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People Who Have Tenuous & Sometimes Highly Dubious Links To The Area. Click The Pics For More Info!

George W Adamson

Born: 7 Feb 1913; The Bronx, New York
Died: 5 March 2005: Exeter, Devon
Quote: "George Adamson Has Caught It Exactly. Fenodyree Is Just As I Imagined Him... ...I Am Delighted."
Alan Garner Commenting On Adamson's Cover Illustration Of One Of My Favourite Books As A Child.

His Father, Born In Glasgow, And His Mother, Born In Wigan, Had Moved In 1910 To New York City From Bombay. In 1921 After The Death Of His Mother George And His Sisters Came To Live With His Aunts In Upper Dicconson Street, Wigan. In 1930 Adamson Started Studies At Wigan Technical College And Entered The Wigan School Of Arts. During His Time He Illustrated For Punch, Private Eye, The Daily Telegraph And The Nursing Times. He Was The RAF's Official War Artist During WWII. He Has Pictures On Display Throughout The World Including An Etching Of Wigan Fair In The Royal Academy, London. He Also Illustrated A Number Of Books Including Catweazle And Professor Branestawm.

Sir James Cyril Anderton, CBE

Born: 24th May 1932; Northumberland Street, Wigan
Died: Not Yet
Quote: "Everywhere I Go I See Increasing Evidence Of People Swirling About In A Human Cesspit Of Their Own Making."
Referring To AIDS And Homosexuals.

One Of The Countries Most Prominent Policemen, Holding The Posts Of Chief Superintendent Of The Cheshire Constabulary, Assistant Chief Constable Of Leicester & Rutland And Deputy Chief Constable Of Leicestershire And Finally Chief Constable Of Greater Manchester Police Force, Until 1991. He Made It One Of The Largest Forces In The UK. He Was Also President Of The Association Of Chief Police Officers From 1986-87. He Worked On A Yorkshire Ripper Murder Case And Was A Suspect Himself At One Time Because Of His Resemblance To Billy Tracey, Another Suspect, And His Strong Christian Attitude Towards Prostitution- He Controversially Claimed He Got His Orders Directly From God. He Now Does Public Speeches.

Richard Ashcroft

Born: 11 Sept 1971; Up Holland, Lancs
Died: Not Yet
Quote: "I've Tasted The Toilet And I've Tasted The Top Of The Mountain. I've Tasted It All."
Referring To His Career And Solo Prospects.

Frontman Of The Verve, The Formed At Winstanley College Near Billinge In 1989. He Now Has A Fairly Decent Solo Career... Of Sorts. Believed To Be Good Friends With Noel Gallagher And Chris Martin (Whom He Has Thanked For 'Letting Me Be Myself Again'). He Is Married To Ex-Spiritualized Keyboard Player Kate Radley, And They Have Two Sprogs (Sonny, Born In 2000 And Cassius, Born In 2004). He Has Released 3 Solo Albums; Alone With Everybody, Released 26 June, 2000 (Hut Records), Reached #1, Human Conditions, 2 October, 2002 (Hut Records), Reached #3, Keys To The World, Released 23 January, 2006 (Parlophone), Reached #2.

Thomas Beecham

Born: 3 Dec, 1820; Witney, Oxon
Died: 6 April, 1907; Southport, Lancs
Quote: "Beecham's Pills, Worth A Guinea A Box!"
His Popular Advertising Catchphrase.

Growing Up As A Shepherds Son He Noticed Sheep Ate Certain Plants Depending On There Health. This Lead Him To Investigate The Medicinal Properties Of Herbs. In 1845 He Moved Up North Where Booming Growth Offered Many Business Opportunities. In 1847 He Invented His Legendary Flu Remedies Whilst Living On The Wiend In Wigan Town Centre. He Then Opened A Chemists There. In 1885 He Opened The Worlds First Factory Built Specifically For Medicine Manufacturing In The New Township Of St Helens Where Land And Labour Were Cheap.

Margery Booth

Born: 1905; Wigan
Died: 1952; New York, USA
Quote: "Morning, Herr Führer."?

I Can't Really Seem To Find Out A Great Deal About Her Other Than She Was Mezzo-Soprano Opera Star Of The 30s And 40s And Performed Pfitzner: Das Herz, At The Berlin State Opera On 25th November 1931, And Performed At Festspielhaus, Bayreuth On 21st July, 1942. Her High Social Standing And German Husband Meant She Knew Many High Ranking Nazis Including Hitler. She Performed At Many Nazi Functions During The War And Spied On Them For British Intelligence. She Died Of Cancer In 1952.

Billy Boston MBE

Born: 1934; Tiger Bay, Cardiff
Died: Not Yet
Quote: "I'll Always Be Indebted To The Way The Wigan People Warmed To Me And Made Me Feel At Home."
Reflecting On His Time At Wigan Warriors RLFC

Scored 571 Tries In 565 Matches, More Than Any Other Briton And Only Surpassed Globally By Australian Brian Bevan. His Record Of A Rugby League Century In 68 Matches Remains Unbeaten. At 19 He Was The Youngest Ever Player To Go On Tour Down Under With The Lions. He Played For Wigan And Blackpool Now Coaches Neath RUFC. Boston Was The Sixth Of Eleven Children Whose Father Came From Sierra Leone, Their Mother From Ireland. He Was Awarded An MBE In 1986. We Went To Wembley With Wigan Six Times, Thrice Leaving As Champions. Whilst At Wigan He Scored 478 Tries In 488 Appearances.

Tom Aspinall Burke

Born: 1890; 7 Mather Lanel, Leigh, Lancs
Died: 13th Sept 1969; Surrey
Quote: "There's No Business Like Show Business."?

Famous Operatic Tenor, Known As The Lancashire Caruso. He Was The First Of Nine Children Of An Irish Immigrant Collier, Vincent James Burke And His Wife Mary Josephine Aspinall. At 23 "The Minstrel Boy", Has He Was Known To His Friends, Moved To London To Sing And Study Music. He Did A Number Of Shows At Covent Gardens Including At Least One With An Audience With King George V. During WWI He Entertained The Troops. In August 1920 Burke Was Lured To New York By An Offer Of £400 Per Night For Concert Appearances, At The Time This Was The Highest Fee Ever Paid To A British Artist In The United States. His Newfound Wealth And Fame, Began To Cause Problems For Though, He Was Shot In The Leg By A Jealous Husband And Beaten Up By The Mafia. So When He Was Offered A Chance To Return To England In 1927 He Jumped At It. He Starred In A Few Films In The 1930s.

Kay Burley

Born: 21 Nov 1953; Beech Hill, Lancs
Died: Not Yet
Quote: "I Was Apprehensive But I Knew I Was In Good Hands."
Referring To Being Aboard Concorde's Last Flight.

A News Presenter On Sky News, She Currently Presents Lunchtime Live. She Joined The Channel In 1988. Despite Being Ginger She Has Won The "Most Desirable Woman" Accolade By Readers Of 'Satellite TV Magazine' Three Years Running. She Started Off At The Sunday Mirror Before Moving To GMTV's Predecessor TV-AM In The Mid 80s. She Is Married To Sun Political Editor George Pascoe-Watson. She Has Covered A Number Of Breaking News Stories, She Was On Air When Planes Struck The Twin Towers In New York And Covered The Fall Of The Berlin Wall, The 2004 Tsunami, The Death Of Princess Margaret And The Crash Of Concorde.

Sir Leslie Cannon

Born: 1920
Died: 1970
Quote:

In His Youth He Was A Keen Supporter Of The Communist Party. An Electrician By Trade, Cannon Held The Position Of Electrical Trades Union (ETU) Executive Council From 1948-1954. After The 1956 Uprising Against Soviet Occupation In Hungary, Where 25,000 to 50,000 Civilians Were Killed By Troops, Cannon Left The Communist Party. From Then On He Began To Campaign Against What He Saw As Communist Plots Within The ETU, Leading To A Famous Trial In 1961 Against The Current ETU General Secretary Who Had To Step Down After Cannon Was Proved Right. He Became The ETU General President In 1963, And Died In 1970 Of Cancer.

Sir Bobby Charlton KBE, CBE, OBE

Born: 11 Oct 1937; Ashington, Northumberland
Died: Not Yet
Quote: "The Men Used To Pass You Down Over Their Heads."
Referring To Watching Football Matches As A Small Boy

A Renowned Footballer He Won A World Cup Medal And The European Footballer Of The Year Award In 1966. He Spent The Majority Of His Career At Manchester United Joining In 1954, He Gained A Place On The First Team In 1956 And Played Regularly From 1957 To 1973 After Surviving The Munich Air Disaster. He Has Scored More Goals For England And Made More Appearances For Manchester United Than Any Other Player, Even To Today. After Finishing As A Player He Had A Go At Managing Becoming Wigan Athletic Director / Caretaker Manager 1982-3.

	Buffalo Bill Cody Born: 26 Feb, 1846; LeClaire, Iowa Died: 10 Jan, 1917; Denver, Colorado Quote: "General Crook Was Afraid Of Breaking His Crockery And Otherwise Injuring His Camp Equipage." Referring To Attempts To Catch Sitting Bull's Men.
Colonel William Cody Brought His Wild West Show To Lancashire In Late September And October 1902 He Played Wigan On 29th September And Leigh On 3rd October. Leigh In 1902. People Were Trampled In The Crowds To See It. Mark Twain First Persuaded Him To Come To England To Perform For Queen Vic's Golden Jubilee In 1887.

June Croft

Born: 17 June, 1963; Ashton-In-Makebelieve
Died: Not Yet
Quote:

The Last British Woman To Win A Gold Medal Until Kelly Holmes In The 2004 Athens Olympics. She Was British Record Holder And Champion From 1974-1984 And Won A Silver And Bronze In The 1980 Olympics And Two Gold And A Bronze In The 1982 Commonwealth Games (Where She Broke The World Record For The 200 Metres By Completing The Distance In Under 2 Minutes). She Also Won A Bronze At The 1984 Olympics. She Trained With The Wigan Wasps, Who Have Now Changed Their Name To Wigan BEST (Borough Elite Swimming Team).

Oliver Cromwell

Born: 25 April 1599; Huntingdon, Herefd
Died: 3 Sept 1658; Whitehall, London
Quote: "Having Marched 12 Miles Of Ground As I Never Rode In All My Life, The Day Being Very Wet."
Referring To The Roads And Weather Of Wigan.

Came To Wigan. During The Civil War Chasing Some Royalists. "Our Horse Still Pursued The Enemy; Killing & Taking Divers All The Way. At Last The Enemy Drew Up Within 3 Miles Of Wigan; & By That Time Our Army Was Come Up, They Drew Off Again, & Recovered Wigan Before We Could Attempt Any Thing Upon Them. We Lay That Night In A Field Close By The Enemy; Being Very Dirty & Weary, & Having Marched 12 Miles Of Such Ground As I Never Rode In All My Life, The Day Being Very Wet. We Had Some Skirmishing, With The Enemy, Near The Town; Where We Took General Van Druske & A Colonel, & Killed Some Principal Officers, & Took About A Hundred Prisoners."

Sir Peter Maxwell Davies CBE

Born: 8 Sept 1934: Salford, Lancs
Died: Not Yet
Quote: "They Fall Down Dead And I'm Afraid Some People Eat Them."
Referring To Swans.

Known To His Mates As Max He Is A Contemporary Composer. From 1945-53 He Was Educated At Leigh Grammar School And Attended University Of Manchester And At The Royal Manchester College Of Music (Now The Royal Northern College Of Music). He Has Held A Number Of High Profile Positions In Music And Founded The St Magnus Arts Festival On Orkney In 1977, Where He Now Resides. He Was Appointed Master Of The Queen's Music For A Ten-Year Period From March 2004. In March 2005 He Had A Run In With The Police For Eating Swans, Click <>Here.

	Dame Judith Olivia Dench Born: 9 Dec 1934: York, Yorks Died: Not Yet Quote: "I Was Very Shaken - If You Lose A Million Pounds Five Minutes Before, It Is Very Shaky." Referring To A Bet With Her Agent That She Wouldn't Win A BAFTA
Her Father, Dr. Reginald Dench, Was A G.P. From Tyldesley, Who Had Studied At Trinity College. She Lived In Tyldesley For A Number Of Years Before Moving Back To The Dark Side (Of The Peninines).

Shaun Edwards OBE

Born: 17 Oct 1966; Wigan
Died: Not Yet
Quote: "Farrell Is One Of Wigan's Greatest Ever Home-Produced Talents."
Referring To Andy Farrell Over His Recent Move To RFU.

Britain's Most Successful Player In Rugby League History, Who Retired In May 2000; Between 1984 And 1997 Won 32 Winners’ Medals With Wigan.. He Was Discovered Whilst Rugby Captain For St John Fisher Catholic High School. He Signed For Wigan In A Blaze Of Media Coverage On His Seventeenth Birthday, For A Fee Of £35,000, A Large Sum For Such A Young Player. He Played For Great Britain 32 Times Scoring 16 Tries. For Wigan He Appeared 452 Times And Was On The Pitch For Each Of Wigan's Consecutive Challenge Cup Wins. Edwards Left Wigan After Wigan Coach Eric Hughes Refused Him Time Off To Be With His Pregnant Girlfriend.

Georgie Fame

Born: 26 June 1943; Leigh, Lancs
Died: Not Yet
Quote: "I Mention Movies, But She Don't Seem To Dig That"
A Line From His Song 'Yeh Yeh' That Spent Two Weeks At Number One And Twelve Weeks In The Charts.

Born As Clive Powell, His Family Moved To London In 1959. He Was A Massively Famous Jazz Musician And 60's Pop Star With Many R&B Number Ones To His Name Even Managing To Knock The Beatles Off The Top Of The Chart With His Cover Of Jon Hendrick's "Yeh Yeh". His Record "The Ballad Of Bonnie & Clyde" Released In 1967, Sold More Than One Million Copies. He Continued To Play Into The 1970s And In The 1980s Became A Core Member Of Van Morrison's Band, Playing the Keyboard And Singing Harmonies. In 2004 A Compilation DVD Was Released Of Some Of His Performances Titled "Let The Good Times Roll".

Andrew Farrell OBE

Born: 30 May 1975; Wigan
Died: Not Yet
Quote: "I Mention Movies, But She Don't Seem To Dig That"
A Line From His Song 'Yeh Yeh' That Spent Two Weeks At Number One And Twelve Weeks In The Charts.

He Joined Wigan At The Age Of 16 Playing His First Match, Against Keighley, Soon Afterwards. He Played His First International, Against New Zealand, In 1993, Only 18 Years Old. At 21 He Became Captain Of The British Team. He Won The Golden Boot As The Best Player In The World In 2004 As Well As The Man Of Steel Award For The Second Time In His Career And Also The Players Player Award. After Weeks Of Speculation, On 24th March '05, Farrell Announced His Decision To Quit Rugby League And Take On A New Challenge With Saracens And The Rugby Football Union. He Debuted In 2006 For Saracens.

Brian Finch

Born: 1930-50?
Died: Not Yet
Quote: "Ahahaha You'll Never Find My Date Of Birth Of Picture Online!"

The Son Of A Wigan Miner He Still Lives Local And Has Written, Contributed To And Provided Screenplays For Many TV Programmes Including Coronation Street (Written Over 150 Episodes), Doctor Who, The Tomorrow People, Heartbeat, Juliet Bravo, All Creatures Great And Small, The Bill, Captain Scarlet, Goodnight Mister Tom And Best Of All Bergerac. He Also Wrote Three 70s Comedies; The Squirrels, The Life Of Riley, Potter's Picture Palace. He Was Also The Screen Writer For The 2005 Film Adaptation Of Heidi.

George Formby Junior

Born: 26 May 1904; 3 Westminster St, Wigan
Died: 6 Mar 1961; Penwortham, Lancs
Quote: "It's Turned Out Nice Again!"
His Famous Catchphrase And The Name Of One Of His Films.

Born George Hoy Booth The Goofy Toothed Comic Played A Goofy Banjo/Ukulele, But He Was Popular All The Same. As A Child His Small Size Meant His Father Sent Him Off To Be An Apprentice Jockey. But After His Fathers Death In 1921 He Followed His Fathers Footsteps Onto The Music Hall Circuits Of The North And Took His Father's Stage Name Too; George Formby. By 1939 He Was The Highest Paid Entertainer In The British Isles. During The War He Is Believed To Have Entertained Over Three Million Allied Soldiers. He Wrote Over 300 Songs And Starred In 22 Films, That He Largely Wrote Himself. He Was Buried In The Family Grave In Warrington.

Angus Fraser MBE

Born: 8th Aug 1965, Billinge, Lancs
Died: Not Yet
Quote: "Till About A Week Back I Would Have Supported India."
His Predictions On A 2003 Test Match Between England And India.

Known As Gus To Cricketologists And Fans Of The Sport Alike He Entertained Crowds For Almost Twenty Years. He Joined Middlesex County Cricket Club In 1984 And Was Made Their Captain In 2001. He Played His First Test Match In 1989 And Played A Total Of 46 Test Matches Over His Career. But A Nagging Hip Injury Curtailed His Cricket Career And He Retired In The 2002 Season To Pursue A Media Career (I.e. Punditeering). He Now Commentates On Sky TV, Radio 5 Live And Is Cricket Corespondent For The Independent. He Finished His Career With An Impressive Total Of 886 First-Class Wickets.

Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev

Born: 2 Mar 1931; Privolnoye, USSR (Now Azerbaijan)
Died: Not Yet
Quote: "If People Don't Like Marxism, They Should Blame The British Museum."
Karl Marx Wrote Part Of 'Das Kapital' Whilst Visiting The British Museum.

An Alleged Wigan Athletics Fan. While Assistant Secretary To Russian Team Metallist Kharkov In 1969 He Enjoyed A Match Against The Latics So Much He Apparently Began To Follow The Team And Wore A Tie Sporting The Latics Colours Quite Often. The Story Was First Broke By The Bangkok Daily Post; It Was Covered By The Daily Express In Britain On 21 February 1987. At The Time Of The Story Surfacing It Was Reported That Gorbachev, Then Russian Premier, Had Stopped The Blocking Of BBC Broadcasts Into The USSR, To Keep Up With British Football Results? The Story Was Not Denied By The Russian Embassy In London.

Baron Gormley Of Ashton

Born: 1921; Duke Street, Ashton-In-Makebelieve
Died: 27th May 1993; Shevington, Lancs
Quote:

Born Plain Old Joseph Gormley. He Was One Of The Leaders Behind The Industrial Action That Lead To The Three Day Week And The Downfall Of Edward Heath's Government In 1974. The Three Years Later He Got Involved With The Massive 1977 National Miners Strike, Which Lead To The Winter Of Discontent And The Collapse Of The Jim Callaghan's Labour Government. For This The Tories Mad Him Baron Gormley Of Ashton-in-Makerbelieve In The 1983 Special Honours. He Remained President Of The National Union Of Miners Until 1982. It Was Recently Revealed That He Was Special Branch Informant And Passed On Details Of Arthur Scargill's And Other Miners' Plans For Industrial Action In The Early 1970s, Driven By His Patriotic Fears Of The Growing Militancy In The Unions.

Christopher Hamill, (Limalh)

Born: 19 Dec 1958; Wigan, Lancs
Died: Not Yet
Quote: "Modern Medicine Falls Short Of Your Complaints"
A Line From Kajagoogoo's Smash Hit 'Too Shy'.

He Went To Abraham Guest High School In Orrell But Was Expelled When He Was 13. He Finished Off His Secondary School Education At Mesnes High School The Vegetarian 80s Popster Was Leader Of 'Kajagoogoo'. In 1983 The Other Members Of The Band Sacked Him, He Claimed It Was Because Of His Own High Profile. He Started A Solo Career, That Whilst More Successful Than The Remaining Kajagoogoo Only Produced One Hit And The Theme To "The Never Ending Story". During His Music Career He Had 10 Top 3 Hits And Is Now A Fruit Machine Whiz, Touring Local Pubs For A Living. . In 2005 He Took Part In The ITV Show "Hit Me Baby One More Time".

James Hilton

Born: 9 Sept 1900; Wilkinson Street, Leigh
Died: 20 Dec 1954; Long Beach, California
Quote: "Surely There Comes A Time When Counting The Cost And Paying The Price Aren't Things To Think About Any More. All That Matters Is Value - The Ultimate Value Of What One Does."

Born Glen Trevor He Wrote 'Goodbye Mr Chips' (Mr Chips Being Modelled On His Own Father) And Loads Of Other Books Including Lost Horizons and Shangri-La Which Became Big Hollywood Filems And ITV Drama's. American WWII Leader Franklin Roosevelt Named His Presidential Retreat In Maryland After Shangri-La, Later President Eisenhower Renamed It Camp David (After His Son). Hilton's First Novel, Catherine Herself, Was Published In 1920. He Won An Oscar In 1942 For His Screenplay of Mrs Miniver. And from 1948-1953 Hosted The Hallmark Playhouse Show On CBS Radio In America. His Last Book (Of 14 In Total) Was Published In 1953.

The Rt. Hon. William Huskisson MP

Born: 11 March 1770; Moreton Court, Warwks
Died: 15 Sept 1830; Lowton, Lancs
Quote: "Ow, bugger."?

The Liverpudlian MP Was The First Man In The World To Be Mown Down By A Train ('The Rocket' In Fact) In 1830 - It Occurred Just Outside Golborne On The Manchester-Liverpool Line Opening Day. He Was Riding In The Duke Of Wellington's Carriage That Was Attached To Stephenson's Other Train The Northumbrian, That Was Travelling In The Opposite Direction. He Had Left The Carriage And Was On The Parallel Tracks When The Rocket Came Along And Struck Him, Crushing His Leg, Despite Everyone Shouting For Him To Move Out Of The Way. Stephenson Himself Took Him To Hospital In Eccles Onboard The Rocket, Where He Died.

James Lawrence Isherwood

Born: 1917; Wigan, Lancs
Died: 1989
Quote:

Famous Contemporary Artist And Hailed As One Of The UK's Greatest 20th Century Artists. He Was A Friend To Theodore Major, Another Wigan Artist, And An LS Lowry Contemporary As Well. He Ran His Own Gallery In His Own Wigan Home, Which Was Gutted By Fire In 1983. His Works Are On Many Many Displays In The USA, Canada, South Africa, Spain, Australia, Portugal, Italy And A Variety Of Other European Countries. He Was Often Seen Walking Around Wigan In His Trenchcoat And Sandals. LS Lowry And Prince Charles Have Both Bought Some Of His Paintings.

Lynda Lee-Potter

Born: 1934; Leigh Road, Leigh
Died: 20 Oct 2004; Dorset
Quote: "The Sight Of A Paunchy Playboy Groping A Scantily-Dressed Diana Must Appall And Humiliate Prince William." 27 Aug 1997
"Throughout Their Childhood She Gave Her Sons Endless Loving Cuddles... She Adored Her Children." 01 Sept 1997

Born Lynda Higginson Born Lynda Higginson And Labelled "Britain's Most Famous Woman Columnist" She Wrote For The Daily Mail And Is The Author Of A Book Or Two. She Came From Leigh And Attended Leigh Girls' Grammar School. Her First Ambition Was To Be An Actress, And Went To Guildhall School of Music and Drama; Her Stage Name Was Lynda Berrison. As A Journalist She Also Attracted A Lot Of Criticism In Particular From "Private Eye". She Was Noted For Journalistic Hypocrisy Too, As Shown By The Two Quotes Above About Princess Diana. Her Husband Was Chairman Of The Council Of The British Medical Association From 1990 To 1993.

Peter Kane

Born: 1918; Heywood, Lancs
Died: 1991
Quote:

He Was A Local Blacksmith (Based In Lowton) Who Became World Flyweight Champion From 1938-45, He Won 127 Of All His 137 Matches. He Was One Of Britain's Most Successful Flyweight Boxers. His Knock Out Record Of 51 Is Beaten Only By Jimmy Wilde Who Scored 77. He Made His Name At The Age Of 19 In An Epic World Title Contest With Flyweight Legend Benny Lynch, And Was Beaten After 13 Rounds, Infront Of A 4,000 Strong Crowd In Glasgow's Shawfield Park. He Went On To Win 41 Consecutive Matches Later In His Career. There Is A £120,000 Monument To Him In Golbourne Town Centre.

Roy Kinnear

Born: 8 Jan 1934; Wigan Lancs
Died: 20 Sept 1988; Madrid, Spain
Quote:

As A Child He Attended The Posh Royal Academy Of Dramatic Arts (RADA) In London. He Went On To Become Radio Comic And Starred In Many TV Shows Such As That Was The Week That Was And Films Like 'Willie Wonka And The Chocolate Factory'. He Also Narrated One Of My Favourite Programmes As A Wee Kid, 'Bertha'. He Died Of A Internal Bleeding Whilst Filming 'Return Of The Musketeers' In Spain, After Falling Off His Horse And Breaking His Pelvis. Richard Lester The Director And Kinnears Personal Friend, Quit His Own Film Career As A Direct Result Of Kinnears Death. Six years Later The Roy Kinnear Trust Was Set Up To Help Young Adults With Multiple Disabilities. His Father Roy Kinnear Snr Was Played For Wigan Rugby; The Scottish Rugby League Have Named Their Student Player Of The Year Award After Him.

Professor Eric Laithwaite

Born: 1921; Atherton, Lancs
Died: 27 Nov 1997;
Quote:

Inventor Of Magnetic Propulsion (Linear Motors) And The Mag-Lev Train. In September 1996 NASA Commissioned Laithwaite To Develop A Rocket Launcher Using Linear Motors. It Involved A Five-Mile Long Track Tunnelled Up The Inside A 10,000ft Mountain, And He Was Working On This Project - The Maglifter - Until His Death. His 1974 Lecture To The Royal Institution Questioning Newton's Laws Of Motion Caused Such An Uproar That It Lead To The Only Occasion In The Royal Institution's Two Hundred And Six Year History That It Failed To Publish The Proceedings Of A Major Lecture. His Proposed Swinging-Cylinder Gyro-Piston Engine Would Allow Objects To Hover Without The Need For Propellors, Rockets Or Jets (Think UFO). He Earned An MSci At Manchester University In 1949 And Later Went On To Earn A PhD, Also From Manchester. In 1964 He Was Appointed Professor Of Heavy Engineering At Imperial College London, Retiring From The Post In 1986.

Stuart Maconie

Born: ; Wigan Lancs; 1962?
Died: Not Yet
Quote: "My Mum Took Me As A Babe In Arms To See The Beatles At Wigan ABC Cinema Just Before They Quit Touring."
From His Interview With BBC 6 Music.

A Film Critic And Top BBC DJ, Currently On BBC Radio's 2 And 6. He Has Also Written For Q Magazine, Elle, The Times, The Guardian, Evening Standard, Daily Express, Select, Mojo, Deluxe And Was An Assistant Editor For The NME. He Was A Regular On Those I Love The 70s/80s/90s And The Dozens Of Channel Four's Top Ten And Top 100s. In 2001 He Did A Show At The Edinburgh Fringe, 'Called Lloyd Cole Knew My Father', It Was Later Rebroadcast On BBC Radio 2. That Year He Also Won The Sony Radio Academy Award For Music Broadcaster Of The Year. He Has An Autobiography 'Cider With Roadies'. Peter Kay Said Of Him; 'Stuart Maconie Is The Best Thing To Come Out Of Wigan Since The A58 To Bolton'.

Theodore Major

Born: 1908; Appley Bridge, Lancs
Died: 1999; Wigan
Quote: "The Thing You Notice Here After America Is How Refreshingly Ordinary People Look Because They Haven't Had Their Chin Wrapped Around The Back Of Their Ears."
Referring To The Fake Looks Of Most Americans.

Another Prolific Wigan Artist, Primarily He Painted Oils, Though He Occassionally Used Charcoal. He Disliked Watercolours And Coloured Pastels. He Never Used Acrylics. He Spent Almost All Of His Life In Appley Bridge. He Was Also President Of The Wigan Art Club Which He Founded In 1952. He Retained About 3,000 Of His Pictures Which He Said Were Painted For Ordinary People, Not Money. His Paintings Were Noted For Their Bleak Industrial Landscapes.

Kym Marsh

Born: 13 June 1976; Whiston, Lancs
Died: No Yet
Quote: "As Far As I'm Concerned, Emma Bunton Wouldn't Have Got Through The Auditions On 'Popstars'."

Born Kimberly Gail Marsh She Grew Up In Ashton And Attended Byrchall High School. The Single Mum Won The Original Popstars Series, Becoming A Member Of Former Band Hear'Say. The Band Flopped After A Number One Hit And Since She Has Been Seen On Various TV Shows Such As ITV's Loose Women. She Has Also Made Appearances On Holby City And Doctors, And Was On Richard & Judy Back In March 2006 To Promote Her Attempt To Sing For Britain In The 2006 Eurovision Song Contest. Now Married To Jack Ryder, They Split In 2003 But Are Back Together Again.

Richard Mather

Born: 1596; Lowton, Lancs
Died: 22 April 1669; Dorchester, USA
Quote: "The Summe of Certain Sermons Upon Genes."
His 1652 Publication Of His Sermons.

Educated At Winwick Grammar School And By The Time He Was 15 He Was A Schoolmaster In Toxteth! He Went On To Study At Brasenose College Oxford Before Returning To Liverpool To Be Ordained. A Strict Puritan He Emigrated To Massachusetts Bay In 1635. His Son Increase Mather Became The President Of Harvard University. Increase's Son, Cotton Mather, Was A Great Scholar, Publishing Nearly 500 Books And Articles On Scientific Subjects, And Was The First American To Be Elected A Member Of The Royal Society.

Sir Ian Murray McKellen CBE

Born: 25 May 1939; Burnley, Lancs
Died: No Yet
Quote: "The Thing You Notice Here After America Is How Refreshingly Ordinary People Look Because They Haven't Had Their Chin Wrapped Around The Back Of Their Ears."
Referring To Botox.

Starred In The Three New Lord Of The Rings And Three X-Men Filems. His Family Moved To Moved To Wigan When He Was A Few Weeks Old- He Grew Up At No. 17 Parsons Walk Directly Opposite To Mesnes Park And Lived In Bolton From 1951-1958. He Attended The Wesleyan Primary School On Dicconson Street And Went On To Wigan Grammar School For Boys. His Older Sister Jean Introduced Him To Shakespear Taking Him To Wigan Little Theatre To See A Production Of ‘Twelfth Night’.

George Orwell

Born: 25 June 1903; Motihari, India
Died: 21 January 1950; London
Quote: "Every War When It Comes, Or Before It Comes, Is Represented Not As A War But As An Act Of Self-Defence Against A Homicidal Maniac."
Iraq, Anyone?

Real Name Eric Arthur Blair! He Brought Wigan World Infamy With His Book 'The Road To Wigan Pier' Though He Only Ever Spent A Few Weeks Here Researching In 1936, At What Is Now The History Shop. His Book Charted The Hardships Of Local People Where Coal Had Built The Local Economy But Was Being Replaced By Specialised Industry And Services. The Pier Had Been Pulled Down In 1929 And Orwell Concluded That It Had Never Existed. The Orwell Is Now A Pub On The Pier Complex. It Does Nice Meals! The House He Stayed In Whist In Wigan Is Now The Sovereign Road Car Park Opposite Lidl.

	King Penda Of Merica Born: 606-609? Died: 655; Battle Of Winwaed Quote: "And I'd Of Gotten Away With It Too If It Wasn't For Those Pesky Christians!"?
Penda The Strong Was One Of The Last Ancient Briton Pagan Kings Who Slew Oswald The Christian King Of Northumbria And Saint Just Outside Golborne! Go Penda!!! This Made HIim One Of The Most Powerful Anglo-Saxon Leaders. But He Got A Bit Cocky And Went On A Doomed Invasion Of Bernicia And Was Killed In 655. He Was Probably Born Somewhere Around Modern Day Oswestry.

Frank Randle

Born: 1901; 50 Wigan Road, Aspull
Died: 1957; Blackpool, Lancs
Quote: Sgt. Korris: [Randle Is Riding A Donkey On Parade] Randle! What Do You Think You're Doing?
Pvt. Randle: Sitting On Me Ass!
From Somewhere In Camp

Born Arthur Hughes, (Also Known As Arthur McEvoy) He Was A Mad And Risqué Comic. A Childhood Friend Of George Formby But They Became Arch-Nemesis In The Local Musical Halls. He Wrote And Starred In His National Service Satire Filem "It's A Grand Life". He Also Performed In Nine Other Films. He Set Up His Own Comedy Touring Company "Randle's Scandals". He Also Toured As A Solo Comedian 'Arthur Twist'. He Failed A Medical And Was Refused Entry To The RAF So Joined 'Dads Army' Instead.

Pete Shelley

Born: 17 April, 1955; Leigh
Died: Not Yet
Quote: "I dont wanna classify you like an animal in the zoo, But it seems good to me to know that youre homosapien too".

Born Peter McNeish He Was The Lead Singer And Songwriter For The Seminal Punk Band The Buzzcocks. He Formed The Buzzcocks After Meeting Howard Devoto At An Electronic Music Society Meeting At Bolton Institute Of Technology. The Buzzcocks Finally Folded In 1981, And In The Same Year He Released His First Solo Single "Homosapien" . The Record Was Banned By The BBC Due To It's Gay Sex References; Shelley Being Bisexual. The Buzzcocks Reformed In 1991 And Released New Material In 1993 And 2004. In 2005, Shelley Re-Recorded 'Ever Fallen In Love' With An All-Star Group, Including Roger Daltrey, David Gilmour, Peter Hook, Elton John, Robert Plant And Several Contemporary Bands, As A Tribute To John Peel.

Miles Standish

Born: 20 Feb 1586; Standish Lancs
Died: 3 Oct 1656; Duxbury, Massachusetts
Quote: "Into A World Unknown,— The Corner-Stone Of A Nation!"
A Line From Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Poem 'The Courtship Of Miles Standish'

His Family Came From Standish (Well I Never!) He Was One Of The Pilgrim Fathers And Cap'n Of The Mayflower Itself. He Was One Of The Founders Of The Coastal Town Of Duxbury, Named After Duxbury Woods Near Chorley. He Was Hired By The Pilgrim Fathers To Be A Military Advisor To Them, They Came Across Him While They Were Trying To Settle In Holland And He Was Serving There. Once The Pilgrims Had Settled Down In America He Apparently Uncovered An Indian Plot To Attack The Pilgrims, Who Had Been Stealing From The Indians And Begging To Them. At A Meeting Between The Two Parties He Had 5 Indians And Their Leader Slaughtered, Thus Making Him An American Hero..

	Jim Sullivan Born: 20 Feb 1586; Cardiff Waleshire Died: 1977; Wigan Quote: "Into A World Unknown,— The Corner-Stone Of A Nation!" A Line From Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Poem 'The Courtship Of Miles Standish'
1922 - Jim Sullivan joins Wigan from Cardiff RU. 2,859 Goals In 921 Games.

	Georgia Taylor Born: 26th Feb 1980; Billinge, Lancs Died: Not Yet Quote:
Born Claire Jackson She Went To St Peters High School In Orrell And On To Winstanley College Where She Was Spotted By Agents (Along With Many Cast Members Of Hollyoaks Over The Years) And So Left Winstanley For Coronation Street. Other Wiganers Once On Corrie Include John Fillingham (Neil Mitchell), Eva Pope (Barmaid Tanya Pooley) & Jennifer Moss (Lucille Hewitt).

	Barry Westhead Born: 13 May 1977; Wigan, Lancs Died: Not Yet Quote: "Silence Is Easy, It Just Becomes Me, you Don't Even Know Me, Why Do You Hate Me?" lyrics From Starsailors Smash Hit 'Silence Is Easy'
The Keyboard Player For Cracking Wigan Band Starsailor. The Band Met And Formed While At The Leigh Campus Of Wigan & Leigh College- Well, You Can't Win All The Time. They Owe Their Success Largely To Phil Spector's Support.

	Dave Whelan Born: 24 Nov 1936; Bradford, Yorks Died: Not Yet? Quote: "Our Policing Bill For The Recent Home Game Against Leeds Was £43,995. Preston's Was £7,700. How Can That Be Right?" Referring To Latic's Extortionate Policing Costs In 2005.
In 1978 He Bought A Small Wigan Sports Store For £7,400. It Was Founded In 1903 By A Rugby Player By The Name Of J J Broughton. He Sold The Company On To A Gentleman Named J J Braddock, Who Later Sold It On To J J Bradburn.

	Alf Wilkinson Born: 1897 Died: 1940 Quote: "Farrell Is One Of Wigan's Greatest Ever Home-Produced Talents." Referring To Andy Farrell Over His Recent Move To RFU.
Lance Corporal Wilkinson, Won The Victoria Cross aged just 21 For His Gallantry In France, During WWI. Alf Died In 1940, Aged Just 43, From Carbon Monoxide Poisoning While Working At Bickershaw Colliery. A Portrait And Tribute To Him Resides In Leigh Town Hall.

	Danny Wilson Born: 1st Jan 1960; Wigan, Lancs Died: Not Yet Quote: "When The Referee Says To You Afterwards That He Owes The Goalkeeper A Drink, That Tells You Everything." Referring To A Disputed Last-Minute Penalty In A 1-1 Draw Against Swindon
Played For Wigan Athletic And Was The Manager From 1998 Until He Was Sacked In 2000 To Make Way For Wonder Boy Paul Jewell. Currently Manager Of Division Two Bristol City.

	Gerard Winstanley Born: 1609; Wigan, Lancs Died: 10 Sept 1676; London Quote:
Leader Of The Digger ('Communist') Movement During The Civil War Era. He And Others Squatted On Land Outside London Till The Army Booted Them Off. He Then Wrote Lots Of Pamphlets. There's A Plaque Dedicated To Him In The Kremlin, Moscow.