The first steam locomotive in North West England was made in Wigan and ran in the area.
In 1850 pits were 1500 feet deep, the coal being wound by engines made Wiganers at the famous Haigh foundry.
The development of Liverpool depended on coal mined in Wigan often mined by children whose conditions were described by a contemporary as "worse than the very slaves"
A short history of my inbred family may illustrate a few points. My family goes back 400 years but I will speak only of the last 160 years.
My Great Grandfather started work as a blacksmith at a coal pit and later became an engine driver and then a contractor.His brother was killed in a railway accident. In the late 19th century my grandfather installed a water supply to parts of Ashton.
His wife was born the illegitemate daughter of a kitchen servant but through hard work built a business, first as a shopkeeper (she had the first Post Office in the village) and later an hotel. She borrowed money to send her eldest son to university and who became a doctor.
Other members of my family fought in two world wars for freedom against the dictatorship and Fascism which your job seems to embody.
My wife's family is similarly composed of "inbred "Wiganers. Her Great Grandfather was killed in the pit but as he was a so called free man his death was of less consequence to the mine owner as his death did not involve losing an "asset" such as a slave.
My "inbred" step daughter holds down a prestigious job in the telecoms industry, her Wigan work ethic and intelligence being much appreciated in the South of England.
This town has been created by the sweat, death and yes intelligence of our "inbred" ancestors who often received a pittance for their hard work.
You should be able to see therefore Mr Brown the offence your remarks have caused.
While we do not condone discourtesy to anyone, we do resent our town becoming increasingly overcrowded, preference in housing being given to outsiders, our wages reduced and our hard earned taxes paying for seemingly resentful people who we never invited in the first place, and to pay for people such as you whose job is to curtail our free speech and prosecute us.
If we do need new blood( which I dispute) it should not come from countries which have not reached the standards of Wigan in the late 19th century.
Incest! I have never seen any evidence of it.
Imbeciles, yes we have them--in Wigan Metro and the people who employed you and who are giving our country and town away.
People such as you Mr Brown will never understand. To us Wigan is not just a place, a dot on the map.
It is a FEELING deep rooted in the continuity with our past and a unity with our fellow Wiganers upon whose ancestor's backs this town's prosperity was built.
IT IS OUR HERITAGE
AND WE WILL NOT LIGHTLY GIVE IT AWAY
