804, one of six children of a merchant and was educated at Lancaster Royal Grammar School (1809-19), where he is commemorated with a blue plaque. A boyhood tutor described him as ‘lazy and impudent’. He would certainly not be lazy in the future, but the impudence seems to have stayed with him. He had a gift for rubbing people up the wrong way, which sometimes can be an unfortunate character trait of brilliant bods (i.e. ‘not a people person’). He did have a dark sense of humour though (like me).
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The Natural History Museum, London. Sir Richard Owen was the driving force behind the establishment of the museum, which opened in 1881 (Photo by David Iliff. License: CC BY-SA 3.0).
It looked like his future career would be in medicine. Owen was apprenticed to a local surgeon-apothecary in 1820, when he was in his mid-teens, then in 1824, aged 20, he briefly studied medicine at Edinburgh University and also at St Bartholomew’s, London, from 1825. He became curator/ conservator of the museum of the Royal College of Surgeons and in that capacity produced a stunning series of descriptive catalogues of the collection, those established by the renowned anatomist, John Hunter (1728-93). It was really because of this position that his interests switched from medicine to scientific research. In 1834, Owen became a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) and then between 183455, a period of just over 20 years, Owen www.lancmag.com
lectured as Professor of Comparative Anatomy, firstly for a period of a couple of years at St Bart’s and then at the College of Surgeons. He was also married in 1835 to Caroline Clift, with whom he had one son, William, both of whom he would outlive. Caroline was the daughter of William Clift (1775-1849) who had been Owen’s predecessor as conservator of the Hunterian collection at the Royal College of Surgeons. Owen was also the first president of the Microscopical Society of London (1839) and edited many of its journal’s issues, which one hopes was only microscopic in name, and not in nature (as it were). Owen’s fifteen minutes of fame came in 1842 when he classified a new group separate from today’s reptiles, which he called ‘Dinosauria’ (or Dinosaurs). LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE 77
Annie’s Halloween suggestions Movie marathon
scary movies are a great way to make memories with family and bond with friends. Setting aside an evening to watch scary movie after scary movie after scary movie is a fun way to connect. If scary isn't for you then creepy or dark comedy is also fitting, I recommend Tim Burton films.
Distanced trick or treat
this idea is easier to pull off if you are close to your neighbours. If everyone leaves sweets outside their houses for trick or treaters to collect before knocking on doors to frighten people then a two meter distance can be maintained while the children still get candy and the chance to show off their costumes!
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Mask Party
this is efficient for parties with children - masks are common in children's costumes - monsters, witches, vampires etc. but they are also. Efficient face coverings which allow children to interact in closer proximity and also prevent spreading germs due to masks. Also children are more likely to wear a mask as part of a costume than a mouth and nose covering. Homemade masks are also a creative activity to do with your kids before halloween!
Zoom Party
many of us have found use in video - calling apps during lockdown and even though restrictions are, well, less restrictive now, we still have to stay safe especially if we or our loved ones are in the 'at risk' or 'vulnerable' category. A safe way to spend the holiday with friends and family is to call them. Games and quizzes can be played, catching up can be done and music can be played and danced to. Just like a real life party.
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My Spitfire Odyssey The Year I Became A Spitfire Hunter Part 2 - To The Mountain by Ian Hewitt Following on from September’s article “YES” which tells the tale of how Lancastrian Ian Hewitt was invited to join a Spitfire expedition to Norway and the incredible story of Spitfire AA810 and indeed that of pilot Sandy Gunn. Sandy’s mission to photograph the Tirpitz battleship, the shooting down of his Spitfire, his capture and Sandy’s part in the great escape.
TO THE MOUNTAIN
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hilst researching the location of Spitfire AA810’s crash site Google offered up a gift. That being the existence of a dam within the locality of Surnadal. The dam was situated approximately 3 miles from Sandy’s crash site. But more importantly the dam had a private access road up to it. It was this revelation a year prior to our arrival that had convinced Tony Hoskins our expedition leader that an excavation of the crash site was in fact a very real and practical possibility. We met with our Norwegian team mates on a forest road three miles from the end of which lay our Spitfire. On a bright warm Norwegian summers morning we shook hands 182
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said our hello’s then climbed back into our respective vehicles to begin the climb up to the Surnadal Dam. I must confess that I had pre conceived ideas of what a team of Spitfire hunters would look like, so far my UK compatriots had delivered to that stereotypical assumption. Mark Khan and Mark Hillier our two military historians dressed in their cerca 1990’s British army gear, Tony in his steel toe capped engineers boots and Peter Arnold our Spitfire hunter/historian extraordinaire in his green country classic waxed jacket and of course me in my swanky expedition sponsors Spitfire Heritage Distillers t-shirt. www.lancmag.com
Our Norwegians on the other hand rocked far less stereotypical look.
Such is the folly of the English gentlemen that we began distributing the spades, metal detectors and general kit amongst the men. Frode (in orange) was quick to share out his burdens to Guro (pink) and Hege (purple). Frode knew, what we would learn soon enough that Guro and Hege were mountain machines. In-fact on one occasion I almost resorted to asking them to carry me!
Tony, ever the planner had brought his own gate to lean on.
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